Aqua at the Shard

Have you been wanting to go up to The View at the Shard in London, but don't really fancy dishing out the sky-high entrance fee? Then here's an insider tip for you. Head on up to Aqua bar and restaurant at the Shard for absolutely free. That's right, free, nada, zilch.

The views are pretty much the same as from The View platform albeit it from a couple of floors lower, however for the same price you get a table with a view and 4 glasses of wine, or 4 beers, or 2 cocktails. Whatever tickles your fancy.

We went there at around 6 o'clock which is the best time to avoid any queues that are likely to form the later into the week and into the evening you get. We were able to walk into the lift to be whooshed straight up to the 31st floor. There were no free tables when we arrived, but after we ordered our drinks at the bar and lingered around for a bit, we spotted a couple getting up to leave and we swooped right in to confiscate their table.

Aqua also serves breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and afternoon tea, which admittedly are a bit on the pricey side. But if you ask me, whatever you order at Aqua to go with the incredible view across the world's best city, is better value than The View, where you just get er... a view.

Photo by Chris Pople under Creative Commons Licence