City Hall, Southwark, London. Opening Varies. Free Entry.

Details

Accessibility:

There is no parking directly at City Hall, but there are a limited number of designated blue badge parking bays for disabled staff. Travelling by public transport is recommended, however, the nearest car park is the NCP Car Park London Bridge (SE1 3RU), which has twelve disability spaces.

City Hall aims to be as accessible as possible and has ramps with hand rails; lifts to the lower ground floor, ground floor, second floor and ninth floors; a sign language interpreter; induction loops; and tactile maps. There are unisex wheelchair-accessible toilets on the lower ground floor near the café and on the second and ninth floors. The toilets on the second and ninth floors have sliding doors.

There is also a 'Changing Places' toilet on the ground floor which includes an automated door, a height-adjustable, adult-sized changing bench, a ceiling track hoist system, adequate space in the changing area for a wheelchair user and up to two assistants, a centrally placed toilet with space either side for assistants, wide tear-off paper roll to cover the bench, a large waste bin for disposable pads and a non-slip floor.

Further details on the accessibility of City Hall can be found here: https://www.london.gov.uk/about-us/our-building-and-squares/access-for-disabled-people

Sadly, there is no Shopmobility motorised scooter hire in central London, however, all of the latest-built taxes and buses must be disability accessible.  The one exception to this is the No.15 London heritage route which runs with the iconic old AEC Routemaster double-decker bus (built between the 1950s and 1960s) which has a rear open entrance to enable passengers to get on and off quickly.

Brief Description:

City Hall was opened in 2002 and is the headquarters of the Greater London Authority (GLA), which includes the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The building has an unusual, bulbous shape, apparently intended to reduce the surface area therefore improve energy efficiency. Internally there is a 500-metre (1,640 ft) helical walkway ascending the full ten stories. At the top is an exhibition and meeting space, London's Living Room, with an open viewing deck which is occasionally open to the public.

Further Information:

Address:

The Queen's Walk, London, SE1 2AA

Telephone:

City Hall Switchboard Tel: 020 7983 4000

Email:

Contact form on the website: https://www.london.gov.uk/contact-us-form

Website:

https://www.london.gov.uk/about-us

https://www.london.gov.uk/about-us/our-building-and-squares/what-can-you-visit-city-hall

Opening Hours:

City Hall

Monday to Thursday 8:30am–6pm

Friday 8:30am–5:30pm

Saturday and Sunday Closed

London’s Kitchen

Breakfast 8am – 10am

Lunch 11:30am – 2pm

Boutique Coffee Shop

8am – 6pm

Directions:

City Hall is located on the southern banks of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge. By car, take the A200/Tooley Street from London Bridge road and City Hall is situated along this road. By foot, take the promenade river walk from Tower Bridge and the building is along here.

The nearest tube station is the London Bridge Station (on the Jubilee and Northern Lines) and the nearest train station is London Bridge.

OS TQ334801

Transport:

The London Congestion Charge Zone runs from Monday to Friday and motorists have ample signage to alert them to the entry points; only vehicles that are registered by the DVLA as ‘Disabled Tax-Exempt’ are NOT liable to the Charge.  Disabled Tax-Exempt drivers can also use the Dartford Crossing without charge. The tunnel is a river crossing to the east of London which links the north and south of the M25 orbital motorway.  Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) automatically identifies the registration number plate of these vehicles so that their owners do not need to take any additional action.

If travelling by car, for specific directions it is best to use a satnav, but please be aware that the route may take you in and out of the Central London Congestion Charge zone. It is best to approach Central London using public transport.

There is an excellent public transport system throughout London and Greater London. For more information on buses, trains (including the Tube), airports and river traffic please contact Transport For London on 0343 222 1234 (Textphone 0800 112 3456). For further details on accessible services please see the website: https://tfl.gov.uk/

Amenities:

City Hall has two places to purchase food and drink – London’s Kitchen Café, which serves hot and cold meals and sandwiches as well as a deli and salad bar; and Boutique Coffee Shop, which sells hot and cold drinks, cakes and snacks.