Up the Shard

London's "Shard" - arguably the tallest building, or structure, in western Europe - opens for visitors on 1 February. For £25 you can go up-up-up and look down on London.

Like IanVisits, I have a love-hate relationship to the building (weighted rather to the latter). He has had a preview of "the Shard Experience" and has put pix on his blog, one of which is below -

Viewing platform, 68th floor

Perhaps it's true that "the one marvellous thing about the view from the top is that you can't see the Shard from there" - but if you do intend to go, try to time it for around dusk.

The BBC's video tour of the viewing platform is here. "Positioned 800ft (243m) high, on the 72nd floor of the 1,016ft-tall (310m) building, it promises stunning views of London and beyond - on a clear day. It is also open to the elements, to give visitors "the feeling they are flying"."