The Sky Garden is a public park on the top three floors of the distinctive 160m (525 ft) skyscraper commonly known as the Walkie Talkie, but officially called 20 Fenchurch Street. It is free to visit and it offers brilliant views over London.
The 37-storey building (34 floors plus the three-storey Sky Garden) was designed by Rafael Viñoy and features a unique top-heavy design and a concave face on its southern side.
On sunny days the building acts as a concave mirror, focusing light on to Eastcheap to the south of the building. Temperatures caused by the reflected light have been recorded at 91–117ºC (196–243ºF) and have been strong enough to damage parked cars and fry an egg with the media calling the building the Fryscraper and the Walkie-Scorchie.
The Sky Garden is designed as a public park and was one of the key features in securing planning approval for the building, and although you could hardly call it a park or even public (considering the access restrictions) it does offer brilliant views over the city and even better, admission to the Sky Garden is free.
The Sky Garden is more like an airport terminal with a view than an actual garden. Of course, there are some plants up here (mostly ferns, grasses and succulents) but the focus is more on the bars and restaurants and the architecture is more Stansted than Kew Gardens.
As far as the bars and restaurants are concerned, it is the cheaper ones that have the best view. While the more expensive restaurants are higher-up, they are also farther from the windows.
Visiting the Sky Garden
Although it is free to visit, you need to book a ticket online in advance to guarantee entry. Tickets are released every Monday up to three weeks in advance and they often sell out quickly. Your ticket gives you up to 60 minutes in the Sky Garden.
Access to the Sky Garden is on Philpot Lane at the southwest corner of the building.
How to see the Sky Garden if you’re unable to book a free ticket
If you were unable to book a free ticket in advance, for instance, if you heard about the Sky Garden only just before visiting London, then you may still be able to visit, as there is limited space for walk-in visitors with access available Mon–Fri 10am–11.30am and 2pm–4.30pm subject to availability.
An easier option is to pre-book a light breakfast online at one of the restaurants. A word of warning, this really is a light breakfast (just a croissant and a hot drink) and you’re paying around the same as a full buffet hotel breakfast, but you can often book as little as a day in advance and this gets you into the Sky Garden before it opens to the public, meaning that it’s less crowded than later in the day and you still have a full day of sightseeing ahead of yourself.
Book early access to the Sky Garden (including a light breakfast)
Secure entry by pre-booking an early access ticket to the Sky Garden in London. This gives you a breakfast treat at one of the restaurants inside the Sky Garden as well as early access to the attraction. Although it’s more expensive than a free ticket, it is a great option if you weren’t able to score a free ticket prior to leaving home.
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Another option, which may be better if you want to visit later in the day, is the Sky Pod Bar. This is the cheapest of the bars and restaurants, which has its own policy of accepting walk-in guests which is a good option if you were too late for the pre-booked tickets and missed out on the standard walk-in access. Sky Pod Bar walk-in guests are welcomed Mon–Fri 7am–10am and 6.15pm onwards, Sat 8am–11am and 9.15pm–12.45am, Sun 8am–11am and 9.15pm–10.30pm.
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