The City of London


The City of London is the main financial district in London. It is a major centre of global finance, rivalled
only by Wall Street in New York.

The City is governed by the Corporation of London, an ancient body headed by the Lord Mayor
of London. The City also has its own police force, the City of London police. Once dominated by the
dome of St Paul's Cathedral, it is now home to many taller buildings, including the tallest, Tower 42
(formerly known as the NatWest Tower) and 30 St Mary Axe (popularly known as the "Gherkin").

The City has a tiny residential population (7,000), but a daytime working population of more than 300,000.
Its dominance as the main financial district has been challenged in recent years by Canary Wharf
in East London.

With a 2,000 year history, the City of London has many old landmarks, monuments and heritage sites -
including the Roman remains of "London Wall", along with the Tower of London, Tower Bridge,
the Monument to the Great Fire of London, the Guildhall, over 50 churches, and of course,
the beautiful St Paul's cathedral built by Christopher Wren.

Live webcam: http://www.camvista.com/england/london/panorama/webcam.php3




http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/London_general/city_of_london/CityofLondonskyline.jpg




http://tinypic.com/4tlg8w




http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0b/Tower_bridge.jpg




http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/41TheThamesfromWaterlooBridge_pic1.jpg




http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/SkylinefromtheSouthBank.jpg




http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/London_general/Nightskyline2.jpg




http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/wjfox2005/London_general/Aerial-centralcluster.jpg




http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Citylondonarms.jpg

http://www.willfox.com/images/upc/8.jpg



http://www.willfox.com/images/skylines/london/9.jpg



http://www.willfox.com/images/skylines/london/7.jpg



http://www.willfox.com/images/london/towerbridge/3.jpg



http://www.willfox.com/images/london/towerbridge/2.jpg



http://www.willfox.com/images/skyscrapers/stpauls/1.jpg



http://www.willfox.com/images/skylines/london/6.jpg



*** Pics updated by wjfox2002 *** :cheers:

London is one of the greatest cities in the world! But for being one of the "big three" its skyline lacks far behind Tokyo and NYC. Iether way, I give it a 8.0/10

i give it an 8/10 mainly cause of all the cool new towers being built there

Great London pictures there! :)

Here is how the City of London celebrated Christmas this year!

http://homepage.mac.com/benveasey/.Pictures/n1.jpg

Yes, Swiss Re has become a Christmas tree... :D

well, right now the skyscraper skyline is nothing impressive, but there are some great historical buildings, so i give London a 8.

London has come a long way in the last few years, but the skyline still has a long way to go to become equal with cities like sydney and melbourne. But what this city has, which sydney and melbourne will never have, is the unique and amazing mix between old and modern.

i give it a 6.5 for the skyline
but the older buildings add 2 to that score

so it gets a 8.5

London has such great history and has played a pivotal role in world history for the last 2000 years. From an important Roman settlement, to the birthplace of countless famous people, to the heart of a massive empire, to a world financial powerhouse. So you can't really rate this city on just its skyline because so many buildings in London show off its great history.

So I give it a 9.

Just a pity it doesn't have a good climate. :D

As a city, London gets at least a 9.5 from me.

However, as a skyline, only 5. For a metro of 15 mil the skyline is pathetically small, though it is growing.

very nice 8/10

9/10. May have a small skyline, but it has a lot of potential and has made a big leap with the HSBC and Citigroup towers.

To me, London has that feeling of growth and change with all the new buildings going up. So many world-reknown landmarks and lots of interesting architecture. I give it 8/10... get back to me in a few years and that score will be inching itself up.

Caught a few photos in there I hadn't seen yet, of London. Thanks! Good job. 8.5.

It's important to note that London is very Atlanta-esque - Large cities tend to have multiple cores of built up areas, I guess when I rate all of Londons skyline I deduct 1 point for my distaste of scattered skyscrapers & skylines - Canary Wharf is well put together! 7.5/10

A city with classic and modern architecture
8/10

For a city of its size the skyline is lacking to say the least.... but it does have atmosphere so I will give it a 7/10

London is magical and gets a 10 as a city. I love London
tremendously. I'm very excited about all of the construction
going on. Skyline rating earns a 7.5/10.

london as a city really deserves a 10, not even need to tell why.

but when it comes to skyscrapers, no matter how londoners in here try to defend it, and there's no way they can convince us that london has a great or amazing skyline, it is extremely poor for its size and importance.

i believe it has to do with london's authentic architecture, they never appreciated american-like buildings, they even disdained it, but now that they got over their prejudiced, they saw how much they've lost.

i read that some londoners protest against the construction of tall towers in this city, they don't want them to get built...

Yeah, for height the London skyline is badly lacking. A world city of 11 million should have a dozen towers over 200m, but Ldn only has a few. However, it does have a wonderful mix of antique buildings which goes a long way to make up for its lack of modern towers. Plus some of the worlds great landmarks. Big Ben, Westminister, London Bridge and so on.

