I queued to get one at 7am last year, having got up at stupid O' clock.

Annoyed to find they were still on sale that afternoon, then the next day... and for WEEKS after.

Caught my eye as a Londoner but how many times would you want to go up the Shard in a year. it only cost £25.95 for a prebooked ticket so hardly worth getting there at 7.00 am for this, possible, deal. Or am I missing something?

One other option to consider is https://skygarden.london/sky-garden

I've never been, so can't say what it's like.

Having said that, it's directly on the other side of the river from the Shard, so you can see quite a few of the same sights. And it's free.

Caught my eye as a Londoner but how many times would you want to go up the Shard in a year. it only cost £25.95 for a prebooked ticket so hardly worth getting there at 7.00 am for this, possible, deal. Or am I missing something?

Good for bird spotters and dalek hunters.. Not for me.

I queued to get one at 7am last year, having got up at stupid O' clock.

Annoyed to find they were still on sale that afternoon, then the next day... and for WEEKS after.

Well, they were on-sale to Londoners ONLY last time (before they doubled the price a few weeks later).

Might go a little quicker this time as existing card holders have a pre-sale, and non-Londoners can buy them from day one.

But you certainly don't need to queue for 7am, I'm sure.

thanks, interesting! I'll just pop along when I go and see what happens. Not overly fussed if I miss out, got some London Eye freebies from the Sun to use and Tate Modern and One New Change are excellent spots to visit.

Decent exercise, that. Up and down . Beats a gym for the cardio ...

I got the card last year - went twice! So just about worth it. Yeah, it's definitely not something you'll want to do that many times in a year.

My two main gripes:

1. They have an airport style bag check. You have to take off your coat, empty your pockets and put everything through an x-ray. You usually have to queue for that and it can take a while.

2. My second biggest gripe is the windows. No filters, no polarisation, so all daytime photos will have reflections. That sucks. Really hard to get a decent picture. Once the sun goes down it's slightly better, but the lighting from the bar and ceiling lights creates more reflections :laughing: So for all that, hard to take a decent photo to remember the experience.

That said, it's worth it if you are going to go at least twice in the year.

N.B. Don't forget to bring a photo ID when you go to buy the card. No ID, no card.

One other option to consider is https://skygarden.london/sky-garden

I've never been, so can't say what it's like.

Having said that, it's directly on the other side of the river from the Shard, so you can see quite a few of the same sights. And it's free.

How do they check if you're an Londoner though?

​I was going suggest the same, I've been up the Sky Garden a few times and you get amazing views.

Just go to the bar there and buy a drink.

Rock up, walk in for free, go to the bar, get a bottle of beer, enjoy view, leave !

You had to take a household bill. Looks like the Londoner thing doesn't apply anymore anyway.

Living reasonably locally I'd have almost zero interest in paying to view from the Shard once, never mind multiple times in a year. They clearly know that they don't have much to offer, given that they pad out the benefits with things like:
"London Landmark Guarantee – you’ll be walking on air amongst the clouds, but if they spoil your view, you can return for free! *Terms apply"
So basically something you are getting anyway WITHOUT the London Landmark Guarantee - I guess saying "you can return for free without having to argue with us under the guarantee terms about whether you can see One Canada Square or not" doesn't sound quite as attractive.

I got one last year.
Bearing in mind I work right next to it, I managed to get myself up there 4 times.

It's really not that special. As said above they really are trying hard to pad out the benefits. There's a personal audio thing to listen to, screens dotted around giving you info on the landmarks you're facing and a tiny bar. That's about it.

Went on Sunday. Would not go again. Once you have done it, that's it. Exit through the gift shop.....

Passed by around 7.45am this morning - several hundred in the queue :disappointed: . Tried again at 4.30pm, only queuing inside but told it would 1 and half hours! :disappointed: Gave up - only probably want to once, not worth it to save £5

Joined the queue at 4:10pm, left with my annual pass (minus a few days) at 6:07pm.