First look inside the Shard's viewing platform

A visitor looks out across London from the Shard
A visitor looks out across London from the Shard Photo: Nick Ansell/PA Wire/Press Association Images

The Shard's building developers have unveiled details of the viewing platform that visitors will be able to experience from February next year.

The platform is named The View from the Shard, reaching a height of 800ft - the highest vantage point provided by any building in Western Europe.

A view of St Paul's Cathedral from the new visitor attraction 'The View from the Shard
A view of St Paul's Cathedral from the new visitor attraction 'The View from the Shard Credit: Nick Ansell/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Once at the viewing platform visitors will get panoramic views and will be able to use special digital telescopes to view the London landscape.

A view looking east across London of Tower Bridge from the Shard
A view looking east across London of Tower Bridge from the Shard Credit: Nick Ansell/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Anders Nyberg, chief executive of The View from The Shard, said: "The View from The Shard is the only place you can experience all of London all at once and the attraction will draw people into the story of London, its history, people and places like never before.

A view across London of Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf in the east from the Shard
A view across London of Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf in the east from the Shard Credit: Nick Ansell/PA Wire/Press Association Images

"The unrivalled panoramic views of London will be brought to life through cutting edge technology to provide a truly unique experience of one of the world's greatest cities.

"We look forward to revealing more details about the attraction before we open on February 1 2013."

A view across the River Thames towards St Paul's Cathedral from the Shard
A view across the River Thames towards St Paul's Cathedral from the Shard Credit: Nick Ansell/PA Wire/Press Association Images

He also added that if there is no visibility at all from the building, visitors can be invited back at a later date.