Travel Squibs: The View from London’s Shard

SQUIB: a : a short humorous or satiric writing or speech; b : a short news item. (Merriam-Webster)

This Travel Squib is…Wait for it…The very first Travel Squib.

The Shard – the tallest building in Europe – recently hosted a media dinner in London as part of the celebration for Aston Martin’s 100th Anniversary. The gallery below shares the spectacular view from atop this new UK landmark.

The 95-story office and commercial glass tower wrapped up its construction in April of 2012 and opened for the public three weeks before the 2012 Opening Ceremonies. So, as multitudes began piling into London to prepare for the Games, it dominated the skyline and will for years to come. The Shard packs 72 floors with an enclosed viewing gallery and an open air observation deck offering a view of London for 40 miles in every direction. An elevator brings visitors 800 ft. up the structure in 30 seconds. The rest of the 1,016 ft. is spire.

In addition to offices and shopping, the building includes an observation deck (where the overhead, daylight photos in this gallery were taken) and the restaurants Hutong, Aqua Shed and Oblix (where the sunset and night gallery images originated).

Take a look and enjoy a very real Waterloo Sunset.

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