Where to get vertigo on the cheap

THE SHARD, the latest big skyscraper to pierce London's skyline and the tallest building in Europe, recently opened for business—and to the general public. Some visitors have marvelled at the view from the top. Others have complained at the hefty entrance fee of £29.95 ($47) for an adult paying on the door. At a mere 244m (800 feet) high, the Shard is poor value for money when measured against its height. A comparison of platform heights and general admission fees for some of the world's tallest buildings, which shall henceforth be known as the vertigo index, shows that there are many cheaper alternatives for a farseeing fix. The best value can be had at the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan, which charges just NT$450 ($15.25) for a viewing platform 392 metres high, or 3.9 cents per metre.