-General Information-

The London Eye is situated along London's South Bank by the Thames. The nearest train station is Waterloo, where you can also get the tube on the Jubilee, Northern and Bakerloo lines.

It was built in 1999 for the new millennium, as part of a big architectural project that included the Millenium Dome (now called The O2 after being bought out by the giant mobile phone corporation).

Obviously, it's basically a ferris wheel, and was the biggest in the world until 2006 when the Star of Nanchang, a monster, was built in China. The London Eye is 443 feet tall.

There are 32 capsules around the wheel which carry 25 people each. For your money, (about £19 standard) you get one revolution of the wheel, which takes about 30 minutes. You get some great, panoramic views of London.

A standard trip means you're with 24 other passengers who tend to be strangers from the queue, unless you're prepared to pay almost twice the amount for your own private capsule.

-My opinion-

I went on the London Eye in the early afternoon of my 24th birthday on the 6th May this year. I got it as part of a deal, which included a trip to the London Aquarium. So I got it a few pounds cheaper but it was still expensive. I'd been living in London for over a year, and having never gone on it before, I decided it was time to pop my London Eye cherry.

The queue was horrendous. It took at least 30 minutes, the same amount of time as the rotation of the wheel. We were herded around zig-zag barriers like cattle and then similarly shoved onto the capsule. I was half-expecting for one of the staff to approach us with a red-hot poker for branding.

I was with my boyfriend at the time so it was a little romantic but the romance was kind of hampered by the 23 other people in the capsule including children and foreign tourists.

The views were incredible. The height is amazing; people on the ground are like little dots and it's great to see the boats going by on the river, like tiny paper boats.

As we were nearing ground level again, our picture was taken by the wheel. We had ample warning of this via the tannoy system so were able to pose.

At the end of our rotation, we went to look at our photo. They expected us to pay £4 for a copy. We decided against it and to be content with the snaps we got on our mobile phones!

-Verdict-

It's definitely something everyone's got to try when they're in London for a while. It's a good experience but it's definitely not worth £19, even with the photo included in the price. I think it's just a rip-off device for getting tourists' money. And I wouldn't go on it again. The big wheel at my local funfair only costs £2. So I think about a fiver is reasonable for the London Eye. The Aquarium on the other hand, is worth £19 and I will be visiting it again and again.

I also think the way they call it a 'flight' is a bit of a con. It's not an aeroplane. Now, a London Aeroplane is something I wouldn't mind trying...

-Basic info-

Individual Price On the Day Online Prices from
Adults (16 Plus) £17.95 £10.00
Child (4-15 years) £9.50 £5.00
Child (Under 4) FREE FREE
Senior £14.30 £10.00
Family of Four** - £30.00

Flexi Standard Flight (if you aren't sure what time you want to go)

Prices Online Price
Adult (16 Plus) £18.90
Child (4-15 years) £11.25
Child (Under 4) FREE
Family of Four* £53.60

Opening times
October to March
daily 10.00am - 8.00pm
April
daily 10.00am - 9.00pm
May and June
Sundays to Thursday
10.00am - 9.00pm
Friday and Saturday
10.00am - 9.30pm
July and August
daily 10.00am - 9.30pm
September
daily 10.00am - 9.00pm