Imagine if any city in the world could have an “all-seeing eye” from which nothing can be hidden! London has its own “eye”: it is one of the largest Ferris wheels in the world. Its view is 360⁰ and from there you can see all 32 areas of London. That is why it is called the London Eye.
When you're in the UK's capital, be sure to visit the London borough of Lambeth on the south bank of the Thames. The London Eye will help you see the city from a bird's eye view and even a little higher! You will feel like you are sitting on the shoulders of a giant 135 meters high (about the level of the 45th floor!), and right in front of you, or rather below you, you will see the famous Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster.
A little history
The Eye of London was solemnly “opened” on December 31, 1999, for which it is sometimes called "The Millennium Wheel" or "The Wheel of the Millennium". As befits a Ferris wheel, as all Ferris wheels are sometimes called, the London Eye also presents its own surprises. The spectacular launch on the eve of the millennium took place without passengers, as one of the capsule cabins turned out to be faulty. Prime Minister Tony Blair nevertheless ceremoniously pressed the start button, and passengers waited until March to ride the attraction.
The London Eye has been plagued by bad luck even before. The point is that the newspaper Sunday Times in 1993 year held a competition to develop a monumental structure to welcome the new millennium. The competition was attended by husband-and-wife architects David Marks and Julia Barfield with a design for a Ferris wheel. As a result, no one was interested in the project and lost the competition. Fortunately for the residents of London, David and Julia are not used to giving up and therefore they themselves decided to make their dream come true. How many rapids were knocked down to obtain all kinds of permits from area residents, organizations, maritime and river departments, historical societies and officials! Moreover, the grandiose project was developed without the support of government agencies and construction companies. And the finances were found thanks to a chance meeting with neighbor Bob Elling, head of British Airways, during a trivial conversation about sending a Christmas card.
The couple implemented their project for 6 years, and how many obstacles were overcome: technical problems, corporate troubles, and debates with ardent opponents of the development. The theme of the wheel has not left the pages of English newspapers for several years. Many believed that it was inappropriate to spoil the historical center of the city in such a way that aesthetics were inferior to commerce. Moreover, the topic of the wheel was raised in parliament, because the construction site was located just opposite the Palace of Westminster!
The construction itself was not that long - only 16 months. The wheel parts were transported on barges along the Thames and assembled lying down on special platforms on the river. Then this colossus was lifted using a special system.
The most amazing thing is that the London Eye was conceived as a temporary structure and it had permission for a period of only for 5 years. Its expiration date ended in 2005, but the public loved this attraction so much that they could not part with it. So, “Glaza” has already suffered 15 years and there are high chances that it will last even longer. In general, a similar story happened with Eiffel Tower, which was installed temporarily as the entrance arch of the Paris World Exhibition of 1889. However, it has become the hallmark of Paris!
Interesting Facts
Here is a selection of fascinating facts about the London Eye:
- 1,700 tons of steel were spent on this architectural miracle, and the total weight of the wheel was 2,100 tons. The riverside Ferris wheel is three times taller than Tower Bridge and four times wider than the dome of St Paul's Cathedral.
- From a distance, the London Eye resembles a phantasmagorically giant bicycle wheel. You can ride the attraction in one of 32 transparent space-looking capsule cabins (representing 32 London boroughs), ordering strawberries, truffles and champagne.
- Each capsule weighs 10 tons, but they are firmly fixed, as practice has confirmed. The capsules are equipped with air conditioning, heaters, a multimedia screen and wireless Internet, so you can post your selfies from the capsule straight to Instagram.
- Each cabin is designed for 25 people. However, for those who want to be alone with their chosen one or chosen one, there is “Cupid’s Capsule”. True, this pleasure costs £360, but romance is guaranteed! Since the opening of the attraction on the wheel, 5,000 marriage proposals have been made (of which the organizers are aware), 512 weddings have taken place; More than 1.5 million glasses of champagne were drunk.
- Cabin No. 2 has a special name – Coronation Capsule, which it received in June 2013 in honor of the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Elizabeth II.
