The ferns, fig trees and purple African lilies that clamber up the top three stories of the "Walkie Talkie" skyscraper are mere wallflowers at this 155m-high rooftop garden – it's the extraordinary 360-degree views of London that make the vast, airport-terminal-like space so popular. The Sky Garden (skygarden.london) has front-row seats overlooking the Shard, and vistas that gallop for miles east and west. Entry is free but must be booked online. Tickets for a whole week are released every Monday morning three weeks ahead and go quickly, though free walk-ins are also accepted daily during public opening hours, subject to space at the door.
If all else fails, book a table at the Darwin Brasserie, Fenchurch or ground-floor Larch restaurants, or the Sky Pod and City Garden bars. This comes with access to the gardens, but you will, of course, have to order something – with few locations able to compare to this for romantic drinks or a dinner, especially at sunset, that shouldn’t be a problem.
The building the Sky Garden sits atop didn't get off to a good start when it opened in 2014, with its highly reflective windows melting the plastic bodywork of several cars parked below, and in the 2015 Carbuncle Cup, it was named "the worst new building in the UK." Quite why is no longer debated, with the building now comfortably celebrated as part of the City’s famous skyline.