Inside Sky Garden London: A Floor-by-Floor Tour of the Gardens, Terraces and Views

Most visitors do the Sky Garden the same way: up in the lift, straight to the first balcony, one photo of The Shard, and back down inside twenty minutes. Nothing wrong with that — but the building has three very different floors stacked inside its glass dome, and the best hour here belongs to the people who wander. This is the inside of the Sky Garden, floor by floor: where everything is, and where the quiet corners hide.

Arriving: Security, Lifts and the Big Reveal

The experience starts at pavement level, at a discreet entrance on 1 Sky Garden Walk, just off Fenchurch Street. Everyone passes through airport-style security — bags scanned, pockets emptied — which sounds like a faff but moves quickly, and then it’s into the lifts. The ride to level 35 takes under a minute and delivers one of London’s great small surprises: the doors open not onto a viewing platform, but into a garden. Cool air, green terraces stepping away in front of you, and the city gleaming through three storeys of glass beyond them. Almost everyone gasps, then reaches for their phone. The regulars do something smarter: they look first, and wander second.

How to pace your hour

Your public ticket gives you an hour, which is plenty if you move with the building rather than against it. A route that works: start on level 35 and walk the full loop, climb the planted terraces to level 36 for the dining floor and the calmer edges, then finish at the top, around level 37, before drifting back down to the south terrace for a last look. Photographers — our Sky Garden photography guide has the detail — should save the south terrace for late in the slot, when the first rush has thinned out.

Level 35: The Main Garden, Sky Pod Bar and the South Terrace

Level 35 is the floor you have seen in the photographs. The main atrium of the dome opens out here, with terraces of planting cascading down from the floors above and the Sky Pod Bar set into the greenery on the garden level. It is the liveliest floor — groups arriving, cameras out, the buzz of a place that knows it’s famous. The planting near the glass is lush and deliberately jungle-adjacent: tree ferns and broad leaves thriving in the light that pours through the dome. If you want the full story of tickets, hours and booking before you come, our complete Sky Garden visitor guide covers the practical side in detail.

The south terrace

The open-air terrace on the south side is the headline act, and the busiest few square metres in the building. This is the classic view: the Thames bending below you, The Shard dead ahead across the water, Tower Bridge downriver to your left, and the Tower of London close enough to peer into. On still, clear days it is glorious; on windy ones, hold on to your hat — literally. If the railing is packed, don’t queue for it. The same view, minus the elbows, is waiting at the quieter edges of the floor.

Level 36: Darwin Brasserie and the Planted Terraces

The middle floor belongs to Darwin Brasserie, the modern British restaurant on level 36, but you don’t need a booking to enjoy the level’s planted edges. The terraces step up through the dome here like a hillside, and the mood changes as you climb: the noise of the bar drops away, the planting closes in, and the views angle upwards through the glass ribs of the building. This is the floor for slow walkers. Benches appear between the beds, and the gaps in the greenery frame smaller, more composed views than the big balcony panoramas — a tower here, a bridge there, the dome of St Paul’s floating in the distance. It also rewards anyone who has read up on Sky Garden’s restaurants and bars and timed a coffee or a table to the quiet end of a slot.

Level 37: Fenchurch and the Top of the House

The top floor is the calmest of the three. Fenchurch Restaurant, the fine-dining room, sits up here on level 37, and the whole floor has a more hushed, grown-up feel — lower voices, clinking glasses, the city spread out beyond the glass like something in a gallery. Even if you are not eating, the top of the house is worth the climb for the perspective alone: from here you look slightly down on the terraces below you as well as out across London, and the great curve of the Walkie Talkie itself becomes part of the view.

The Planting: A Hillside Garden, Arranged by Sunlight

The planting is not decoration; it is a designed landscape. The terraces are laid out like a Mediterranean hillside, and the species follow the sun. The south-facing beds, flooded with light through the glass, hold the sun-lovers: lavender, rosemary and dry, silvery planting that would be happy on a Greek slope. In the shadier reaches towards the back you will find the cool-green brigade — tree ferns and lush foliage plants that prefer life out of the glare. South African species stitch the two together, including African lilies and birds of paradise, whose orange flowers flare against the green like punctuation. And it changes with the seasons, which is the quiet joy of the place: no two visits are planted quite the same.

Good to Know

• Your ticket gives you one hour — the route in this guide (35, then 36, then 37, finishing on the south terrace) fits it comfortably.
• The south terrace is the busiest spot in the building; the rear of level 35 and the planted edges of level 36 are far calmer.
• The tour is step-free — lifts connect all three floors, so the full loop works for pushchairs and wheelchairs too.
• Evenings change the mood — after 6pm the bars take over, smart casual applies, and under-16s can’t stay in the bar areas.
• This is an independent visitor guide, not the official Sky Garden website — always book through the official site.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do you need at Sky Garden?

An hour is the standard visit, and it is the right amount of time: long enough for a full loop of all three floors, both terraces and a drink if you want one.

Which floor is Sky Garden on?

Floors 35, 36 and 37 of 20 Fenchurch Street — the Walkie Talkie — around 155 metres up. Lifts run from the street-level entrance on Sky Garden Walk straight to level 35.

Can you go outside at Sky Garden?

Yes. The south terrace on the main garden level is fully open-air, and it is where the classic Thames and Shard view lives. It can close temporarily in high winds or poor weather, when the indoor gardens carry on as normal.

Is Sky Garden suitable for children?

Very much so during public hours — families are a big part of the daytime crowd, the layout is step-free, and children tend to love the lifts and the planting. The only caveat is evenings, when under-16s can’t stay in the bar areas.

Do you have to pay to go up Sky Garden?

No. Entry is free during public hours with a timed ticket booked online in advance. The only money you might spend is on food and drink inside — and that part is entirely up to you.