Sky Garden (at 20 Fenchurch St aka the Walkie Talkie)

One of London's more maligned skyscrapers, the so-called Walkie-Talkie (20 Fenchurch St) devotes its top three floors (35–37) to food, drink, plants and great views. The bulbous (and rather funny-looking) building, designed by Montevideo-born Rafael Viñoly, is by no means the tallest building in London, but its position well away from neighbouring City of London skyscrapers gives it an advantage in terms of unobstructed 360 degree views. The unremarkable but perfectly nice and lush enough plantings straddle all three floors, as do the food and drink options, including a bar and two restaurants. It's free and easy to book (online) a visitation slot for the Sky Garden. Another method is to reserve a table either at the very good and not exorbitant brasserie Darwin or at the fine dining establishment Fenchurch. The latter is perched at the very top of the building, but it's Darwin (level 367) that boasts the better views. Both restaurants are run by Rhubarb, who also operate outlets inside the Royal Albert Hall, the Saatchi Gallery and department store Fenwick. Sky Garden opened to the public January 2015. Free access tickets released every Monday.