Remember not long ago, when the city of London saw fit to design and build a state of the art, glass and chrome structure in a vaguely tube-like form with a dome at the top – frankly, kind of phallic-looking – and then go ahead and nick-name it “the Gherkin”?  A name that didn’t exactly strike awe and inspiration into the hearts of our own nation, let alone the hearts of others?  Well, at least the Shard isn’t as embarrassing as that.  It’s a great big pointy thing which could probably have been called the Needle but has instead been christened after a jagged piece of glass.  Fair enough; it sort of looks like one.  But it actually got this nickname through the English Heritage who were being a wee bit sarcastic about stabbing the heart of historic London.  Ouch, that must have hurt when it stuck – the name, that is – and it started being used in the official marketing campaigns.

It’s also known as the London Bridge Tower, being, as it is, close to London Bridge and located on London Bridge Street.  That will please the average tourist – you’re bound to be around there for the London Dungeons or The Clink or Borough Market.  In which case, you’ll have to swing by the Shard, because although it’s not due for completion until 2012 (coinciding nicely with the Olympics, you’ll notice) it’s more than well underway and is starting to look really cool.

You’ll notice, first of all, that the pointy landmark is... rather high.  Oh, yes.  All 301m and eighty-seven floors of it.  That will make it the tallest building in the EU, which is the kind of thing that everyone seems to judge a city on these days.  It’ll definitely get you a good vantage point when you’re up there.

So what does this masterpiece have on offer for the average tourist?  Well, first things first: there will be a viewing platform 243.8 metres up!  Come on, why else build a tower so high?  That will get you some stunning views and snaps.  

What else for tourists?  Well, some of it’s going to be offices, and some of it’s going to be residential (costing, by the way, up to £10 million per apartment – woah!), but guess who’s getting eighteen floors?  The Shangri La hotel chain, that’s who.  So yes, if you’re feeling exceptionally minted you can check into the hotel within the tallest building in the EU and enjoy a very expensive but I’m sure luxurious night.  Furthermore, if you want to splash out but feel as though the Shangri La is a step too far then there’ll be plenty of very high-end restaurants up there, doubtless with lovely views of the city, so a good dinner up there might be quite special.

But really, what it comes down to is what it’s going to do to London’s already rather crowded and varied skyline.  Having a rather tall building, and one that happens to look rather good, is going to be one more thing to get snaps of, and I think it’s going to be a nice addition to the city.  Hopefully something to be proud of.  Now, if Londoners can just muster up a bit more enthusiasm about the Olympics, they’ll be ready to face 2012.