- It is not necessary to stand in the capsule; there are comfortable places to sit. The capsules move almost silently, without swaying at all, so the feeling of reliability and comfort will not leave you. Inside the booths, on installed tablets, you can select the desired language and get details of the history of London by clicking on an object on the screen.
- The London Eye can accommodate up to 800 passengers per revolution, equal to the capacity of 11 double-decker tourist buses.
- The London Eye can be cloned! A number of cities want to acquire a similar profitable miracle on their land. This desire was expressed by representatives of Boston, Toronto, Sydney and several other cities, which upset the London tourist board.
- The wheel works non-stop and makes a full revolution in 30 minutes. The rotation speed is 26 cm per second or approximately 15 meters per minute, or 0.9 km per hour, which allows visitors to enter and exit calmly and without panic. Over the course of a year, the London Eye rotates 7,668 times, covering 2,300 miles—the distance from London to Cairo.
- Regarding the view: from the wheel you can see the London expanse for 40 miles. In a full turn you can see the Queen's Residence of Windsor, St Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden and 55 other attractions, weather permitting.
- Until 2008, the London Eye was proudly called “the largest Ferris wheel in the world” in the Guinness Book of Records. But later he lost the championship to the Singapore wheel - Singapore Flyer (165 meters).
- Since its opening, the London Eye has received 75 national and international tourism awards for outstanding engineering achievements and architectural value.
- The lighting is implemented with LED lighting from Color Kinetics to allow digital control of the lights. This property was used for illumination in honor of the New Year holidays, the opening of the 2012 Olympics, the anniversary of the reign of Elizabeth II and the birth of Prince George.
- The London Eye has gone by different names: it was originally called the Millennium Wheel, then the British Airways London Eye, and later the Merlin Entertainments London Eye. And from January 2011, the attraction was called the ELE Energy London Eye for three years as a result of a deal with a sponsor. And now it's called Coca Cola London Eye.
- The Wheel has become an iconic place for corporate parties, birthdays and weddings. On New Year's and Memorial Day, fireworks displays are held here, as well as filming and commercials.
- The London Survey Wheel turned out to be a profitable business. 35 million British pounds (55 million US dollars) were invested in its construction. But in 2009 alone, according to the owner of the company Merlin Entertainment, it “generated” £25 million in profit, so it has long since paid for itself.
- About 4 million people fly on it every year. In terms of the number of visitors, the "Eye" is ahead of the famous Indian Taj Mahal (2.4 million), the Egyptian pyramids (3 million) and St. Paul's Cathedral (2 million).
As one of the symbols of the city, it is filmed no less often than the famous Piccadilly Seaucus. For example, in one of the episodes of the cult British series Doctor Who, the London Eye not only serves as a decoration, but also serves as a transmitter of telepathic energy for an insidious alien monster, the Nestine Consciousness:
- “Large and round, located somewhere in the center of London. A large, round metal object: a wheel or plate. And he's close from here. He's probably invisible...
ABOUT! Fantastic!"
Really fantastic! It’s quite difficult not to notice the 135-meter “bicycle wheel” in front of the English Parliament building. It’s even harder to resist the pleasure of admiring the capital of Great Britain from a height of 64 red telephone booths stacked on top of each other.
How to buy a London Eye ticket
You can buy a ticket on the spot (the ticket office is located on the opposite side of the embankment), or you can save about 10% and order it on the official website.
Standard adult tickets cost £30.00 (website £27.00), children's tickets £24.00 (£22.00). But there are nuances: the ticket is issued for a specific date and time, and London weather is very changeable. No one can guarantee clear skies on a given day and time, and you're unlikely to be interested in the tops of buildings in the fog. A priority boarding ticket with flexible entry times on a specified day costs £44.00.
In addition to simply riding the Ferris wheel, the London Eye offers various options. For example, a private capsule, champagne and chocolate, corporate banquets and wedding ceremonies (from £2,890). In general, any whim for your money.
