London Bridge

The bridge was built in London in the 1830s to replace an even older medieval crossing, and for over a hundred years it carried the traffic of the growing city across the Thames. By the mid-twentieth century it was slowly sinking under the weight of modern loads, and the city decided to sell it and build a new one, offering the old bridge to any buyer willing to take it away.

That buyer was Robert McCulloch, a wealthy entrepreneur who had founded Lake Havasu City on empty desert land and wanted something spectacular to put it on the map. He bought the bridge in 1968, and workers carefully took it apart, numbering each granite facing stone so it could be put back in the right order, and shipped the pieces around the world to Arizona.

Reassembling the bridge was a feat of patience. The numbered granite blocks were laid over a new concrete core built on dry land, following the original plan, so that the historic stones formed the visible skin of the structure. Only after the bridge was finished did crews dredge a channel beneath it and let the water of Lake Havasu flow through, turning what had stood on land into a bridge over water once more.

The rebuilt span opened in 1971 with great fanfare, complete with a ceremony and English pageantry, and it worked exactly as its buyer had hoped, drawing curious travelers who could hardly believe a real London bridge stood in the desert. It has carried both vehicles and countless walkers ever since, a working bridge and a monument at the same time.

Around the base of the bridge the town built an English-themed village, a cluster of shops, pubs, and restaurants meant to extend the illusion of a corner of Britain. Visitors can walk across the bridge, wander the village below, and take in the channel where boats pass beneath the arches, a lively hub that anchors the town's waterfront.

The setting is what makes it charming: the old grey granite of the bridge against the bright blue lake and the tan desert hills beyond. It is a stop that surprises nearly everyone, a place where two very different worlds meet, and it gives Lake Havasu City an identity found nowhere else along the Colorado River.

The bridge sits at the center of a town built for water and sun. Lake Havasu spreads out on either side, offering beaches, boating, paddling, and fishing, and the surrounding desert and mountains give hikers and off-road travelers plenty to explore once they have had their fill of the water.

Between the bridge, the lake, and the near-constant sunshine, the area has become a year-round destination, busiest in summer with boaters and warm again in winter when visitors come south to escape the cold. The London Bridge is the front door to all of it, an oddity that grew into the beating heart of a desert river town.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

The London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, is the genuine historic bridge that once spanned the River Thames in London, England. In one of history's most unusual relocations, the old bridge was dismantled, shipped stone by stone across the ocean, and reconstructed in the Arizona desert in the early 1970s, where it now crosses a channel of Lake Havasu. A quirky and beloved landmark, it stands beside an English-themed village and has become the centerpiece and symbol of Lake Havasu City, drawing curious visitors from around the world.

The London Bridge came to Arizona because, in the late 1960s, the old bridge in London was sinking and being replaced, so it was put up for sale, and the founder of Lake Havasu City bought it as a bold attraction to draw visitors and residents to his new desert community. The bridge was carefully taken apart, its stones numbered and shipped to Arizona, and rebuilt over a channel of Lake Havasu. This audacious plan succeeded, turning the transplanted bridge into a world-famous and beloved local icon.

You can walk or drive across the historic bridge, stroll the adjacent English Village with its shops and eateries, take photos of the iconic landmark, enjoy boat tours and waterfront dining along the channel, and learn the bridge's remarkable story. The surrounding area buzzes with activity, especially in season, and the bridge is beautifully lit at night. Combining a visit to the bridge with the lake's beaches and boating makes for a fun outing. It is a quirky, photogenic centerpiece of a Lake Havasu City visit.

Spring and fall offer the most pleasant weather for walking the bridge and enjoying the waterfront and English Village, while summer is very hot, so evenings are best then when the bridge is lit and temperatures ease, and winter is mild and comfortable. The area is lively during spring break and summer boating season. Evenings offer beautiful lighting on the bridge. For comfortable strolling and sightseeing, the milder months are ideal, with summer visits best enjoyed in the cooler evening hours.

The London Bridge is the centerpiece of Lake Havasu City, right beside Lake Havasu State Park and its beaches and boating, with Cattail Cove State Park to the south, and the Route 66 mining town of Oatman and Kingman to the north. The Colorado River and its desert-and-water scenery surround the area. That makes the London Bridge an iconic and fun stop to combine with the lake's water recreation, nearby state parks, and the Route 66 attractions of northwestern Arizona on a warm-weather getaway.