In five years London should be starting to look like a skyscraper city. It's getting there. St Mary's Axe is a great building, and lets hope the 310m London Bridge Tower gets the go ahead.

What about historic buildings ?
the houses of Parliament, St Paul, Westminster Cathedral and Abbay, all the churches spires in the City they are all quite tall and can easily be distinguish in the skyline.

My favourite european city and favourite skyline. Messy in its arrangement, messy in terms of architecture, messy in height, a mix that create an unique atmos and skyline.

Constable London is nothing compared to XXI century London. The views from Waterloo bridge are dead fantastic. A modern, european and world city.

London is spectacular and I would give it an 8.5 out of 10. I was there in 2001 and was amazed in the amount of boom cranes through out the city, particularly Canary Wharf

7. the skyline seems a bit small and boring. most are boxes, except for the Swiss RE, which is brightening things up for the London skyline

p.s. i cant post my damn vote:bleep:

I give london a 7/10.
The skyscrapers in canary warf are very high for european standards, but wether the buildings are too fat or too close to each other or all the buildings have more or less the same height, I don't know exactly, but the skyline doens't apeal to me, then you have the city of london, that skyline looks a bit better though. Perhaps if those two zones would have been one. london would have rocked. London in height comes in europe top 3, but its skyline in top5.
Perhaps london needs some time, but I think its skyline and buildings in height will eventually pass frankfurt.

Let's put this back to the top of the list.

I gave it 7.5 by the way

I give it a 9.

Very nice pics! And I am sure more buildings will follow in the next future! Already in the last 4/5 years there's been a huge increase in buildings in Canary wharf! Great! However I have to point out that London has ca 8 millions of inhabitants (and not more then 15!! A little too many, Canary Wharf!!): Remember that there are "only" 60 millions of inhabitants in uk!! But London looks great!

I'd have to sadly give it a 4. And that's overated. :(

The city is just too damn big and powerful, not to mention rich...but it has a skyline like that? Come on! It should look like three Torontos!

7, just cuz it's London. But the skyline is rather poor :(

Swiss RE is brilliant at night.

Too Small, But that might change.... 5/10

9
I love these skyscrapers. Really good architecture, but it would be better if they were all in the same place :)

And hey, a pic is a thousand words worth and I really love this one:
http://homepage.mac.com/benveasey/.Pictures/n5.jpg

nice, I don't know how I missed it. Lot's of pics

6/10

7/10

i give london a 9

http://homepage.mac.com/benveasey/.Pictures/ipan2.jpg

one of europe's most popular cities, but the skyline is not that impressive.

good overall skyline 8/10

that future rendering of the skyline is awesome - 9/10 for that.

Not very impressive ! I prefer the Skyline of Frankfurt!! 5.5

so so....not impressive at all....may be too many old building in the city
5.5/10 :cheers:

Compared to Asian and Ameriacan cities, London skyline looks very poor.
Needs lot of work, so 6/10

london's very much like any other european major city- succesful in keeping updated with new scrapers while keeping the "old european" look.

city-10/10
skyline-7.5/10

but more adventurous talls like swiss re in the future can change my rate to 10/10

I gave it an 8.

What London lacks in height they make up in historical architecture. Things like St. Paul’s Cathedral, House of Parliament, St. Stephen’s Tower, and Tower Bridge are world famous structures that I'd take over another anonymous skyscraper found in many cities. London is also rapidly developing their modern skyline, which I think also factored into my decision.

Very small skyline. Much smaller cities in Europe beat it skyline-wise (Frankfurt, Rotterdam).

London...London just got this Modern-Exotic style of the skyline...and It's just so incradible how the old style architecture really gets-along with these Modern-looking building either from Foster's showroom or anyothers architects...Incradibly incradible City......9.5/10

Very nice, but not special 7/10

9/10

8/10 for now and 8.5/10 for later ;)

No other city has such a diverse skyline. IMO that rates 10/10.

How many different types of buildings are there in that pic?

Fab.

uhhmmm....I am not a fan of London's skyline. Overall I'll give it a 8.2/10

IMO the skyline is not that bad, but considering that is a city of a metro area of 15 mill, capital of a first world country and being a financial and transportation hub, it should have a world class skyline.
But I have to say that is one of the grateast cities in the world an even without skyscrapers it has a category of real world class, category that cities with better skylines will never have.
I have never been to London but I'll love to, it is a city when allways is something happening.


And I see with great joy that in the skyline aspect London is really catching up.

As amazing as London is, I can't understand how so many people rate its skyline a 9 or 10. Its still got a long, long way to go before it can catch up to the other big world cities like HK, Tokyo or NYC or even smaller cities like Toronto, Sydney or Seattle. The new towers are very, very impressive and will enhance this city's architectural beauty. But for now I gave London a 5... It really isnt all that great at the moment especially given its size. I reckon London wouldve had one of the biggest and best skylines in the world if it wasnt so anti high-rise in the past. Great to see this changing.