You can also buy a combined ticket to visit one or more attractions included in the Merlin group (visiting these places is not covered by the cost of the London Pass): London Aquarium; Madame Tussauds museum; London Dungeons and a forty-minute cruise along the Thames from the London Eye to Tower Bridge and back.
I visited London for the first time in February, so I did not buy tickets in advance, deciding to assess the situation upon arrival. London greeted me with snow, and I had already come to terms with the idea that such entertainment as the London Eye would pass me by. Fortunately, on the last day before leaving, the sun came out for a few hours, which I did not fail to take advantage of.
A standard ticket for the London Eye and a forty-minute Thames cruise cost me £28.55 in 2013, but now costs £34.00 (£30.00 on-line).
The second time Lisa and I were in London was in November. We didn’t buy tickets in advance for the same reason, but we took advantage of the 2 for 1 promotion and prudently printed a discount voucher.
London Eye capsules are almost completely transparent and have a 360-degree view. The floor in the capsule is closed, which allows you to feel quite comfortable at high altitudes. There are seats in the center, but usually passengers stand and... click camera shutters.
The cabin accommodates 25 passengers. Light in appearance, it weighs about ten tons. There are a total of 32 capsules on the wheel, equal to the number of London suburbs.
Each capsule contains a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, with an interactive guide that gives you key information about the places you see as the Ferris wheel moves.
A free London Eye Official app is available for smartphone owners, including 360-degree panoramas, audio guides and a collection of interesting facts about the Ferris wheel.
In addition, London Eye offers schoolchildren and students training programs in a whole range of subjects: mathematics, English, geography, history, art and design, architecture, mechanical engineering, design and technology, IT. Teachers are offered not only booklets to help organize the lesson, but also a free visit to the wheel in preparation for the lesson.
The London Eye completes a full rotation in half an hour and moves very smoothly. Passengers board and disembark on the go. Attentive staff monitor order and safety. I was amazed at how well the queue was organized logistically. For example, employees make sure that the queue, the tail of which is located near the ticket office, does not block the sidewalk on the embankment where passers-by are walking. Visitors to the Ferris wheel are admitted in batches, thereby regulating the flow of people. When purchasing your ticket, you can select the priority boarding option. There is a separate entrance for such visitors. A standard fast entry ticket costs from £34.95 (£29.45 on-line), with the most flexible ticket costing £39.95.
The amazingly airy wheel structure actually weighs 2,100 tons (that's the weight of 1,272 London cabs). It was assembled on the water in a lying position, and then raised at a speed of two degrees per hour (!) to a working position of 65°.
The London Eye is one of the newest types of Ferris wheels. Its cabins, called capsules, are mounted on the outer rim. During rotation, a complex mechanism keeps the cabins in an upright position: the wheel moves and the cabin slides in the hoops that hold it.
As you descend, a large stylized camera takes automatic pictures of the cabins. To get into her field of vision, you need to stand in the photographic spots that are marked on the floor of the capsule. Photos can be viewed, paid for and printed in the gift shop. You will get into it when you exit the Ferris wheel.
Address: London Eye, Riverside Building County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7PB
How to get there: The London Eye is located within walking distance of several underground stations: Waterloo, Embankment, Charing Cross and Westminster.
Waterloo is the nearest station. Follow signs for South Bank.
Embankment and Charing Cross are on the north side of the Thames. Both stations are a 10-15 minute walk to the London Eye. You will need to cross the Hungerford Bridge.
Westminster is the closest station to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. You need exit number one.
October 2014, prices April 2019
London Eye (UK) - description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.
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The London Eye is a Ferris wheel built in the capital of England to celebrate the millennium. The second name of this attraction is “Millennium Wheel”.
At the time of its construction, the London Eye was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. Its height is 135 meters from the base. Later, the London Eye gave way to a similar attraction in Singapore. There are also plans to build several even taller rides.
Nevertheless, the London Eye will forever remain one of the highest wheels - this cannot be taken away from it!
"Eye" has 32 transparent capsule cabins, each of which can accommodate up to 25 people. 800 people can ride on the attraction at the same time. And over the course of a year, its human turnover amounts to more than 3.5 million people! You can order champagne and strawberries in the space booths, and if you wish, you can take a ride in the “Cupid’s Capsule” for two (+ waiter).
