An Eye on London
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| The London Eye is a dramatic addition to the city skyline. |
By Risa Laib
The London Eye, spinning opposite Big Ben, is as tame as an elevator ride, but it's fun for the grand views. From the top of this 450-foot-high wheel — the highest public viewpoint in the city — Big Ben looks small.
Built by British Airways, this is the world's highest observational wheel, giving you a chance to fly BA without leaving London. Designed like a giant bicycle wheel, it's a pan-European undertaking: British steel and Dutch engineering, with Czech, German, French, and Italian mechanical parts. It's also very "green," running extremely efficiently and virtually silently. Twenty-five people ride in each of its 32 air-conditioned capsules for the 30-minute rotation (each capsule has a bench, but most people stand). You go around only once; save a shot on top for the glass capsule next to yours.
Its original five-year lease has been extended to 25 years, and it looks like this will become a permanent fixture on the London skyline. Thames boats come and go from here, using the Waterloo Pier at the foot of the wheel. For a "Peter Pan flies to Neverland" view, try the Eye at night, when the city lights glitter.
Cost, Hours, Location: £14.50, daily June-Sept 10:00–21:00, Oct–Christmas and mid-Jan-May 10:00–20:00, closed Christmas-mid-Jan for maintenance and in high winds, Tube: Waterloo or Westminster.
Visitors face two lines — one to get your ticket, and the other to board. You can generally just buy your ticket and walk on (never more than a 30-min wait, worst on weekends and school holidays). If you want to book a ticket (with an assigned time) in advance, call 0870-500-0600, or save 10 percent by booking online at www.londoneye.com. Upon arrival, you either pick up your pre-booked ticket (if you've reserved ahead; use the ATM-type machines to save time — just type in your confirmation number) or wait in the line inside to buy tickets. Then you join the ticket-holders' line at the wheel (starting 10 min before your assigned half-hour time slot).
Cleverly located next to the hugely popular London Eye Ferris Wheel, the Dalí Universe exhibit features 500 works of mind-bending art by Salvador Dalí. While pricey, it's entertaining if you like Surrealism and want to learn about Dalí.
Cost, Hours, Location: £12, £2.50 audioguide, open daily 10:00–18:30, last entry 30 min before closing, www.countyhallgallery.com).
Updated for 2008. For lots more information, check out our best-selling Rick Steves' London guidebook — or join us on one of our free-spirited London tours!