As amazing as London is, I can't understand how so many people rate its skyline a 9 or 10. Its still got a long, long way to go before it can catch up to the other big world cities like HK, Tokyo or NYC or even smaller cities like Toronto, Sydney or Seattle. The new towers are very, very impressive and will enhance this city's architectural beauty. But for now I gave London a 5... It really isnt all that great at the moment especially given its size. I reckon London wouldve had one of the biggest and best skylines in the world if it wasnt so anti high-rise in the past. Great to see this changing.
Tokyo? Seattle? You must be kidding...

Tokyo is a great city, but has virtually NO SKYLINE. And Seattle? Few merely interesting high boxes standing in the middle of wasteland - nothing interesting at all (ok, I like the Needle tower, but nothing else).

I agree, London's skyline isn't as exciting as NY, Chicago or Hong-Kong. But still, it's one of the greatest and most fascinating cities on this planet!

I gave it a 7 but only because i don't like 80s post modern and that dominates the current skyline.
But I think it belongs in the upper middle class of skylines with Paris and Vancouver and it is a promising future skyline with a lot of development.

Here's some recent LDN pics taken by MIKEY from the UK Forum:

London Canary Wharf:

http://homepage.mac.com/benveasey/.Pictures/BU17.jpg

http://homepage.mac.com/benveasey/.Pictures/BU2.jpg

London City:
http://homepage.mac.com/benveasey/.Pictures/BU14.jpg

http://homepage.mac.com/benveasey/.Pictures/BU9.jpg

The rest of his pics are here:
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=42449

pretty nice indeed, didn't know london had a
skyline.

I gave London a 5 and unlike many other people who voted for low score I will explain. London is a great city and the wealthiest in Europe. So when you consider the skyline it has which may be good for another city it is just shit for a city like London. Swiss Re is a good development but most of the other towers are cheap boxes with terrible designs and not much height. Why should a city like London which may have 12 million people have a worse skyline than a less wealthy city like Frankfurt with over half a million. London is close to New York in most other areas but not here and that is ok because it is European and skyscraper aren't easy to build here, but London should have at least a nice dense skyline with well designed towers not boxes.........like Toronto or Frankfurt already have.

It is getting better and there are some good plans for the future but right now it is bad and not world class.

london is one of the best skylines in europe

9/10

I give London 7/10.

I've produced and contributed to numerous images of how London will look in the future including the one of Canary Wharf shown earlier in the thread and this one too. I think these images help to show that if all the new development goes ahead then London has the potential to be truly spectacular. I think a lot of this depends on whether all the projects proposed in the city of London and LBT go ahead as they are world class designs.

The skylines not bad at the moment but there is much room for improvement.

http://skyscrapers.fakescentral.com/greenwich_2008.jpg

I give London a 10. The best thing about it is Swiss RE tower, the great dome of Saint Pauls, and HSBC tower, which all make important marks on the skyline.:angel1:

Very nice skyline London

7,5/10

canary wharf -
http://www.skyscrapernews.com/canary_wharf8-01.jpg
the city, this is it very spread out by the way, if yuo look at it from west to east instead of north to south it looks even more dense.
http://www.skyscrapernews.com/city8-01.jpg

7/10

10/10 . (btw i think some of the pictures are outdated, possibly??) but anywhoo, I gave it a perfect rating because of all the history the city has, not exactly the skyline. There is sooooo much to do and I really enjoy this city, possibly because i live by Canary Wharf :D needless to say, it's great

cheers,
~roux


@ asimov- istanbul isn't THAT great :)

9/10

but if it keeps like this soon it will become a 10.

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/london_pano1.jpg

World's greatest city! This city is the most fascinating city on earth and has a skyline that will blow any other's away!

Originally posted by ~~~LeedsLondinium~~~
This city is the most fascinating city on earth and has a skyline that will blow any other's away!

Yeah...right. In fact the 2008 skyline looks just as good as the current skyline as Minneapolis.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I didn't even see your post :P


I thought that cos SSP has a separate page for Canary Wharf, I thought the Rate Our Skylines forum should have a separate poll for Canary Wharf. :D

8.5/10. Still growing up (height). Great historic buildings etc and I love Swiss Re!!:cool:

8/10 Looks OK, but still is behind Frankfurt and Paris

nice nice 8/10

7................

I've seen that presentation dozens of times - still very impressive though in getting the message across :)

some nice shots... but no very tall...

I was surprised to see how cool London looks. It's got some very interesting looking buildings, a great history, and a lot of potential. I give it an 8/10.

