22 July, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Right now I live quite close to the Tate Modern. It’s not my favorite museum because I’m not a huge fan of modern art, but I love the building. The museum is housed inside the former Bankside Power Station and it’s a fabulous space to explore. Not only that, but it offers spectacular views of St. Paul’s Cathedral and a portion of the London skyline. [They could open a roof terrace and make me really happy -- that'd offer amazing views of the whole city.]
Like many of the major museums here, it’s free! Admission to churches costs an arm and a leg, but museums are free. Go figure. This is the exact opposite of Paris, where churches are free and museums charge admission. I used to love hanging out in churches in Paris and it’s been really tough to give that up. And you know, I’ve been thinking. The churches in Paris are Catholic and the churches in London are Anglican. Hmmmm. Anglican = greed?
In light of this, I’ve replaced my church visits with frequent museum stops. [And you just know I'm the type of person who'd pop into the British Museum to use the loo.] In Paris I became a big fan of “late opening.” Many museums have at least one night per week when they stay open late (though be warned — in London “late opening” can mean 8:15). The Tate Modern is open until 10:00 pm on Friday and Saturday. Woot! Those modern art fans know how to live it up. I like late opening because the museums are consistently less crowded at this time. You probably wouldn’t guess that the Tate Modern would be pretty empty on Friday night at the height of tourist season, but it was. Heavenly.
What follows is a few photos from Friday night. St. Paul’s Cathedral features in a few of these photos. I know I take a lot of photos of St. Paul’s, but a) it’s lovely and beautiful; and b) it features quite prominently in the skyline ’round these parts. If you don’t like it, sue me.
This photo is from my coffee break — literally. I haven’t had coffee in years, but I’ve had a craving lately. Americano decaf. Yum.
The bar and restaurant on the seventh floor of the Tate offers great views. Must remember to bring visitors here!
St. Paul’s as viewed from the bar (oh be quiet!). There was a terrible monsoon earlier in the day, but that always means super cool neato clouds later on:
I took this photo while sitting on the loo at the Tate. My contribution to modern art, if you will:
This terrorism warning posted rather prominently right outside is supposed to be re-assuring, but all it really does is make people think that terrorists might try to blow up the Tate while they’re inside. [And perhaps the Met could employ a copyeditor. First word of the sentence in caps, yo! Use bad grammar and the terrorists win.]:
Anglofille said @ 6:43 pm | sights & walks |
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We’re a member at the Tate, so we get to sip our coffee on the terrace - it’s nice!
Shame most of the art isn’t much cop, but we did enjoy the Dali and film.
Shame the slides are gone, they were great fun! -
Great photos. I need to buy myself a better camera!
Some free churchy suggestions. . .Southwark Cathedrial is lovely- and there is a church right next to Westminster Abbey- can’t recall the name that is free too. . .
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oh and the Catholic Cathedrial in Victoria is free- It isn’t as old as it looks however. Was built in the 1800’s- If you pay 3 quid you can take the elevator up the twoer and get see some really great 360 views.
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Mr. X: I was thinking of joining, just for the views! There is a cramped little terrace for us poor people, but I’m sure it’s not as nice as yours.
Nicole: I live close to Southwark Cathedral, but I’m always around there later in the day when it’s closed. Glad to know it’s free! I need to go back. I like that it looks like a castle. Oh - and I heard about that church in Victoria with the views but I had totally forgotten about it. Thanks for reminding me!
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I’m a member and absolutely love the Tate. I’m also a huge fan of modern and contemporary art, so the renovated powerhouse is just as interesting to me as the collection and how it is organized. The Member’s Room also contains wonderful views, and the food served is delicious. Although, it costs a little bit extra, I definitely recommend taking the Damien Hurst design Tate-to-Tate ferry service. Besides stopping at Tate Britain and Modern, I believe it still stops at the Millennium Eye.
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I want to take the boat to the Tate Britain — I love that museum and haven’t been there in ages.
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i love the Tate Modern! but then again, i love modern art
