We did the Architectural guided tour.
Huw was fantastic. Informative, honest, witty and extremely personable. Taking us to parts of The Barbican you would never see without a guide. Providing information about the architecture and the architectural team who designed it. Showing us hidden secrets.
Huw also brought the tour alive by giving an insight into life, birth and death at the Barbican. All delivered in his unique and humorous style.
We learnt so much and it makes you look at buildings in a more educated way.
The tour does not cover any internal theatres.
The conservatory had been hired out so we were unable to enter but we had reasonably good views from the outside.
The kitchen restaurant has a very good selection of reasonably priced food.
If you do a tour you get a 15% discount in the shop.
If you get the chance to go to the amazing st Bartholomew the great church nearby. Beautiful 11 c church used in many films. ( 4 weddings & funeral) Also Damien Hurst sculpture of St Bartholomew.
I always been very fond of the Barbican Centre but it has been a while since I have visited, but I have attended a show recently and brought back so many memories of this stunning place. The Barbican Centre it has got everything under one roof from the theatre, cinema, cafe, restaurant, library the conservatory, indoor and outside seating areas with the outdoor seating area by the ponds. There are so many things going on that you could spent hours exploring it.
Just did a guided tour of the Barbican Centre and I highly recommend it. Our guide Oliver was very knowledgeable and humorous and gave great insight into all aspects of the Barbican from its history to things few people know about. The tour was around 90 minutes long starting indoors and travelling round the outside of the centre along the raised walkways. It encompasses many parts commonly missed like optical illusions, Roman & Norman remains and specific features architects chose. Overall a very informative and eye opening tour which I highly recommend.
Really enjoyed spending a couple of hours wandering around the Barbican Estate and the Barbican Centre, soaking up the architecture and atmosphere of the place. Worth a visit to see the brutalist architecture and engineering involved as well as the contrast with the surrounding buildings both old and new.
This stop is a most any architect, it is fantastic in many ways, as brutalist design, as urban complex and design, as landscape, as public space as historic and cultural as well. It is also a good place to work for free in good conditions
In my personal opinion one of the best buildings in London