The public viewing platform at the Oxo Tower is one of our favourite finds in London, a proper skyline view with St Paul’s front and centre, and it doesn’t cost a penny.
For a city with such a dramatic skyline, it can be tough to get a good look at the best views in London without paying through the nose for the pleasure.
Sure, it’s cool that you can see London from up high at places like The View from the Shard, but if you don’t fancy dropping upwards of £28 on a ticket, it’s not always worth it.
That’s where the Oxo Tower comes in. A genuinely good place to see London for free that barely anyone knows about? Exactly. The viewing platform is on the 8th floor of the Oxo Tower on the South Bank, positioned right next to the stretch of river with the Millennium Bridge and St Paul’s. It’s a gorgeous panorama.
We’re not going to pretend it’s on quite the same level as The View from the Shard, let’s face it, you’re on the 8th floor here, not the 72nd, but it’s a genuinely good viewpoint and one of our favourite spots for photographing St Paul’s.
Simply hop in the lift to the 8th floor, the same floor as the restaurant and bar, ask them to show you the entrance for the public viewing platform, and feast your eyes on the view of our fair city.
The bar and restaurant up here are also genuinely good, so if you fancy a sundowner afterwards, it’s worth staying on.
The London x London Take: If you want something even higher and are happy to plan ahead, Horizon 22 at 22 Bishopsgate opened in 2023 and is now the highest free viewing platform in Europe, 58 floors up. It’s brilliant, but it needs a booked ticket and doesn’t have the same easy, wander-in appeal. The Oxo Tower is still the one we send people to when they want a proper view without any admin at all.
Oxo Tower Viewing Platform: practical information and map
- Address: South Bank, London SE1 9GY
- Opening times: 11am-6pm daily, worth checking the Oxo Tower’s own site before you go in case hours have shifted since this guide was last updated