London City: 5.5
Canary Wharf: 7.5
Overall: 6.5

http://www.jochenhertweck.com/pics/london2003/London_CityView.jpg

Best in Europe by 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I give London 2/10

1. It stole money set aside for the provinces just so it could build stupid crossrail.
2. As a result nearly every new metro rail or expansion plan in many British cities has been cancelled.
3. London completely fails as a capital city because it just TAKES TAKES TAKES.
4. Everything is too expensive IE: Bottle of TAP WATER £3.60

Give the provinces money back, build Manchester Metrolink, Merseytram, Blackpool Metro, Leeds Supertram and I would reconsider my score.

10/10 :cheers: :cheers:

just beacause of swiss re i give 8 :)

Canary Wharf in 4 years time...

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/wharf_golden2.jpg
http://www.orarium.com/images/canary/40.jpg

How can people give it 3<. Even rayman gave a higher rating than that

im all for 10, I live there, the people are generally very nice, the architecture mix of old and new makes it a unique city, not many can say the have the worlds most famous old architecture, and some very famous new architecture too

6/10.
I certainly expected more than this from what was the centre of the largest empire on earth.
However, the preservation of cultural buildings is excellent and has a very unique city feel. Not a skyscraper feel though.

8.5/10 very nice skyline ,

I gave it 8,5/10, purely because I love, love, LOVE the Swiss Re. building, aka The Gherkin, aka The Towering Innuendo. It is such a majestic building, and I really don't mean that in a Freudian way.

not so dense 7.5/10 . But oh my, there is a construction boom as seen by many cranes! wow...

The skyline of the city's finance district

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/city_night2-01.jpg

http://www.fraterslibertas.com/Images/London/skyline.jpg

http://skyscrapernews.com/gallery/city_night10-01.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/city_night_pano1a-01.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/city_night9-01.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/city_night11-01.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/st_pauls1-01.jpg

10/10

Greatest city in Europe and probably the world

10/10

Greatest city in Europe and probably the world


why thankyou :D

Charming, classic, contemporary. I think these words define quite well the city of London, one of the places that I'd like to live the most.

It's definately a city of the world, gateway for many cultures and a city where everything is possible.
Architecture, history and skyscrapers (Swiss Re) match perfectly here, in my opinion. Suberb. 10/10

Some more shots of London's skyline (Not Canary Wharf) Theres a lot more then just the financial district.

:)

http://www.nickwoodphoto.com/media/photos/LONDON/London-City.jpg

http://www.danheller.com/images/Europe/England/London/Thames/riverbank-walk-3-big.jpg

http://www.danheller.com/images/Europe/England/London/Thames/thames-river-dusk-2-big.jpg

http://digicam.co.za/gallery/data/media/66/DSC04052.jpg

http://digicam.co.za/gallery/data/media/66/DSC04108.jpg

http://www.archimagazine.com/abienna10.jpg

http://rob.aktualne.cz/foto/london/skyline.jpg

http://rob.aktualne.cz/foto/london/mlha.jpg

http://www.willigis2004.de/pic/london/skyline.jpg

http://www.world-traveller.org/photo/ommeets/photos/Laug0301-S1-01.jpg

Enjoy :)

London continues to amaze me and the skyline just keeps getting better and better 9.5/10

8/10

Here's the animation:

The City of London, 1970-2010 (http://www.willfox.com/city1970-2010.swf)

Oh, and my personal site has some views of London's skyline in the opening movie: http://www.willfox.com

I would have expected something better from London, but mostly it looks pretty good. I personally don't like the "cone" shaped building...I give it a 8.5!

For me, London deserves a 10. No other city in the world can boast the diversity it has in its skyline. I think too much attention is paid to characterless North American-style office buildings when rating skylines. There is no way cities like Toronto, Tokyo or even Chicago or Sydney can be compared to London. They are just masses of concrete and glass and could never have the history shown in every shot of the London skyline. Don't you find it amazing that you can get 1000 years of different architecture into one photo? Well you get this is in London. Nothing can match it.

Pic by hkskyline



http://img51.exs.cx/img51/3475/dscn42875uj.jpg

I like the design of many buildings in London but it needs more tall buildings.
I give it a 9.

9/10. The best thing about London IMO is LORDS, although it doesen't add anything to the skyline.

I like the design of many buildings in London but it needs more tall buildings.

Please visit this thread, to see the phenomenal number of skyscrapers being proposed (most of which are tall, and extremely high-quality designs): London - Full Summary of Projects (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=133890&page=1)
:)

7/10 looks nice but I dont care for London or Brits ata ll sorry

I give it a 7.5 cos it's not a major skyscraper city is it but it's more then nice enough and London doesn't need a huge skyline to stop it being the best city in the world to me.

Im being truthfully honest here, no skyline beats London's

Show me a skyline with more variety,more originnalty not to mention more accepting architectures ... London and Paris rocks.

London needs more skyscrapers, especially in the City. Once all the current proposals have gone up, then I might agree with you.

