The capital of the United Kingdom, London remains one of the best destinations in the world. It comes as no surprise as London is home to a host of fascinating things enticing visitors, such as its rich history, fine buildings, and iconic sites such as Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and attractions such as Madam Tussauds and complementing these in recent years the London Eye. Discover the unique reasons why the London Eye is gaining immense popularity amongst most visitors.

Standing 135 m above the ground on the South Bank of the River Thames in London, the London Eye has become an outstanding part of the city’s skyline with some intriguing facts. It is not a Ferris wheel although it looks like one. It’s close to a bicycle wheel with a central hub and spindle that connects cable spokes to an inner and outer rim at a diameter of 120 m.

The 32 air-conditioned capsules attached to the massive wheel depict Greater London which includes the city of London and 31 boroughs, and the Eye can carry a total of 800 people at a time. Doing a complete turn on the London Eye is an awesome experience with far-reaching views of iconic landmarks of London as often enjoyed by visitors from hotels in the London city center. The eye can keep rotating through as the relaxed pace at which it moves, taking 30 minutes to complete the full rotation easily allows new visitors to board capsules when each one reaches the ground.

London Eye, London | Image via Unsplash

The London Eye is not only an iconic landmark, but it also portrays modern features of architecture and engineering and embodies the spirit of the city as a great urban masterpiece as well as an Observation Wheel. The original architects who envisioned this using innovation and imagination were David Marks and Julia Barfield who were later supported by many other architects who worked together as a team.

It portrays the spirit of the city such as celebrating England winning at a sporting event by using its lights in the night with the colors of the Union Jack and similarly becomes the center of attraction for the New Year’s Eve fireworks display.

It is not surprising that this is the biggest attraction in London at present, nearly 4 million visitors ride these capsules each year and some even celebrate special events in a capsule.

A great advantage for visitors wanting to experience the London Eye is that it is available and running almost the entire year whether there is rain or sunshine, and the queuing time is not too long. Open usually between 10 am till 6 pm daily, these hours may vary slightly.

If you do the ride on a clear sunny day, the views are spectacular, letting you pick many landmarks such as Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace, while the ride at twilight is enchanting with the city lights coming on and having a symphony of lights from the Eye creating a beautiful picture against the sky both experiences are looked forward to by visitors at hotels such as Pan Pacific London.

The most convenient way to get to the London Eye is by metro. It is a short walking distance to the Eye from different stations, Westminster, Waterloo, Charing Cross, and Embankment.

As you ride the capsule enjoy every moment of reaching a 135 m height, either seated or standing, and witnessing a cityscape of grandeur unfurling with historical buildings, and the graceful river Thames. The 30 minutes you spend suspended above witnessing many different vistas is a magical time you will not experience easily.

Be an ardent explorer by using the interactive screens inside the capsule to delve into the stories of London and above all savor the ride.