Explore a different destination Monument to the Great Fire of London, London

The Monument Tourist Info

The Monument to the Fire of London, or quite simply, The Monument, is a 61-metre (202-foot) tall stone Roman doric column in the City of London. It is near the northern end of London Bridge. Built to commemorate the fire that destroyed the medieval heart of the City of London, the Monument marks the location where the Great Fire of London started in 1666. The nearby tube station is named after it.

The Monument to the Great Fire was designed by Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke. It consists of a large fluted Doric column built of Portland stone topped with a gilded urn of fire. There is an emblematical sculpture on the west side of the base of the Monument. Its height of 61-metre is also symbolic, for it marks the distance between the monument at the king's baker's shop in Pudding Lane, where the fire started. When it was constructed, (between 1671 and 1677) it was the tallest freestanding stone column in the world.

There is a narrow spiral staircase inside the monument enabling visitors to reach the top in 311 steps. A cage was added to prevent people from leaping out, after six people had committed suicide from it, between 1788 and 1842. Three sides of the base carry carry inscriptions in Latin detailing how the fire started, what damage it caused, what actions were taken in the aftermath, and how the monument was erected. There was also inscriptions blaming Roman Catholics for the fire, but these were chiselled out in 1831.

Getting there

Nearest Tube station: Monument
Buses: Nos. 15, 21, 25
Nearest Pier: London Bridge City Pier
Entrance Fee: Visitors may enter the Monument. Entrance fee is £2 for adults and £1 for children aged 5-16.

What to see

From the viewing platform at a height of 41 meters, visitors get a good view of the City of London, including the skyscrapers of the financial centre.








The Monument to the Great Fire
author: bigshock | Photos provided by Panoramio are under the copyright of their owners



The Monument at dusk
author: OLEGARIO | Photos provided by Panoramio are under the copyright of their owners



View of the City of London from the Monument
author: Claudio Henriquez | Photos provided by Panoramio are under the copyright of their owners

Location Map of the
Monument to the Great Fire of London

Local Tours of London

A practical and often cost effective way to see London is to join a local tour. Check out the Local Tours of London that you can book online.

Return to London Budget Travel Guide or to UK Budget Travel Guide


Find lowest price for your Hotel Room

Before booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?

The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations!



Great Travel Deals Wego.com

Flight Checker

Our Flight Checker helps travelers compare flights and get the lowest fare for their trips. If you're flying somewhere, use our Flight Checker to compare the rates from different airlines. To use it, enter where you will be flying from, where you will be flying to, your departure date and return date. Select the number of passengers, and then click search.

Our engine will return you a list of possible flights that you can take. You can compare the fare of different airlines for your trip. Click on your selected airline, and we transfer you to the airline website.





Return to EarthDocumentary World Budget Travel Guide

My message introducing God to all the world: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO TIM


Bookmark and Share   Follow EarthDocumentary on Twitter

EarthDocumentary and globe logo are trademark and service mark of Timothy Tye.

EarthDocumentary logo © copyright Timothy Tye 2007-2010. Content and articles in EarthDocumentary are provided in goodwill and are believed to be correct at time of writing. While every reasonable care is taken to check and verify the information shared, EarthDocumentary disclaims responsibility for its use. Text in EarthDocumentary is available under Creative Commons Attribution/ShareAlike License meaning you are free to copy, distribute, transmit, adapt and make derivative works, as long as you attribute your resulting work and apply it under the same, similar or a compatible license. You may use the information on this website on your blog or website so long as you place a link back to the page in AsiaExplorers where it appears. Wikipedia and Wikitravel are cited as among the sources of references. Photographs appearing in EarthDocumentary are available according to the licensing terms specified in its caption. Photographs supplied by Panoramio are governed by the Panoramio API terms & condition, are for display only, and may not be downloaded for use. Photographs belonging to the author are the copyright of Timothy Tye and may not be reused without prior written permission from the author. Contact the author for permission and licensing of the photos.