HK thanks ;)

http://img81.exs.cx/img81/5016/dscn57346zk.jpg

8.5/10 -- There's no doubt that London is one of the most incredible cities in the world. Its skyline, however, has a some catching up to do with that reputation. Don't get me wrong, the skyline is seriously impressive compared to many other skylines, but at the moment it's too loose and there are too many divergent architectural styles clamoring for attention all at once. Some additional buildings are needed to absorb this sort of cacaphony of different styles. I value architectural diversity quite highly, but it has to be executed properly, with the right mix of buildings. But that brings me back to my original point: the skyline has a bit of catching up to do. And it will catch up. The results, I imagine, will be particularly stunning because London already has a good array of different styles. This skyline has 9.5 potential.

london is my favorite european city, downtown is imaginative and original, but the city is all sprall, not mass vertical build up, so as far as skyline and skyscrapers i rank it a 7/10. i mean c'mon its an old european city so sprawled that skyscrapers werent needed, (kinda like LA) and as sad as it is to say, last time i was in london, i didnt even see any of these buildings, or even know they existed.

9.5.

it b coo~

8/10. I love the new cucumber building. :D

you cant knock London, as for most new world cities, the skyscrapers are just a artificial facia. London has more class and wealth than any other city. after all, havent you heard the streets are paved with gold.
its easy to build skyscrapers, the men in power dont want them, there are many planing restrictions, st Pauls can never be overshadowed, there are countless listed buildings and London doesnt need to show off on the world stage.

several other images: http://www.londonbridgetower.com/building_photographs.html

I never thought that London has so density downtown. It's very similar to Tokyo's buildings.

I hope this will quash the rumours of grey old London even though people know its the greatest city in the world

10/10

5/10

London as a skyline... 7/10

London as a city... 10/10

Great skyline that will become even greater in a few years. I give it a 9/10. :okay:

I love London's skyline, not many skyscrapers but this city doesnt need them.

8.5/10

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/765SunbathinginLondon_pic1.jpg

10/10. :banana:

I love London. I want to go there again. I think is the second best of Europe (sorry but Madrid is Madrid).

first, whats up with londoners giving a 10 just because it is their city. come on be mature.

this skyline is poor. i give it a 7. it should become europe's best soon

Great city!!! Love it!! , but It can use some better designed skyscrapers. (Don't like Swiss-re or watever It's named) >>> 9

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/776SkyscrapersoftheCityofLondon_pic1.jpg

I Give the london skyline a 6.5. Those who vote a 10 have not seen enogh skylines.

9 - Because its original and asthetically beautiful, although not many skyscrapers.

London Eye gives it a point on its own.

10-for 30st mary axe
7-for the whole city skyline

I think its a six right now but by the 2012 Olympics it should look awesome, as will Canary Wharf and the South Bank.

7.5.. this isn't the best skyline of the world, but not the worst! 3 is poor :runaway:

Those who vote a 10 have not seen enogh skylines.


I guess they just counteract all the people that gave it a 3 or les.

I had voted 9 before.

Nice skycrapers. I think it is one of the greatest cities in the world, although skyline is not very dense.

http://tinypic.com/2mlqx3

http://p.vtourist.com/1774044-Eastern_skyline_at_night-London.jpg

http://wwwicg.informatik.uni-rostock.de/~ct/London/16%20London%20skyline.jpg

8/10

This skyline is not impressive, but the city is!!

well 10/10 :)

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/776SkyscrapersoftheCityofLondon_pic1.jpg


looks like Oklahoma City on crack 3

Skyline-wise, London isn't that good at all, atm.
I am sure it is a 10/10 city.
But we are just talking about skylines in this forum.
So i given it a 6/10.
You can't really give it a 10 if you are just talking about skylines

sure, it's greater London, but the City's in there, and w/o a search function, i've got nowhere else to put it.

this was my view about 2 weeks ago. i miss it.

http://www.pbase.com/lsyd/image/48012252/original.jpg

-

10/10- london is 1 of the most amazing cities in the world :)

9/10 from me

London is a great city, I unfortunately have only spent one afternoon in this great city, but I will come back sometime. The skyline is booming and I'm sure it will become highly impressive. At the moment I rate it with a 7,5/10 by the time of 2012 it will be 9/10 I hope.

London IS an awesome city. The skyline looks so dated though in spots but I can't wait to see some new towers going up.

'The City's skyline isnt really impressive. Swiss re is a jewel but every other office building is crap there in my opinion. beautiful mid rises but were talking skyline and the city doesnt have it yet so ill give it a 5/10.
Canary Wharf gets a 6.5-10 for me.

so i'll probably give it 6/10 manybe 7/10 in 2008 and 8/10 in 2012 when the olympics will also be held here and canary wharf's skyline will look amazing by that time.

Im not from London but I cosider it to be top3.
For me it has always been New York London Tokyo 3 greatest cityes in the world

just waiting till such photos will not be a matter of good angle... nevertheless 8/10

http://ck37.image.pbase.com/image/48012252/original.jpg

london rocks!

