SIGHTS IN LONDON - London 2015 - page 129

Cost and Hours: £ 6, daily 10:00-17:00, last entry at 16:15, sometimes closed for
private events, Tube: London Bridge, ticket office just up Pickfords Wharf from the ship,
tel. [phone], www.goldenhinde.com .
▲ Southwark Cathedral
While made a cathedral only in 1905, it's been the neighborhood church since the 13th cen-
tury, and comes with some interesting history. The enthusiastic docents give impromptu
tours if you ask.
Cost and Hours: Free, but £ 4 donation requested (you'll likely be approached about
the donation, so be prepared with at least £ 1 or a simple “No”), Mon-Fri 8:00-18:30,
Sat-Sun 8:30-18:00—though during frequent services only the back of the nave is open
to discreet sightseers, last entry 30 minutes before closing, £ 4.50 guidebook, no photos
without permission ( £ 2), Tube: London Bridge. Tel. [phone], ht-
tp://cathedral.southwark.anglican.org .
Music: The cathedral hosts evensong Sun at 15:00, Tue-Fri 17:30, Sat at 16:00; they
also host organ recitals Mon at 13:00 and music recitals Tue at 15:15 (call or check web-
site to confirm times of evensong and recitals).
▲ Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret
Climb a tight and creaky wooden spiral staircase to a church attic where you'll find a garret
used to dry medicinal herbs, a fascinating exhibit on Victorian surgery, cases of well-de-
scribed 19th-century medical paraphernalia, and a special look at “anesthesia, the defeat of
pain.” Then you stumble upon Britain's oldest operating theater, where limbs were sawed
off way back in 1821. (See here for a full description.)
Cost and Hours: £ 6.50, cash only, borrowable laminated descriptions, daily
10:30-16:45, closed Dec 15-Jan 5, £ 1 audioguide tries hard but not quite worthwhile, 9a
St. Thomas Street, Tube: London Bridge, tel. [phone], www.thegarret.org.uk .
The Shard
Rocketing dramatically 1,020 feet above the south end of the London Bridge, this recent
addition to London's skyline is by far the tallest building in Western Europe. Designed by
Renzo Piano (best known as the co-architect of Paris' Pompidou Center), the glass-clad
pyramid shimmers in the sun and its prickly top glows like the city's nightlight after dark.
Its uppermost floors are set aside as public viewing galleries, but the ticket price is as out-
rageously high as the building itself, especially given that it's a bit far from London's most
exciting landmarks. For a list of cheaper view opportunities in London, see the sidebar on
here .