You've probably seen the pictures. Two massive, neo-Gothic towers rising from the River Thames, connected by a high walkway and a drawbridge that splits in the middle to let tall ships pass. It’s the ultimate symbol of London.
Here is the thing: that’s not London Bridge.
That is Tower Bridge. If you show up at London Bridge looking for those fairytale towers, you’re going to be looking at a very functional, very flat piece of concrete and thinking, "Wait, is this it?"
Yeah. That’s it.
Honestly, the confusion is so common that it’s basically a rite of passage for tourists. But the story of where London Bridge actually is—and why there are technically two "real" ones depending on how you define "real"—is much weirder than a simple mix-up.
Where is London Bridge right now?
If you are standing in London today and you want to cross the actual, current London Bridge, you need to head to the strip of water between the City of London (the financial district) and Southwark.
It’s tucked right next to the Cannon Street Railway Bridge and just upstream from Tower Bridge. If you're using the Tube, get off at London Bridge Station (on the Southbank) or Monument Station (on the Northbank).
The current bridge is a bit of a minimalist. Opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973, it’s made of concrete and polished granite. It’s sleek. It’s efficient. It’s also... kinda boring to look at compared to its neighbors. But it does its job, carrying thousands of commuters every day without the structural "falling down" issues that plagued its ancestors.
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The "Other" London Bridge is in... Arizona?
This is where the history gets truly bizarre.
Back in the 1960s, the Victorian version of London Bridge (the one built in 1831) was literally sinking. It wasn't designed for the weight of modern car traffic, and it was dipping into the Thames mud at a rate of about an inch every eight years. The City of London decided they needed a new one, but instead of just scrapping the old granite stones, they put the bridge up for sale.
Enter Robert P. McCulloch.
He was an American entrepreneur who had founded Lake Havasu City in Arizona. He needed a gimmick to get people to buy real estate in the middle of the desert. So, he bought the 1831 London Bridge for $2.46 million.
He had the whole thing dismantled, stone by stone. Every single block was numbered. They shipped the pieces through the Panama Canal to California, then trucked them to the desert.
There’s a long-standing urban legend that McCulloch thought he was buying the fancy Tower Bridge. That's actually a myth. He knew exactly what he was buying: a solid, historic piece of British granite that would look absolutely surreal next to a cactus.
Today, if you want to see the "old" London Bridge, you have to go to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. It spans a man-made channel and is currently one of Arizona’s biggest tourist attractions, second only to the Grand Canyon.
Why do we keep getting it confused?
It’s the name. "London Bridge" is the name everyone knows because of the nursery rhyme. It’s been around in some form for nearly 2,000 years, dating back to the Romans.
Because the name is so iconic, people naturally attach it to the most iconic looking bridge.
Tower Bridge was only built in the late 1800s. It’s a relative baby in London years. But because it’s so flashy and photogenic, it gets all the credit. Even Google Images sometimes struggles with this, occasionally labeling photos of Tower Bridge as London Bridge because so many people make the mistake online.
A quick way to tell them apart:
- Tower Bridge: Has the two big towers, blue accents, and opens in the middle. It looks like a castle on the water.
- London Bridge: Looks like a very sturdy, modern highway overpass that happens to go over a river. No towers. No frills.
The Grisly History of the Real Site
While the current bridge is modern, the location is ancient. For centuries, London Bridge was the only bridge across the Thames.
If you lived in medieval London, the bridge was a city in itself. It was covered in houses and shops. It was so crowded it could take an hour to cross. And, in a move that sounds like something out of a horror movie, the southern gatehouse used to display the severed heads of "traitors" on spikes.
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William Wallace? His head was there. Thomas More? Him too. They used to parboil the heads and dip them in tar to make them last longer in the rain.
When you walk across the boring concrete bridge today, you’re walking over a site that has seen 2,000 years of trade, fires, and executions. If you look toward the Northbank near the Church of St. Magnus the Martyr, you can actually see an old archway that used to be the pedestrian entrance to the medieval bridge.
How to visit without looking like a tourist
If you want to actually "do" London Bridge right, don't just walk across it and leave.
- Check out the Southwark side: This is where the food is. Borough Market is right there, and it’s one of the best food markets in the world.
- The London Bridge Experience: If you like the dark stuff, there’s an immersive history tour right in the vaults under the bridge that covers the Roman era through the Great Fire.
- View from the water: Take the Uber Boat (Thames Clippers). It goes right under both London Bridge and Tower Bridge. You get a much better sense of the scale when you’re looking up at the concrete piers.
So, if you’re looking for the bridge from the postcards, keep walking east toward the Tower of London. But if you want to stand on the most historic crossing in the city—the one that literally gave birth to London—you're in the right place.
Just don't expect any towers.
Next Steps for Your Visit:
- Locate the "Spike": Look for the sharp, needle-like sculpture on the south side of the bridge; it marks the spot where the severed heads were once displayed.
- Visit St. Magnus the Martyr: Go to the courtyard of this church on Lower Thames Street to see actual stones from the medieval bridge that was demolished in the 1830s.
- Time your walk: Cross at sunset for a killer view of the Shard reflecting in the water, which is honestly the best thing the current bridge has going for it.