Needs to connect Canary Wharf skyline with the original city skyline. 8/10.

I took this panorama from The Monument the 27th of June 2005.

http://biphome.spray.se/max25/monument/img_5622_27_as_edit2_lo.jpg (http://biphome.spray.se/max25/monument/img_5622_27_as_edit2.jpg)
Click on the picture to view bigger.

^^^ Awesome pic.

One of the best cities in the world. but, the skyline needs more buildings and high rise. i'll give it a 8.5.

Peace. :)

http://www.arsenal.com/images/emiratesstadium/emirates09092005_15x.jpg

http://www.arsenal.com/images/emiratesstadium/emirates09092005_16x.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/London_bridge_looking_west.jpg

could use a few more highrises 8.5/10

3/10 i dont see a skyline.

3/10 i dont see a skyline.

Name another city that has a thousand year old castle, a four hundred year old cathedral and a 21st century skyscraper in its skyline.

I give it a 2

if so many people gave this a 10, what would they give NY, HK, or even Pittsburgh?

The importance of London as a city is weighing up heavily in favour of those who have rated it highly. It doesn't have massively tall skyscrapers obviously, but it seems, strange to score a world city with a low mark in anything.

The city skyline is practically two towers and nothing more. In the future it will look fantastic! :)

But it looks ok

8.5/10

3rd best skyline in Europe. CW. isn't that good IMO ugly and boring buildings besides 1 Canada square but the projects in the city center are awesome. That will be a great skyline in the future. 7,5/10

I think the 3 best skylines in Britain are Edinburgh, Oxford and Liverpool but i'm open minded unlike some people on here!

The best modern skyline in Britain is London without doubt but Liverpool will have a decent modern one in a few years time. I give it 9 anyway.

skyline 7/10
architecture 10/10
city 11/10

Its my city 9/10

http://www.tvaerials.net/images/ont291105ct4.jpg

waey, thas a weapon pic foxey. dense or what? best i've seen.

6 :(

I would expect much more skyscrapers from a city of London's size.

^^ exactally, London is suppose to have the best skyline in europe. BTW I gave it 3/10 because i only see swiss re.

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/42MidsummerEve_pic1.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/41TheThamesfromWaterlooBridge_pic1.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/759TowerBridgeandLondonSkyscrapers_pic1.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images/pics/751CityofLondonSkylinefromWaterloo_pic1.jpg

London's skyline 5/10

6/10.

A few gems, but nothing mind blowing. 5.

Thanks to Rickster for these cool aerial shots:


http://img306.imageshack.us/img306/7682/cityoflondon8ab.jpg


http://img306.imageshack.us/img306/1861/cityoflondon20iq.jpg

7/10

for a big city like London it should have more skyscrapers than what I can count on my hand.Not impressive, but that cucumber scraper make me vote 6 instead of 5.

London is really impressive city but when it comes to skyscrapers stuff. I would vote 5/10 then.

Pic by SE9.

http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/470/dsc028889dn.jpg

And if you scroll right from the same view, this is what you see:


http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/1660/dsc029087of.jpg

A big 10.

A big 10.
are you really from NYC?? then you wouldnt be impressed by this skyline :D

10/10 - beautiful contrast between 21st century skyscrapers and old buildings like St Pauls.

7/10

i love it....9,5

4/10

8.5/10

8/10
London City has potencial to build more unique skyscrapers.

as a city skyline...london is horrid...a beautiful city...but not a skyscraper city!

4/10

8/10...

http://static.flickr.com/39/74235814_84408dab2c_b.jpg



http://static.flickr.com/32/54925711_6be68e5f60_b.jpg

London is elegant and rich in history, nice skyline and clean.

http://www.willfox.com/images/upc/23.jpg

The dome of St Pauls gets me every time. you could take away all the talls and The City would still have a great skyline. 9/10

7, London looks like a cool city.

The dome of St Pauls gets me every time. you could take away all the talls and The City would still have a great skyline. 9/10

Agreed. No one ever complained about London's skyline ten years ago!

simply amazing .still, very attractive .No doubt bout it as the greatest city . 10/10

6.5/10

6/10:)

Looking great! 9/10

7.5/10

From left to right - St Paul's cathedral, Portland House, London Eye, Tower 42, the Shell Building, Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, SwissRe, Houses of Parliament, the Lloyds Building, and the core of 51 Lime Street:-


http://static.flickr.com/55/130839580_f58e9e94e9_b.jpg

6/10, high-rises are too spread out.

From left to right - St Paul's cathedral, Portland House, London Eye, Tower 42, the Shell Building, Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, SwissRe, Houses of Parliament, the Lloyds Building, and the core of 51 Lime Street:-


http://static.flickr.com/55/130839580_f58e9e94e9_b.jpg

and that doesn't even include London's primary Skyscraper district!

Because London's skyline encompasses so much more than scrapers!

