City Hall - public access

Visitors on the ramp and lower ground floor during Open House Weekend, Sept 2002 City Hall is open to the public from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and also on occasional weekends. All visitors must go through a security check on entering the building.

What to see at City Hall

The 2nd floor and below may normally be visited, allowing you to see:

Exhibition space on the 2nd floor, with a view of the Assembly Chamber where many public meetings are held
Ground floor, from where you can walk down the spiral ramp overlooking an exhibition space to the lower ground floor
Lower ground floor, where there is a public information desk (staffed 09.00-17.30 Monday to Thursday and 09.00-17.00 Friday), the cafeteria, meeting rooms and exhibition space where the London Photomat - an aerial view of the whole of Greater London - is installed and there are also temporary exhibitions.

Information about temporary exhibitions at City Hall is available on the exhibitions page and the Events Calendar pages.

There is sometimes access to London's Living Room on the top floor, where there are spectacular views over London.

Please note that the doors from the lower ground floor into the Scoop, an outdoor sunken amphitheatre, is an emergency exit only - there is no entry for the public from the Scoop into City Hall. The Scoop can be accessed by a ramp from the riverside walkway.

Disabled visitors

As City Hall is in a pedestrian area on the south bank of the Thames, disabled visitors may need to make special arrangements if they are arriving by taxi or car. Further information on access for disabled visitors - including details of the best step-free routes to get to City Hall - is available.

Inside City Hall, disabled visitors are advised to use the lifts, and to ask reception staff if help is needed.

Public meetings

Many public meetings are held in the Chamber at City Hall, which is on the 2nd floor and has seating for 250 members of the public. These include meetings of the London Assembly and its Committees, including the monthly Mayor's Question Time - schedule of forthcoming Assembly meetings. Some Assembly Committee meetings are held in the meetings rooms on the lower ground floor. Most of the meetings are webcast live.

Freedom of information

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