Quantum Cloud
a gormley giant by the river
Antony Gormley's tallest sculpture, a ghostly human figure dissolving into a storm of steel beside the O2 on the Greenwich riverside.
Free to visit · North Greenwich · North Greenwich · SE10 0BB
Opening: Riverside viewable any time
Standing in the river beside the O2 is Quantum Cloud, the tallest sculpture Antony Gormley has ever made, rising around thirty metres from the water. From a distance a tangle of steel rods resolves into the ghostly figure of a man at its core, seeming to materialise out of, or dissolve into, a cloud of energy.
Made for the millennium, it is free to admire from the riverside walk that runs past the O2. Pair it with a stroll around the dome and across to the Emirates cable car and you have a genuinely modern, and entirely free, slice of Greenwich Peninsula.
Getting there: On the Thames by the O2 at North Greenwich, a short walk from North Greenwich station.
Best time to go: Daytime or dusk, on the riverside walk by the O2.
Insider tip: Step back and let your eyes relax, the human figure emerges from the chaos of rods the further away you stand. It is best caught at dusk when the steel catches the last light over the river.
Free things to do in London · London Free Guide