Horizon 22: London’s highest free view, and how to book it

London charges a great deal of money for height. The Shard charges, the Eye charges, the Lift at Greenwich charges. Horizon 22 does not charge anything at all, and it is higher than any of the free alternatives.

What it is

Checked on the operator’s own site on 9 September 2026. Horizon 22 is a viewing platform on Level 58 of 22 Bishopsgate, in the City. It bills itself as London’s highest free viewing platform and offers 300-degree views across the city.

Getting up there is part of it. Two high-speed lifts take 41 seconds to reach the platform, travelling at up to eight metres per second. Your ears will notice.

It is free, but you still need a ticket

This is the part people get wrong. Entry costs nothing, but it is ticketed by date and time slot, and you are issued QR access codes. Turning up at the door without one is not the way in.

The standard ticket is free. There are optional paid add-ons: Guide to the View, an audio-visual guide to what you are looking at, and a glass of something sparkling. Neither is necessary and the view is identical without them.

Opening hours, and the best time to go

Weekdays 10:00 to 18:00. Saturday 10:00 to 17:00. Sunday 10:00 to 16:00. Note that it closes progressively earlier across the weekend, which catches people who assume Sunday runs latest.

For a sunset, the arithmetic matters: from roughly late autumn to early spring, sunset falls inside opening hours and a late afternoon slot puts you up there for it. In midsummer the sun sets long after closing, so the light is flat and the view is about clarity rather than colour. Our sunset views guide covers the alternatives when the timing does not work.

The operator also runs enhanced experiences at other hours, including early morning slots, late nights and, improbably, yoga. Those are separate bookings.

Horizon 22 or Sky Garden

The two free viewpoints in the City are constantly compared and they are genuinely different propositions.

Horizon 22 is higher. Level 58 against Sky Garden’s rather lower perch in the building at 20 Fenchurch Street, the one everybody calls the Walkie Talkie. If height is the point, this is the one.

Sky Garden is greener and has more to do. It is a planted space with bars and restaurants, so it works as somewhere to stay for an hour or two rather than somewhere to look and leave. Both are free and both need booking ahead. What is on at Sky Garden, when we have checked it, is on its listing.

The honest answer: do Horizon 22 for the view and Sky Garden for the evening. They are a ten minute walk apart and doing both in one trip is entirely reasonable.

Getting there and what else is nearby

22 Bishopsgate is in the middle of the City cluster, walkable from Liverpool Street, Bank and Monument. The City empties at the weekend, which makes a Saturday morning slot the quietest time to be up there and the best time to walk the streets underneath.

St Dunstan in the East and Leadenhall Market are both a few minutes away and both free. Free things to do in London has the wider list, and rooftop bars covers the version with a drink in your hand.