What's that tower? The City of London's nicknamed towers

That's the Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street. Its neighbour the Scalpel, at 52 Lime Street, was angled for the same view. From Fleet Street, it's designed to stay hidden behind the dome.

The Gherkin, at 30 St Mary Axe, is 180m tall and dates from 2004. Further up the same street, number 70 is the Can of Ham. It has 24 storeys and joined the cluster in 2018. The Walkie Talkie is 20 Fenchurch Street, with the free Sky Garden on its top floors.

22 Bishopsgate is the City's tallest at 278m. Its deck, Horizon 22, is free with a ticket, open 10am to 6pm on weekdays, to 5pm on Saturdays and to 4pm on Sundays. For Sky Garden, we'd book ahead and check its site first. One visitor lift is out of service, so capacity is down and some ticket holders may not get in at their booked time. The Garden at 120 (120 Fenchurch Street) is free and needs no booking. In winter it opens 10am to 6.30pm on weekdays and closes at 5pm at weekends.

What would you call 22 Bishopsgate?

Sources: City of London Corporation, the architects and the venues, checked 5 Nov. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each slide, cropped and adjusted (details and licences: cityoflondon.live/credits), shared under the same licences. We're independent, not connected with the City of London Corporation.

Slide by slide.

Glass towers of the City's eastern cluster against a blue sky: 22 Bishopsgate behind, the braced glass wedge of the Leadenhall Building and the angular Scalpel in front, with red cranes on the left. Text: City skyline. Which one's the Cheesegrater? Six towers to spot.
The Gherkin at night, its curved glass grid lit blue and white, with a church's stone pinnacles at the lower right. Text: The Gherkin. 30 St Mary Axe. 180m, 2004.
The Leadenhall Building's tall wedge of glass and steel bracing, with the rounded Gherkin to its right and the Lloyd's building below. Text: The Cheesegrater. Leans back to clear St Paul's view from Fleet Street.
The Walkie Talkie's top-heavy glass tower rising behind stone office buildings on a street corner, a black cab in front. Text: The Walkie Talkie. Sky Garden on top is free. Book ahead.
The Scalpel's sharp blue glass tower seen from below, the Gherkin reflected in its glass and a church tower beside it. Text: The Scalpel. 190m. Hidden behind St Paul's dome from Fleet Street.
70 St Mary Axe's curved glass crown and flank rising behind a stone office block. Text: The Can of Ham. 70 St Mary Axe. 24 storeys, 2018.
22 Bishopsgate's stepped blue glass tower against a clear sky. Text: 278m. 22 Bishopsgate, the City's tallest.
A pale street map of the tower cluster. Red dots mark the free viewpoints: Horizon 22 at upper left, the Garden at 120 lower in the middle and Sky Garden at the bottom. Grey dots mark the Cheesegrater, Gherkin, Scalpel and Can of Ham. Text: Free views to save. Horizon 22: ticket needed. Sky Garden: book ahead. Garden at 120: walk-in.

Sources (18)

Which City of London tower is the Cheesegrater? Clue: it leans back so that, from Fleet Street, St Paul's dome still has clear sky behind it.

Slide by slide.

More from the Square Mile.

7 metres under Bloomberg's European HQ is a Roman temple you can visit free. Tomorrow, Thu 5 Nov, it's open until 8pm.

That dark curve in Guildhall Yard's paving marks the outer wall of London's Roman arena.

Things to do in London this weekend (Sat 7 to Sun 8 Nov): 9 Remembrance weekend picks