London reached a milestone today, when the viewing platform at The Shard, officially called The View from The Shard, opened to visitors.
According to the BBC, London Mayor Boris Johnson cut a ribbon to the viewing platform, which is positioned 800 feet up the 87-story (1,016-foot) skyscraper next to London Bridge Station.
Visitors to the attraction - on floors 68, 69 and 72 - will be whisked up in two high-speed lifts within around 60 seconds. They will be able to look through special telescopes known as Tell: scopes. Johnson reportedly said that the viewing platform is "the closest thing to being in an airplane and looking down on London."
Unfortunately, the weather in the city was less than cooperative, and the view was less than ideal. The policy at the building is not to provide refunds for inclimate weather, but to offer return visits on clearer days. Ticket prices are £24.95 for adults and £18.95 for children.
The Shard is part of a £2bn redevelopment of the London Bridge area. The triangular-shaped building has 600,000 square feet of offices, three floors of restaurants and a 200-room Shangri-La hotel which is due to open this summer. There are also 10 luxury apartments which are expected to be priced as high as £50m each.