Barbican Centre
- Barbican Centre map
- Address:
- Barbican Centre , Silk Street, Barbican EC2Y 8DS
- Tel:
- Work 0207 638 8891
- Web:
- barbican.org.uk
Opening times and price
- Opening hours:
- 9 AM to 11 PM (Mon-Sat); 12 noon to 11 PM (Sun)
- Visiting hours are subject to change
Getting to Barbican Centre
- Visiting hours are subject to change
- Parking:
- Find car parks near Barbican Centre
- Taxis:
- Find minicab firms near Barbican Centre
- Buses:
- 153
- London bus fares
- Trains:
- Barbican CRC H&C MET, Moorgate CRC H&C MET NRN, St. Paul’s CNT
- The nearest train station to Barbican Centre is Barbican
- London underground fares
The Barbican Centre, London
Inside the Barbican Centre
Barbican Hall
Sir Simon Rattle conducting Mahler and Helen Grime – Barbican Centre Barbican
See all events at Barbican Centre
See all classical music in London
London’s Barbican Centre was erected in the 1960s and is home to numerous cultural exhibitions, art galleries and theatres. It also has residential flats, conference facilities and a shopping centre.
History of The Barbican
The Barbican takes its name from the ancient fortifications that used to surround the City. (A barbican is a watchtower that hangs upon a gate.) It remained an upper-class part of town for much of the 17th-century, but by Victorian times the working class had taken over.
Due to its proximity to the docks, it suffered plenty of punishing raids in the Blitz – German bombs demolished a third of the buildings. When the armistice came in 1945 the area north of St. Paul’s resembled a square mile of rubble. The high cost of reconstruction work delayed the diggers for a decade, and it wasn’t completed until 1982.
The resulting wash of concrete has been much derided down the years, but the original plans were of considerable note. They planned 2,000 apartments for 6,500 people – some in tower blocks over 400-foot high (the tallest in Europe at the time). They also included a Museum of London, the Guildhall School of Music, and a fully-featured arts centre.
Very few of the finished buildings are pleasing to the eye – the complex is deathly grey and cramped, and it’s all too easy to get lost in a dreary world of concrete constructs.
The Barbican Arts Centre
The ugly Barbican redeems itself when it comes to culture. The Museum of London has its buildings in the grounds, and you can catch concerts by the London Symphony Orchestra. A lively set of jazz, classical and contemporary pieces are played in the 2,000-seater concert hall.
Contemporary art displays are held in The Curve, and the gallery on Level 3, and art-house movies are screened in the art centre’s three cinemas. They even have some stage-plays and shows in the Barbican Theatre.
St. Giles of Cripplegate
Tucked away amongst the block solid walls is St. Giles Cripplegate. It is one of the very few churches to survive both the Great Fire in 1666 and the Luftwaffe’s bombs.
It is the jewel in the Barbican Centre’s concrete crown: Oliver Cromwell was married here in 1620, and the grave of poet John Milton is hidden in the crypt.
| Awful 0% | Poor 13% | Okay 25% | Good 25% | Great 38% |
pwyn – “I only ever go here to listen to the London symphony orchestra, who have a residency here. I wouldn't go for any other reason as the barbican is one of the ugliest parts of London. It can also be quite scary walking the forboding concrete walkways at night, but once you are inside it is very nice and pleasant. The London symphony orchestra is one of the best in London (although not a patch on the London philharmonic), but they frequently have big name conductors and new works receiving their debut. The price is also a little less than the concerts at the royal festival hall. If you think that classical music in London is only worth going to if it's at the festival hall or royal albert hall, then give this a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.”- glenking – “There are probably millions of Londoners who have lived in London for years who have never been to the barbican. I know why.. Because you have to make an effort to get there (it's not really near anything else that's interesting) and it looks like a concrete car-park. If first impressions count, then you wouldnt bother stepping through the front door, because it's an archtiectural monstrosity. But give it a chance! You can actually have a full day out at the barbican because they've got everything -- an art gallery, a theatre, a concert hall, a cinema, and even the museum of London tacked on as well. The only one I’ve not been to is the theatre, but the concert hall has some great stuff in it. And the art gallery usually has some good contemporary stuff on show, if you like that sort of thing. A bit like the stuff they show at the tate modern.”
pwyn – “I only ever go here to listen to the London symphony orchestra, who have a residency here. I wouldn't go for any other reason as the barbican is one of the ugliest parts of London. It can also be quite scary walking the forboding concrete walkways at night, but once you are inside it is very nice and pleasant. The London symphony orchestra is one of the best in London (although not a patch on the London philharmonic), but they frequently have big name conductors and new works receiving their debut. The price is also a little less than the concerts at the royal festival hall. If you think that classical music in London is only worth going to if it's at the festival hall or royal albert hall, then give this a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.”
glenking – “There are probably millions of Londoners who have lived in London for years who have never been to the barbican. I know why.. Because you have to make an effort to get there (it's not really near anything else that's interesting) and it looks like a concrete car-park. If first impressions count, then you wouldnt bother stepping through the front door, because it's an archtiectural monstrosity. But give it a chance! You can actually have a full day out at the barbican because they've got everything -- an art gallery, a theatre, a concert hall, a cinema, and even the museum of London tacked on as well. The only one I’ve not been to is the theatre, but the concert hall has some great stuff in it. And the art gallery usually has some good contemporary stuff on show, if you like that sort of thing. A bit like the stuff they show at the tate modern.”Events at Barbican Centre
Sir Simon Rattle conducting Mahler and Helen Grime to Barbican Centre Barbican
Vaughan Williams, Ravel, Harris and John Adams Barbican Centre Barbican
Los Angeles Philharmonic: Beethoven & Bernstein Barbican Centre Barbican
Ravel, Respighi, Ghedini and Avner Dorman Barbican Centre Barbican
Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius -- Barbican Hall Barbican Centre Barbican
Janine Jansen and London Symphony Orchestra Barbican Centre Barbican
Beethoven's Missa Solemnis -- at Barbican Hall Barbican Centre Barbican
Britten Sinfonia -- Beethoven and Gerald Barry Barbican Centre Barbican
Britten Sinfonia, playing Beethoven and Gerald Barry Barbican Centre Barbican
Ben Folds (Five) and a Piano -- Barbican Hall Barbican Centre Barbican
Nicola Benedetti, playing Telemann and Vivaldi Barbican Centre Barbican
Beethoven, Mussorgsky and Ravel -- Barbican Hall Barbican Centre Barbican
Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra playing Bach Barbican Centre Barbican
Murray Perahia playing Beethoven, Chopin and Brahms Barbican Centre Barbican
Violinist Nicola Benedetti playing Shostakovich Barbican Centre Barbican
Barry 'Dame Edna' Humphries -- Weimar Cabaret to Barbican Centre Barbican
Joan Armatrading, at Barbican Hall Barbican Centre Barbican
Holst, Britten, Birtwistle and Mark-Anthony Turnage Barbican Centre Barbican
Britten, Dvorak and Janacek -- Barbican Hall Barbican Centre Barbican
Sibelius, Janacek and Szymanowski -- Barbican Hall Barbican Centre Barbican
If you enjoy this then try: Barbican Hall (you can walk there in less than 1 min); Cadogan Hall (catch the tube from Barbican to Cadogan Hall); Royal Albert Hall (catch the tube from Barbican to Royal Albert Hall); Royal Festival Hall (walk it in 28 mins or catch a train from Barbican to Royal Festival Hall) and Royal Opera House (walk it in 26 mins or catch a train from Barbican to Royal Opera House).