Places to Visit Around Monument Station

Monument station sits at the City end of London Bridge, a minute from the column it is named after, and it is joined underground to Bank station. Within ten minutes’ walk you can climb the Monument, see the City from the free Sky Garden, walk through Leadenhall Market and cross the river to Southwark Cathedral and Borough Market. The walking times below are our estimates from the station, the same ones as in the Nearby list.

Within 5 minutes’ walk

The Monument (1 min) – The column designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Dr Robert Hooke to mark the Great Fire of London. It is 202 feet high and stands 202 feet from the spot in Pudding Lane, just to the east, where the fire started on 2 September 1666; 311 steps lead up to the viewing platform, and there is a fee for entry.

St Magnus the Martyr (2 min) – Down Fish Street Hill towards the river, the church at the head of old London Bridge, the first that everyone crossing into the City came to. It was Wren’s most expensive parish church, and inside is a four-metre model of the old bridge (St Magnus the Martyr).

The Sky Garden (3 min) – A public garden on the top floors of 20 Fenchurch Street, the “Walkie-Talkie”, with views across the City and the river. Visiting is free, but spaces are limited and must be booked in advance (Sky Garden).

Leadenhall Market (5 min) – A covered market on Gracechurch Street whose origins go back to the 14th century. Its ornate roof, painted green, maroon and cream, and its cobbled floors were designed in 1881 by Sir Horace Jones.

5 to 10 minutes’ walk

The Lloyd’s building (6 min) – Richard Rogers’ stainless steel and glass building, completed in 1986, with its lifts and ducting on the outside. When it was listed Grade I in 2011 it was the youngest building ever to receive that listing.

The London Mithraeum (6 min) – The remains of a Roman temple to the god Mithras, shown again on the spot where they were found, beneath Bloomberg’s European headquarters at 12 Walbrook. Entry is free; booking a ticket guarantees entry at the time you choose (London Mithraeum).

The Bank of England (7 min) – The central bank’s fortress-like building on Threadneedle Street. Its museum tells the history of the bank and is free to visit, but it opens on weekdays only.

All Hallows by the Tower (8 min) – The church overlooking the Tower of London, with a Saxon arch and a Roman pavement inside and a museum in the crypt.

Tower 42 (9 min) – London’s first skyscraper and, when it opened in 1980, the tallest building in the United Kingdom.

Southwark Cathedral (9 min) – Walk south across London Bridge and it is on your right, beside the bridge. The building is mainly gothic, from 1220 to 1420, and has been a cathedral since 1905. The Clink Prison Museum is just to the west of it (9 min).

30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin) (10 min) – Norman Foster’s tower, opened in 2004, with its spiralling diamond pattern. The plaza at its base is open to the public.

Borough Market (10 min) – The food market about 100 metres south of London Bridge, with some of the best meat, fish, cheese, fruit and vegetables in London, at prices to match. It is closed on Mondays.

10 to 15 minutes’ walk

The Shard (11 min) – At 310 metres, the tallest building in the United Kingdom, beside London Bridge station, with public viewing galleries near the top.

The Tower of London (12 min) – William the Conqueror’s castle by the river, a World Heritage Site, where the Crown Jewels are on view. Tower Bridge is next to it (14 min).

Shakespeare’s Globe (13 min) – West along the south bank, past the Clink and Southwark Bridge, the reconstruction of an Elizabethan playhouse. The Millennium Bridge is just beyond it (14 min).

The station

Monument is served by the Circle and District lines, in Zone 1, and its entrance is on King William Street. Since 1933 it has been linked to Bank station, which has the Central, Northern and Waterloo & City lines and the DLR. For step-free access to the Northern line and the DLR, TfL directs passengers to the entrance on Cannon Street.