LONDON EYE

The London Eye is a Ferris wheel built in 2000 by British Airways to celebrate the millennium, proudly occupying a place in central London along the River Thames, across from Big Ben.

The wheel rotates vertically, is 443 feet tall and has 32 capsules with windows of high-tech glass, each with space for 32 people.

Each capsule is air-conditioned and was designed to rotate in a way in which everyone can appreciate a spectacular view of London. The trip is approximately 30 minutes long.

On a clear day you can see all the way to Heathrow Airport and Windsor Castle.

The wheel does not usually stop to transfer passengers, the rotation is slow enough that they can easily get on and off the moving capsules at ground level. However, it is stopped to ensure disabled and elderly passengers have enough time to enter and leave the capsules safely.

Some people who have vertigo may not enjoy a trip on the London Eye, but many passengers have said that the ship is wide enough so that sitting on the bench in the center of the capsule eliminates vertigo effects.

At night, the London landscapes fade into darkness, making visible the Gothic Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the Tate Modern museum and Tower Bridge on the River Thames.