Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
STROLLING ALONG THE SOUTH BANK
NATIONAL THEATRE
Waterloo.
MAP
Looking like a multistorey car park, the National Theatre is an institution first mooted in
1848 but sadly only realized in 1976. It has received endless flak for its architecture, but the
three auditoriums within are superb and can be visited on excellent
backstage tours
(1hr;
£8.50; 020 7452 3400), for which you should book in advance.
OXO TOWER
Southwark.
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The Oxo Tower started life as a Victorian power station before being converted in the 1930s
into a meat-packing factory for the company that makes Oxo stock cubes - the lettering is
spelt out in the windows of the main tower. The building now contains an
exhibition space
on the ground floor (daily 11am-6pm), plus flats for local residents, sandwiched between a
series of retail workshops for designers on the first and second floors, and a swanky restaur-
ant, bar and brasserie on the top floor. To enjoy the view, you don't need to eat or drink here,
however: you can simply take the lift to the eighth-floor
public viewing gallery
(daily
10am-10pm).
LONDON EYE
Waterloo or Westminster 0871 781 3000,
www.ba-londoneye.com
.
Daily 10am-8.30pm, later
April-Aug.From £18 online.
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The London Eye is now one of the city's most famous landmarks. Standing an impressive
443ft high, it's the largest
Ferris wheel
in Europe, weighing over 2000 tonnes, yet as simple
and delicate as a bicycle wheel. It's constantly in slow motion, which means a full-circle
“flight” in one of its 32 pods should take around thirty minutes - that may seem a long time,
but in fact it passes incredibly quickly. Book in advance (and online to save money) as on
arrival you'll still have to queue to be loaded on.
LONDON AQUARIUM
County Hall, Riverside Walk Waterloo or Westminster 0871 663 1678,
www.sealife.co.uk
.Mon-Thurs
10am-6pm, Fri-Sun 10am-7pm.From £16 online.
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The most popular attraction in County Hall, the vast former council building by the London
Eye, is the London Aquarium, laid out on two subterranean levels. With some super-large
tanks, and everything from dog-face puffers and piranhas to robot fish (seriously), this is an
attraction that's pretty much guaranteed to please kids. The Touch Pool, where children can
stroke the (non-sting) rays, is particularly popular. Impressive in scale, the aquarium also
has a walk-through underwater tunnel. Ask at the main desk for the times of presentations.
