London's Coolest New Attractions

An already popular outing on the River Thames has just gotten a whole lot cooler, especially if you’re a James Bond fan. The exhilarating 400-horsepower Thames RIB experience, which speeds by some of London’s most iconic sights at 40mph, now features a stand-alone 80-minute James Bond–themed itinerary—with fascinating anecdotes about Ian Fleming and high-speed flybys past the headquarters of the MI5 and MI6 secret service.

thamesribexperience.com

—Farhad Heydari

See the video: London’s Can’t-Miss Sights.

One of the world’s most feared predators has a spiffy new home at Sea Life London Aquarium. At the Shark Reef Encounter, 16 creatures—from sand tiger sharks to bowmouths, grey reefs, and blacktips—sinisterly wend their way through a 65-foot tank dotted with shoals of other less harmful fish. Your encounter involves strolling a 15-foot section of glass walkway above the tank, peering down at the fins below, and interacting with exhibits that chronicle the 450-million-year evolution of the shark.

visitsealife.com

—Farhad Heydari

See the video: London’s Can’t-Miss Sights.

London now joins a rarefied group of cities like Barcelona, Medellín, and Taipei that host urban cable cars. This one arches over the Thames River, offering glorious views of East London, Greenwich, and Canary Wharf. Dubbed the Emirates Air Line, for the Dubai-based carrier’s part-sponsorship of it, the $92 million gondola service links the ExCeL exhibition center at the Royal Docks with the O2 arena (formerly the Millennium Dome). It can carry 2,500 passengers an hour in 34 cabins that travel at an altitude of 300 feet, more than half a mile across the Thames.

tfl.gov.uk

—Farhad Heydari

See the video: London’s Can’t-Miss Sights.

The Tate Modern debuted in 2000 and quickly became the world’s most popular modern art museum, attracting more than 5 million annual visitors. Architects Herzog & de Meuron’s much-needed addition is a latticework brick edifice above two disused oil tanks—huge subterranean spaces that will also be open for live art installations and performances. A second phase of expansion is slated for 2016.

—Briana Fasone

See the video: London’s Can’t-Miss Sights.

Opening in June at the foot of London Bridge, Renzo Piano’s 1,016-foot-high triangular tower seizes the title of Western Europe’s tallest, cloud-scraping building, with an observation deck that promises 40-mile city views and easy access from high-speed elevators (beginning in February 2013). The glass-encased floors are filled with a mix of offices, apartments, upscale restaurants, and guest rooms at a Shangri-La hotel.

the-shard.com

—Briana Fasone

See the video: London’s Can’t-Miss Sights.

Brace yourself: Up at the O2 is a vertiginous walk atop the O2 arena (formerly Millennium Dome), which played a starring role in the pre-title sequence of the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. The excursion lasts 90 heart-pounding minutes and was inspired by similar climbs at Sydney’s Harbour Bridge. Thrill-seekers don bespoke climbing suits, shoes, and safety harnesses to access a viewing platform on the arena roof, walking along a tensile fabric walkway 175 feet above the ground.

theo2.co.uk

—Farhad Heydari

See the video: London’s Can’t-Miss Sights.

A 206-year-old, onetime gunpowder depot built in the style of a Palladian villa in Kensington Gardens has been repurposed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Zaha Hadid as a new cultural destination to complement the Serpentine Gallery. Located yards from the existing gallery, the hitherto Magazine Building will encompass nearly 9,700 square feet of galleries and social space, including a restaurant, as well as a new wing.

serpentinegallery.org

—Farhad Heydari

See the video: London’s Can’t-Miss Sights.

Ascend Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond’s 375-foot steel sculpture for impressive views of Olympic Park and London beyond. Inspired by the Tower of Babel, the red structure has an eye-catching, helix-like shape.

arcelormittalorbit.com

—Briana Fasone

See the video: London’s Can’t-Miss Sights.

Five years after it was engulfed by fire, this three-masted, 19th-century tea clipper has emerged from a $77 million conservation project. The 143-year-old vessel, the fastest merchant sailing ship of its era, now appears to levitate above ground—her hull encased in a web of glass 11 feet above ground and dramatically illuminated at night. The attraction also features interactive displays, which re-create life as it was in 1869, when the vessel first set sail.

rmg.co.uk

—Farhad Heydari

See the video: London’s Can’t-Miss Sights.

The undulating roof of the Zaha Hadid–designed venue was modeled on the fluidity of water and built with three pools to host Olympic swimming and diving events. It’s also in sync with the riverfront environment of Olympic Park and set off by the twisted ArcelorMittal Orbit observation tower.

—Briana Fasone

See the video: London’s Can’t-Miss Sights.

In eastern London, a new open space on a grand scale will soon rival the old favorites. Olympic Park is among the largest metropolitan greenswards in Europe, comprising 247 acres of lawns, flower gardens, and a riverside promenade. It’s a remarkable feat of bioengineering. Wildlife habitats have been created; “future-proof” trees were planted as a hedge against climate change. “This project marries a strong English tradition of pleasure parks with new green technologies,” says Mary Margaret Jones, senior principal of Hargreaves Associates, the landscape architecture firm contracted to transform this postindustrial wasteland. “Its ecological systems will unwind over time: meadows, wetlands, evolving plant communities. It means a whole part of the city will have a renaissance.” Even in this crowded capital, there’s room to grow.

—Shane Mitchell

See the video: London’s Can’t-Miss Sights.