The wheel makes a full revolution in 30 minutes. Therefore, all people sitting in the cabins have time to enjoy the wonderful view of London literally from a bird's eye view. The wheel never stops for loading and unloading passengers. They say that in clear weather, from the top of the London Eye, even Windsor (which, by the way, is an hour away) can be seen.
Opening hours and cost
This attraction is located in the Lambeth area at the address: SE1 7PB, London, Westminster Bridge Road, County Hall, Riverside Building.
Opening hours in 2018: January 1 - January 5: 10:00 - 20:30, January 6 - January 17: closed for technical reasons, January 18 - April 4: 10:00 - 20:30, April 5 - April 21 : 10:00 - 21:30, April 22 - May 24: 10:00 - 21:00 (on weekends until 21:30), May 25 - June 1: 10:00 - 21:30, June 2 - June 28 : 10:00 - 21:00 (on weekends until 21:30), June 29 - August 31: 10:00 - 21:00 (Fridays until 23:30), September 1 - December 27: 20:00 - 20 :thirty.
Admission: standard ticket: from 30 GBP, skip-the-line entry - from 37 GBP, standard child ticket: 24 GBP, child under 4 years old: free. In addition to standard tickets, you can purchase tickets with additional options (fast track skipping the queue, guide services, wine and champagne tasting, in winter it is possible to buy a combined ticket “London Eye + ice skating rink”).
Keep in mind that there are often queues in front of the “eye”. You can avoid them by purchasing a combined ticket at the nearby Aquarium (“London Eye + Aquarium”), or by ordering tickets in advance online.
Prices on the page are as of November 2019.
London Eye. El London Eye (Ojo de Londres), también conocido como Millennium Wheel (Rueda del Milenio), terminado en 1999 and abierto al público en marzo de 2000, fue la mayor noria mirador del mundo hasta la apertura de la Estrella de Nanchang en… … Wikipedia Español
London Eye- the London Eye a Ferris wheel in London that is 450 feet tall and which gives people who ride in it very good views of the city … Dictionary of contemporary English
London Eye- London Eye, se alza 139 metros, este ojo es la noria panorámica más alta del mundo, con vistas de hasta 41 kilometros si no hay niebla. Fue construido en el año 2000 para celebrar la llegada del tercer milenio, ocupa un lugar en el centro de la… … Enciclopedia Universal
London Eye- General information Status Complete Type Ferris wheel Location Western end ... Wikipedia
London Eye- Millennium Wheel La nuit … Wikipédia en Français
London Eye- a 135 meter high wheel next to the Thames in London built in 2000. The wheel has glass containers which people can go inside and travel slowly around the wheel to get a view across the whole city. * * * … Universalium
EDF Energy London Eye- Présentation Type grande roue Architecte David Marks, Josvoll Oslo, Malcolm Cook, Mark Sparrowhawk, Steven Chilton, Frank Anatole and Nic Bailey Date de … Wikipédia en Français
The London Eye in popular culture- As a highly visual London landmark, the London Eye (previously known as the Millennium Wheel) is often used in popular culture. The London Eye s exact height is 135 meters.Miscellaneous* Used as the location of a 2003 flash mob [… … Wikipedia
(the) London Eye- the London Eye UK [ˌlʌndən ˈaɪ] US a large moving wheel next to the River Thames in London with glass sections for people to sit in and look at the city http://www.macmillandictionary.com/med2cd/weblinks/london eye the.htm * * * the London Eye… … Useful english dictionary
Apartment London Eye- (Split, Croatia) Hotel category: Address: Žnjanska ulica 4, 21000 Split, Croatia ... Hotel catalog
Books
- The Rough Guide to London, Rough Guides. The Rough Guide to London is the ultimate travel guide to one of the world's most exciting cities. With full color throughout and dozens of photos to illustrate London's great buildings,… Buy for 1566 RUR
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The London Eye (London Eye) - one of the world's largest observation wheel in the world, located in the London area from Lambeth. Lord the London Eye height in 135 meters and weighing more, than 250 our double decker buses is the most spectacular landmark, that appears in the city in the recent past. Top with fantastic views of the basic meaningful places London,And constitute urban geography in the long term. The flyer - draft architects David Marx and Julia Barfield, winner of the contest projects buildings , in honor of a new millennium.It was built to the summit at the twenty-first century bank Thames Valley, and initially was scheduled for its dismounted in 2005. But the number of those who want the "virtual tours" on the wheel is so great that it is now a question on this is not a question,Although the wheel and does not generate revenue. The wheel are 32 transparent capsules, each holds 25 people. Translation Project in life took six years and impatience shown in the process hundreds of people from five European countries. The London Eye, also known as the "Wheel renewed effort". The "London eye" rotates at 0.85 feet per second, a single rotation takes 30 minutes. The "London eye" is very low-speed,That allows passengers to easily get off with him to the ground.
