Are They Ever Going to Finish It?

The London skyline has many distinct buildings and architectural structures, but the Shard is by far the easiest to find with its unique design and classic tip.

Irvine Sellar is the developer and joint owner of the Shard, and he had a vision to capture a vertical city with multiple purposes. He recruited award-winning architect Renzo Piano to create this vision of a new type of building.

Sellar wanted it all for his architectural beauty. He wanted something for everyone, according to the Shard's official website.

The vision for the Shard was to create an architecturally striking vertical city incorporating retail, offices, hotel, apartments, restaurants, and a public viewing gallery.

The Shard can be pointed out in the London skyline as it’s “shards” on the top of its narrow pyramid structure stand out from the normal rectangular buildings with "complete" roofs. The running joke about this building is questioning whether they will ever finish the top since it has open “shards” at the top. Our tour guide for our all day London city tour, Dolly, even bantered back and forth about this joke with our bus driver!

When we went to the top of the Shard, unfortunately, it was raining. However, even with all the rain and fog, it was still an immaculate sight to see. It was the view from the London Eye multiplied by 100! They also had a bar on multiple floors and ice cream of course. At one point we were wondering why part of the floor was wet only to be reminded of the open roof! It was raining...duh!

9/10 experience at the Shard with one point deducted because I'm sure a clear sky would've made it even better. Even if you're afraid of heights, I would really recommend going to the top!