I'd rather see what London will be 20 years from now.
7/10

i didn't realise how stupid alot of people can be even considering this is an architectural forum. a skyline isn't just skyscrapers!!! London skyline has lot more going on in its skyline then most western cities, skylines like NYC (although great) just have skyscrapers which is getting really boring. London has Tower Bridge, Tower Of London(castle), London Eye, Swiss Re, BT Tower etc etc etc do i need to go on?

also due to how huge london is and how old it is, its skyline is more spread across the city, hence Canary Wharf towards the east of the city.

Not many can boast what London can.

i didn't realise how stupid alot of people can be even considering this is an architectural forum. a skyline isn't just skyscrapers!!! London skyline has lot more going on in its skyline then most western cities, skylines like NYC (although great) just have skyscrapers which is getting really boring. London has Tower Bridge, Tower Of London(castle), London Eye, Swiss Re, BT Tower etc etc etc do i need to go on?

also due to how huge london is and how old it is, its skyline is more spread across the city, hence Canary Wharf towards the east of the city.

Not many can boast what London can.
Exactly.

It's the mixture of iconic buildings and the variety of individually famous landmarks which makes London's skyline what it is, not just the number of skyscrapers it has.

^^ yeah, considering this is an architectural forum i am surprised that a lot of people can't see that, and have a very narrow way of thinking :|

giving it a score of less than a 3 shows that people don't get out much.

Yes, go and find another city with an Church of England Cathedral, a Gothic parliamentary palace, a Catholic Cathedral, an Abbey, an Observation Wheel, a castle, a telecommunications tower and a pocket of skyscrapers, hundrers of numerous smaller churches and Tower Bridge!!

^^Paris has all that too

London 8/10 should be a 10 in the next decade easily

London, blind 10 !

I have to admit, at the moment i think the skyline is not as good as it should be, for the best city in the world. Despite the unique mix of old and new, it simply doesn't yet have the skyscrapers to be a truly wonderful skyline. I know that skyscrapers aren't everything, but they are a very important part. I voted 7.5. In a few years, with this skyscraper boom well underway, it'll definitely be a 9 or 10. Buildings like LBT and Bishopsgate, for example are absolutely fantastic 'scrapers. By 2012 we're going to have a skyline that most of the world will envy.

8.5, its great now, but its just going to get so much better...

to the city that i love 9/10 ;)

London has the best skyline in the UK but worldwide London is nothing Big like in Britain... There are at least 20 Cities with much better skyline!

Anyway, look back over this thread and you'll find positive comments from people all over the world, who appreciate London's skyline, its many interesting landmarks and its combination of historic buildings and cutting edge modern architecture.

Paris is certainly on par, and in some cases better that London. When London's (city) glut of proposals break ground, i think London will have the upper hand. Why because they will all compliment and contrast with the historic city centre, rarther than being built far away from the centre, as Paris has done (although to good effect)


This is a thread about the present, and the present only.

And concerning the city's skyline, I'd give it a 6.5 (with la défense that I would put at 7-7.5)

If London was wall to wall sky scrapers, it would lose its character; the same character which makes it one of the greatest cities in the world.

If a Dubai-style redevelopment was taking place in the centre of London right now, alongside the ancient and amazing landmarks such as Saint Paul's and Tower Bridge, - etc - London wouldn't be worth inhabiting.

London is beautiful without having to copy others cities' skylines.

While countless other cities race each other in the skyline race, London sits there knowing it already is one of the best; because its uniqueness and its stunning architecture was there decades; centuries even before the new architecture such as that of Frankfurt.

London remains the financial capital of the world, one of the entertainment capitals of the world and one of the most diverse, cosmopolitan cities there is. Its skyline is unique and beautiful, and this comes from an American who has visited London many times.

London needn't copy anyone or anything; it is a skyline which follows no rules, guidelines or expectations.

Regardless, its Skyline was recently feautured in the Basic Instincts sequel, and here are some images from that.

The skyline is like no other on earth; while one could easily say Frankfurt's is a clone of a typical American city.

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/1585/basicinstinct6bs.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

^^ :applause:

Excellent pictures!

If London was wall to wall sky scrapers, it would lose its character; the same character which makes it one of the greatest cities in the world.

If a Dubai-style redevelopment was taking place in the centre of London right now, alongside the ancient and amazing landmarks such as Saint Paul's and Tower Bridge, - etc - London wouldn't be worth inhabiting.

London is beautiful without having to copy others cities' skylines.

While countless other cities race each other in the skyline race, London sits there knowing it already is one of the best; because its uniqueness and its stunning architecture was there decades; centuries even before the new architecture such as that of Frankfurt.

London remains the financial capital of the world, one of the entertainment capitals of the world and one of the most diverse, cosmopolitan cities there is. Its skyline is unique and beautiful, and this comes from an American who has visited London many times.

