Best views of London on a Budget
(From someone who lived there)
London is one of the most expensive cities in the world, but its also one of my favourite to see from a height. London views are amazing and is not something you want to miss.
So how can you enjoy the views of London but not have to part with so much of your hard earned cash by going up the London eye? Here are 10 ways to some incredible views instead!
1. The SkyGarden
Probably one of the more famous places to view London, aside from the London eye, the SkyGarden is a free indoor garden.
Located at the top of the walkie talkie building in the city of London it gives you a great 360 degree view looking over London. With a balcony to go outside one one side over looking the Thames and a cafe and bar located inside, you can spend as much time as you want up here.
Although it is free, it is also very popular and so you will need to prebook your time slot to go up. You can also go up at night time for a different look of London and is open until 9pm on weekends and 6pm Monday- Friday.
The sky bar is open until 12pm Sunday – Wednesday and 1am Thursday – Saturday. Prebook it Here
🚊 SkyGarden is located a short walk from Monument tube station on the district and Circle Line (green and yellow lines)
Address: SkyGarden walk, London EC3M8AF. The Walkie talkie building.
Price: Free
2. The Monument
The Monument is a tall statue in the city of London that commemorates the great fire of London in 1666. This famous fire that started in a bakery in Pudding lane (just around the corner from where the monument stands) and burned through over two-thirds of 17th century London.
The monument was designed by famous architect Sir Christopher Wren. Inside the monument is a spiral staircase of over 300 steps to reach the top, but the climb is worth it!
I went in the afternoon during winter so was lucky enough to be there at sunset, so got some great photos and barely anyone else up there!
🚊 Located just outside Monument tube station on the district and circle lines (green and yellow lines)
Price: Tickets are £6.00
3. The garden at 120
A relative new comer, The Garden at 120 is another free rooftop garden. Unlike the SkyGarden, this one is a open air rooftop, so no windows in the way!
With more space as a viewing platform, it is not as well known as the SkyGarden, which means better opportunity for photos!
Also free, they don’t have time slots, so you may have a long line for the lifts at the bottom especially on a nice day. There is a small cafe and plenty of seating up there to sit and enjoy the views and hopefully the sunshine!
Address: 120 Fenchurch street, London
Closest tube station: There a 3 stations all within a 5-8 minute walk.
🚊 Monument tube station (7 minute walk) District and Circle lines (green and Yellow)
🚊 Aldgate Tube Station (6 minute walk) Circle and Metropolitan lines (Yellow and Maroon)
🚊 Fenchurch Station – ( 5 minute walk) National Rail
Price: Free
4. The Shard
Also another popular place with a observatory deck that you can go to for £25.00- OR you can instead spend that £25.00 on a drink or 2 at the Aqua bar instead.
Located on level 31, of the shard, you can get the same views as the observatory deck, but with a drink in your hand instead!
There are also plenty of restaurants on different levels up there to enjoy as well. Bare in mind that for the bar, smart casual dress code is required, compared to the observatory deck that doesn’t require a dress code.
Address: The Shard, 31 St Thomas street, London SE19RY.
🚊 Closest station is London Bridge on the Jubilee and Northern lines (grey and Black lines)
Price: Price of a cocktail- £16.00 -£20.00
5. The Tate Modern
If your looking for a different perspective of London, head to the Southbank- and specifically the Tate modern.
Free to enter, the museum has a viewing area at their cafe, which gives a lovely view of the Thames and St Paul’s Cathedral.
On the level above is a second private viewing area for Tate modern members with a balcony as well- you know, just in case you know someone who’s got a membership!
Address: Bankside London SE19TG.
🚊 Closest tube station is Southwark (grey line)
Price: free
6. Primrose Hill, Regents Park
Primrose hill located just north of Regents park gives a beautiful view of London from a distance.
From the top of the hill you can see a beautiful skyline of London and is particularly stunning at sunset.
During a nice warm sunny day, you will find the find full of Londoners out having a picnic enjoying the sun too.
🚊 Closest tube station is Chalk farm on the northern line (black line), Baker street or Regents park on the Bakerloo line (brown line) and you can walk through Regents park to get there.
Price: Free
7. Parliament Hill, Hampstead Heath
Parliament hill, located in Hampstead Heath is similar to Primrose hill- its a hill and in a park too.
Hampstead Heath is a little further north of regents street park and has a very much village type vibe. Walking around its very hard to remember your in the middle of London!
The heath is a beautiful place to walk around and the view from Parliament hill gives a great view of Londons skyline. Also fantastic at sunrise or sunset too!
🚊 Closest station: Hampstead Heath station on the overground (orange line)
8. Sabine Rooftop bar, City of London
There are plenty of rooftop bars all over London, but if you want to save some money (£25.00 to be exact), and get a similar view that you would from the top of St Paul’s cathedral, the Sabine Rooftop Bar is the place.
Located across the road from St Paul’s Cathedral, you have a great view overlooking London and the Thames in one direction a great close up view of St Paul’s Cathedral from a height. The cocktails here are also very nice to boot!
Address: 10 Godliman Street, London EC4V5AJ
🚊 Closest station: both Mansion House on the district line (green line) and St Paul’s Station on the Central line (red line) are very close
Price: Lunch, Dinner or a Drink
9. River cruises
Another great way to view London is by getting another perspective. By this I mean from the Thames!
As London is a city that relies so much on the Thames, doing a sightseeing cruise along it is a great way to see so many iconic sights up close.
From going under the Tower bridge, seeing Big Ben and Westminster and the London eye to enjoying large swathes of green as you head west out of central London up towards Kew gardens and Bushy Park.
There are many different cruises you can do such as a hop-on hop-off style cruise, running between Hampton court in the west, down to Barking in the East.
Places that you can get off on the way are Hampton Court Palaces, Kew Gardens, Westminster, St Paul’s, Tate Modern, South bank, Tower of London and finish up at Greenwich Observatory.
The boats have a open upper deck to enjoy the nice weather and to get some good photos, but also have a enclosed seating area down stairs, because, well London isn’t known for its great weather!
The cheapest is with Thames River Sightseeing that does the route between Westminster to Greenwich one way or return, from £9.90.
Alternatively if you would rather just do 1 trip and go from A to B, the transport for London also have ferries which are more commuter style ferries and use a Oyster card or contactless card and you pay per ride.
This ferry is mostly concentrated in central London running from Putney Pier or Westminster Pier and go all stops down to Canary Wharf.
The two main ferries are:
⛴️ RB6- Putney Pier to Canary Wharf- Yellow line
⛴️ RB1- Westminster Pier to Canary Wharf Pier- Purple line
10. Emirates cable car, Royal Docklands/ Greenwich
Also known as the IFS cloud cable car, the cable car crosses the Thames giving a great view of London looking down the river at the city.
Located at the Royal Docks it crosses the river over to Greenwich, and can be caught on either side of the river.
🚡 The cable car arrives every 5 minutes and takes approximately 10 minutes to cross. As it is part of the transport for London, you can use your Oyster card (if you have one) or can use a contactless payment for it.
Pre-booking is not required as it is used as a form of transport, like a bus or the tube.
Steph xx