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The London Eye is one of the largest Ferris wheels in the world in the world, located in the London area of Lambeth. The Lord London Eye is 135 meters high and weighs more than 250. Our double-decker buses are the most impressive landmark that appears in the city, in recent past. Top with fantastic views of London's major landmarks and represent the city's geography in the long term. The flyer is a design by architects David Marks and Julia Barfield, winner of a building design competition to celebrate the new millennium. It was built for the Twenty-First Century Summit of the Thames Valley Bank and was originally planned for its 2005 meeting. But the number of those who want "virtual tours" on a wheel is so great that this is no longer an issue, even though the wheels do not make a profit. Wheel 32 transparent capsules, each accommodates 25 people. The translation project in life took six years and impatience, shown in the process by hundreds of people from five European countries. London Eye, also known as the "wheel of renewed efforts." The London Eye rotates at 0.85 meters per second and takes 30 minutes to complete one rotation. The London Eye has a very low speed, making it easy for passengers to get off the ground.
The London Eye (London Eye) - one of the world's largest observation wheel in the world, located in the London area from Lambeth. Lord the London Eye height in 135 meters and weighing more, than 250 our double decker buses is the most spectacular landmark, that appears in the city in the recent past. Top with fantastic views of the basic meaningful places London,And constitute urban geography in the long term. The flyer - draft architects David Marx and Julia Barfield, winner of the contest projects buildings , in honor of a new millennium.It was built to the summit at the twenty-first century bank Thames Valley, and initially was scheduled for its dismounted in 2005. But the number of those who want the "virtual tours" on the wheel is so great that it is now a question on this is not a question,Although the wheel and does not generate revenue. The wheel are 32 transparent capsules, each holds 25 people. Translation Project in life took six years and impatience shown in the process hundreds of people from five European countries.
The London Eye, also known as the "Wheel renewed effort". The "London eye" rotates at 0.85 feet per second, a single rotation takes 30 minutes. The "London eye" is very low-speed,That allows passengers to easily get off with him to the ground.
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The London Eye (London) is one of the world's largest Ferris wheel in the world, located in London from Lambeth. Standing at 135 meters high and weighing more than 250 of our double-decker buses, the London Eye is the most impressive attraction that will appear in the city recently. Top with fantastic views of London's major landmarks, and represent the city's geography in the long term. The flyer features a design by architects David Marks and Julia Barfield of Nashville, the winner of a building design competition to celebrate the new millennium. It was built for the twenty-first century summit on the banks of the Thames Valley, and was originally scheduled to be dismantled in 2005. However, Despite this, the number of those who want "virtual tours" on the wheel is so large that at present this is not an issue, although the wheel does not generate income. Wheel 32 transparent capsules, each accommodates 25 people. Translating a project into life takes six years and the impatience shown in the process is hundreds of people from five European countries. Windy London, also known as the "Wheel of Renewed Effort". The London Eye rotates at 0.85 meters per second, and one rotation takes 30 minutes. The London Eye is a very low speed aircraft, making it easy for passengers to get off the ground.
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