London Bridge

Many bridges span the River Thames in London. Some are historic; some are graceful; a couple are iconic landmarks. And a couple of them are quite unattractive, functional though they may well be. The bridge that bears the name of the city, and in a spot that had been spanned by a bridge of sorts for nearly 2000 years, is probably the newest of the traffic bridges, and the least attractive. In Tudor times the bridge was piled high that was with houses and shops; imagine the tourist attraction it would be today if that was still the case.

The current bridge opened in 1973. It’s a box girder construction in concrete and steel, and is purely functional. It’s without any fancy embellishments like many other bridges in London: no Portland stone facings; no highly decorated lamp posts, nor any fancy wrought iron railings. It’s ordinary, a bit bleak really, and not worth a visit in its own right. The only decent thing about visiting the bridge is the view you will get downstream, of the far more visually delightful Tower Bridge. Cross the bridge on the east side (the same side as The Monument and London Bridge rail station) for the best views.

Many tourists think London Bridge is that iconic bridge which has become a bit of a symbol of London - the bridge with the towers tied together at the upper level with walkways, and with the bascules which raise to let river traffic through. That’s the Tower Bridge, one that is definitely worth a visit!

I appreciate the history and importance of this bridge. However, it isn't particularly beautiful in terms of architecture. The view is beautiful later in the day and recommend this for those who have never been to London before. This may not need to be said, but if you are afraid of heights, you may want to skip this.

We did the London Bridge tour whilst on a trip to London. It’s really interesting to learn about the building of the bridge as well as seeing the inner working of the engine room. The view from the top are beautiful. We were lucky the weather was great that day. Highly recommend

When my family from overseas visited one of them really wanted to visit London Bridge. I was a bit sceptical as London Bridge is a fairly ordinary bridge. Turned out they wanted to see Tower Bridge but London Bridge is a perfect place for you to see Tower bridge from a distance.

Sadly in 2016 there were terror attacks on the bridge which has meant there are bollards at each end of the bridge to prevent cars from getting onto the pavement with protection from the road as you cross.

The pavement is quite broad so there is space to socially distance.

There are plenty of nice views from the bridge so well worth checking out.

My last trip to London gave me the opportunity to visit London Bridge. It is an iconic place and I have managed to visit the inside as well and even went on top on the glass floor. It is breathtaking and it cost ont a few euros.

To clarify, London Bridge is not the well-known Tower Bridge. London Bridge is a modern bridge that also crosses the River Thames. There have been bridges here that go back to Roman times. The current box girder bridge, which is made of steel and concrete, opened to traffic in 1973. While London Bridge is not beautiful, it is certainly serves a useful purpose..

The best thing to do on this bridge is to stand on the middle of it. Great views!
South of it is a bit grubby with the awful station & the unattractive Borough Market but the Northern end is more interesting, especially the Monument.
pity the original bridge has been sold to the Americans.

I took the wrong tubes to go to Borough market. Walking over this beautiful bridge over the Thames wasn’t for nothing! Nice view over the Thames river and seeing the tower Bridge on a sunny Friday.

It is ironic that this plain-looking bridge is the one known as London Bridge when more famous bridges across the Thames are not. What is interesting, though, is that it is near where the Romans first bridged the Thames millennia ago. That makes it worth a look if you are passing by.

Walked across it when going from Southbank to Whitechapel. It's iconic for its history and literally being London Bridge, but it's very plain from an architectural standpoint (Tower and Millennium Bridges are the pretty ones). It's a bridge, that takes vehicles, people, and bicycles with their own lanes. It does have nice views of the Thames.