London needn't copy anyone or anything; it is a skyline which follows no rules, guidelines or expectations.

Regardless, its Skyline was recently feautured in the Basic Instincts sequel, and here are some images from that.

The skyline is like no other on earth; while one could easily say Frankfurt's is a clone of a typical American city.

^^^^^^^^^^^^ Exactly :yes:

Great post :applause: :applause: :applause:

I see your point dontforget1234, and i agree. London doesn´t need many skyscrapers. But i think that a few new scrapers are needed. When all new towers (approvals/proposals) for London are completed i don´t think it needs any more of them.

The skyline is like no other on earth; while one could easily say Frankfurt's is a clone of a typical American city.


Maybe on the first glance it looks like so, but the integration of Frankfurt's skyline in the city, and the feeling you have when you are actualy there are nothing close to an american city, as a matter of fact, the city of London is closer to an american CBD than Frankfurt's skyline (not in terms of esthetics but concerning the city's relation with the rest of London)

Awesome. :)

10/10

London in a few years time..........Honest :);)

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/605/londonrenderminerva18ey.jpg

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/1605/dusk9da.jpg

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/9876/londonrenderminerva1a6zr.jpg

(Renderings by me, Pic taken by 'Manuel') :);)

^^ Great Pics

Those renderings are the best I've seen yet. All seem to be confirmed, besides the Bishopgates Tower and Minerva. Besides that, the rest seem as if they will be stunning additions to the skyline. I'm even taking a liking to 20 Fenchurch :-o. I know! :-o

The current London skyline is fair at best, but I hear of some big projects on the horizon. Still, London is one of the greatest cities built by man.

Word.

7/10

6/10

http://xs100.xs.to/xs100/06184/thames5.jpg

just a nice little video clip on London, posted in other sections of the forums

http://www.visitlondon.com/business/future_london/video/index.html

http://static.flickr.com/72/162656026_be98b5419e_o.jpg

very big image so I won't embedd it.

London is way overrated here because of its status a city. However, recent projects, if built, will dramatically improve the skyline.

6/10

London is way overrated here because of its status a city.

6/10
My advice is to stand on Waterloo Bridge on a summer evening, when all the lights of the city are starting to come on, and just look around you. It's absolutely beautiful - and the mixture of landmarks and silhouettes on the skyline, both old and new, is amazing.

Oh, and here's the future skyline, looking east - all of these projects are approved.

Remember, this photo doesn't include Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, BT Tower, the West End, etc. which you would see if you turned left/right from this viewpoint:


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/London_skyline_2012_panorama.jpg

Beautiful job :)

Here's two pictures of the London City skyline I used to make banners:

http://static.flickr.com/33/97507322_82cdb9dce6_b.jpg

from Tower Bridge (like the one above but at night):

http://static.flickr.com/33/51188356_511db5db5c_o.jpg


the banners:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b281/SE9/SE9LONDON5.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b281/SE9/SE9LONDON7.jpg

wow, the second one is amazing, great atmosphere

My advice is to stand on Waterloo Bridge on a summer evening, when all the lights of the city are starting to come on, and just look around you. It's absolutely beautiful - and the mixture of landmarks and silhouettes on the skyline, both old and new, is amazing.

I hope I get the chance to do that and maybe that will change my opinion. But unfortunately for now, I have to rely on pictures.

If you combined Canary Wharf with original downtown, London would look far more impressive. Many of the pictures here only show original downtown. Are original downtown and Canary Wharf too far apart to get a picture together?

^These shots show both London City and CW.

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/london_pano1.jpg

http://img81.exs.cx/img81/5016/dscn57346zk.jpg

London is way overrated here because of its status a city. However, recent projects, if built, will dramatically improve the skyline.
^^I tend to agree with that...

It's a wonderful city that currently lacks the skyline deserving of it's status and it's reflected by the majority of the non biased votes that have been given.

It will look fantastic in 10-15 years time.

http://static.flickr.com/51/163553500_4d0d01a45a_o.jpg

10/10 one of my favorites skylines Out-fuckin-standing!!!:D:D:D I love London

I give it a 9.5, the reason for this scores is that the city itself is original in its skyscrapers. London is a mix of traditional and modern skyscrapers that you cant judge the same way you do an American city. Just simply breathtaking in the way the skyline looks, and it makes me want to visit London more and more.

Classy,original and a leader not a follower in terms of skyscraper styles! I love it!!!!

GOD IS GOOD!

I give it a 9.5, the reason for this scores is that the city itself is original in its skyscrapers. London is a mix of traditional and modern skyscrapers that you cant judge the same way you do an American city. Just simply breathtaking in the way the skyline looks, and it makes me want to visit London more and more.

Classy,original and a leader not a follower in terms of skyscraper styles! I love it!!!!

GOD IS GOOD!

absolutely agree

It’s pretty unusual for a downtown skyline but I like it 7.0

nice and growing skyline 8.5/10