8 London Eye Facts & Why the View Isn’t Worth the Price

The view isn’t that great in my opinion due to it’s location and therefore I don’t think going on the London Eye is worth it. It no longer offers the highest public viewing platform in London (now The Shard). I still haven’t been to The Shard (tickets are £25 which seems quite expensive for a view), but you can get a pretty great view from the Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie building for free.

The London Eye takes 30 minutes (15 minutes to reach the top) to perform one revolution. For me, it felt too long and slow and could have been done in half the time. Once I reached the top, I wanted to get off.

My nephew’s interest was also waning and began to make a game of stepping on my feet to cure his boredom…

135 metres (443 ft) tall and the wheel has a diameter of 120 metres (394 ft). When it opened it was the world’s tallest Ferris wheel. Although, technically it’s not a Ferris wheel, but instead the world’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel.

There are several types of tickets and packages available, but standard London Eye tickets cost £28 (adult ticket) if you buy on the day at the office or £25 if you pre-book online. Or pay £38 on the day (£34.20 online) to skip the queue. Also included is the London Eye 4D cinema experience (which is nothing to write home about).

But if you’re sightseeing and have time, it’s probably worth paying a little extra for a London Eye ticket and another attraction or two which includes The London Dungeon, Shrek’s Adventure (which I can thoroughly recommend) or the aquarium (SEA LIFE London). Or Madame Tussauds (if taking selfies with wax works is your thing).

Tickets cost £38 (£63 when bought individually) for 1 additional attraction and £48 for (£93 when bought individually) for two additional attractions.

You can visit the other attraction 90 days from the date you visit the London Eye (although London Dungeon, Shrek’s Adventure and SEA LIFE London are a stone’s throw away from London Eye so it would make more sense to visit both attractions in the same day.

And if you’re celebrating a special occasion, there is also the London Eye Champagne Experience which costs £42 on the day and £37.80 online.

You can see all the various packages and buy you’re tickets from the official site here.

The London Eye received it’s ceremonial opening on the 31st December 1999, but fully opened to the public on 9th March 2000. It cost £70 million to build.

The London Eye received it’s ceremonial opening on the 31st December 1999, but fully opened to the public on 9th March 2000. It cost £70 million to build.

The London Eye closing times vary throughout the year and you can view all the latest times on the official site here.

There are 32 pods on the London Eye which can carry 28 people each. There is a bench in the middle to sit on and enough room without feeling claustrophobic. Although some couples will hog the good spot until they get their Instagram selfie just right.

Each pod represents the 32 London boroughs. But there is no number 13 (due to superstition)

Aside from the view, the London Eye offers several special events throughout the year. You can celebrate Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Halloween in one of the pods.

Much like any attraction with a view up high, I think the best time to ride the London Eye is arriving just before sunset. This allows you to view London during day time and capture the sky slowing turning to night. You can see estimated sunset times to time your ticket.

The closest tube station are Westminster and Waterloo. It’s best to use Google Maps or Citymapper for directions to the London Eye.