Illuminated River Map and Audio Tour

Explore the Illuminated River artwork by downloading our custom map of all nine bridges. Traversing the north and south banks of the Thames, follow our suggested walking route. Download your copy here.

The full nine bridge walk - starting at Monument on the north bank, crossing over Blackfriars Bridge and ending at Lambeth Bridge on the south bank – takes up to two hours, but you can use the map to devise your own route

Audio Guide

The audio symbols on the map highlight each stop of the Illuminated River audio tour, which you can download for free via Soundcloud.

The audio tour delves into the rich histories of the nine bridges, highlighting key sites of interest along the north and south bank. Discover the artistic vision behind Illuminated River, plus the fascinating tradition of swan upping, the Thames frost fairs, and much more.

Route A covers the first four bridges and starts in the City of London, while Route B heads west on the south bank to cover the final five bridges.

The audio tour was written by Marilyn Greene a City of London Guide, who runs walking tours of Illuminated River.

Lighting Design Tour

Explore a map created by Illuminated River’s environmental design and lighting consultants AtelierTen.

Did you know that Leo Villareal’s artwork uses low energy LED luminaires to light up the bridges with dynamic, artistic lighting effects?

Or that the connected bridge lighting is remotely monitored and managed via software that performs remote diagnostics and maintenance?

Designed to be read on your phone as you enjoy a self-guided night tour of the artwork, the route takes you from Lambeth to London Bridge, to discover some fascinating facts about the artwork's engineering. Download the tour via Atelier Ten's website.

Southbank Art Trail

Discover Southbank London’s Illuminated Art Trail offering a curated evening tour of the area’s art, including five of the Illuminated River bridges.

Audio-Described Guide

Discover our specially created audio-descriptive guide for those with sight loss, a collaboration with VocalEyes. This includes audio descriptions of all nine bridges, and can be downloaded for free via Soundcloud: VocalEyes Audio Descriptive Guide

Historical Fact Pack

Print out our historical fact pack to accompany your walk and impress your pub quiz friends with your fantastic bridge knowledge.

Which historical event in 1014 led to the song ‘London Bridge is Falling Down’? Which Thames bridge was constructed by a female workforce during WWII? What on earth is behind the tradition of driving a flock of sheep across a Thames bridge every autumn?

'The View of London Bridge from East to West' engraving by James Norden, 1597.
Image: Historic England.

Illuminated River Soundtrack: Music inspired by the bridges

Treat yourself to an immersive experience and listen to music inspired by Illuminated River by student composers at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

From sweeping orchestral scores, minimalist electronic pieces and contemporary songs, the music was commissioned to mark the launch of the first four Illuminated River bridges in July 2019 and the final five bridges in April 2021. To listen visit Illuminated River Soundcloud.

Guildhall School of Music & Drama recording of the music

Kids Pack

Did you know that in the Tudor period, London Bridge was crammed with over 600 houses and shops?!

Enhance your family visit to Illuminated River - or entertain your kids at home with our Kids Pack featuring drawing activities, fun facts and a "design you own building" on London Bridge.

You can download the pack in a colour version or in black and white.

Bridge Illustrations

Keep the kids busy with colouring in, and let them add their own artwork to the Illuminated River bridges with these illustrations by Aurelie Monsaigneon.