London Eye- is it worth seeing?

[supernaturalblonde]

We're staying over in London for several days post cruise. Several guidebooks have mentioned the Eye as not to be missed. I'd just like to hear some first hand stories. Thanks.

[Globaliser]

I wouldn't get wildly over-excited about it. It's exactly what it claims to be - a giant observation wheel that takes you up so you can look out over London, and then brings you back down to earth again. You get some great views, particularly on a nice day if the air is clean, and I think it's a fun thing to do if you've never done it before. Even for Londoners, it's probably worth doing once every two or three years just for the hell of it.

 

So if you haven't done it before, I would definitely put this high on your list - but don't panic if it doesn't work out. (You can always come to London again, anyway.)

[supernaturalblonde]

Thanks for the info!

[cberge]

We're staying over in London for several days post cruise. Several guidebooks have mentioned the Eye as not to be missed. I'd just like to hear some first hand stories. Thanks.

 

I agree with Globaliser..if you have not been to London before there really is so much more to see and do than the London Eye unless it is really a super clear day and there are no lines and you happen to be in the area.You can always come back to London which I bet you will.Do the hop/on hop/off bus(you can chose which one you want to do) and enjoy the sights..great way to get a good overall visit of London.

[mafemass]

The "Eye" is kind of like an observation deck/ferris wheel. It is awfully cool but I would not stand in a long line to go on it. When we were in London 3 summers ago, the line was at least an hour long. Needless to say, we did NOT go on it.

[usavvy2]

we took the hop-on/hop off bus instead, combined with a cruise down the Thames, and really felt like we didn't need to spend the money on the EYE too. I was completely satisfied (however, DH thinks we should make the EYE a priority next time back).

[libertygirl05]

Several years ago when the eye was just open the lines were long. Waited about two hours. We have been to london several times and I thought it was one of the nicest things to enjoy. The view was great and you could see many sights. Check to see if you can get tickets early they give you a time to line up.

[dbh62ark]

You can book your tickets on-line in advance at http://www.londoneye.com/default.asp. We went a couple of years ago in combination with a Thames River cruise (this was booked as a combination through the London Eye site, and the boat leaves from a dock right beside the Eye) and had a nice evening. The museums and many shops all close around 5:00, so it's a good alternative to pubs and theater if you have an extra evening there. I don't think I'd take time out of my sightseeing schedule to go during the day because there are SO many things to do in London. It was enjoyable for us. The views of the Houses of Parliament and other London landmarks are really nice from that perspective. I also like riding around on the top of the double decker buses. Just depends on how you want to spend your time.

 

Just FYI--if you have booked a hotel in London, you can send an e-mail to your concierge to get tickets to events for you. I wouldn't spend my precious vacation time waiting in line for anything. Buckingham Palace is open for tours while we are there this year, and we won't be standing in line for that either.

 

Hope you have a great trip,

Donna

[DougYWG]

This is not a Ferris wheel. It's 450 feet high. The view from up there is terrific. There's the whole gee-whiz experience that goes with it. Worth doing IMHO. Would you go to Paris and not do the Eiffel Tower?

[suzie21]

This is not a Ferris wheel. It's 450 feet high. The view from up there is terrific. There's the whole gee-whiz experience that goes with it. Worth doing IMHO. Would you go to Paris and not do the Eiffel Tower?

 

I completely agree. It's a really great way to see London. Since you have 'several days' in London you should have time to see most of the landmarks and do the eye. You'll probably enjoy it during the day so that you'll be able to see all the sites but going on it in the evening is also a great experience.

 

You'll need to book in advance though- people that I know who haven't booked have always ended up wishing they had.

[katisdale]

The first time we went to London we did not "do the eye". We were simply astonished at how much there was to see and do. For us the can't miss activities were the tower of London, British Museum, Trafalgar square, changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, mini-cruise on the Thames, hop-on,hop-off bus, and one day out of town to Stonehenge and Bath. Not nearly enough time to do everything on the list. Last May during a three day post cruise stay we finally went up in the eye. We walked up without tickets, bought ours and were on board in less than 15 minutes. It was well worth it. Fairly close by was the Florence Nightingale Museum which I really enjoyed (I'm a nurse) and would have missed if we hadn't gone on the eye and heard a couple talking about it. I still haven't seen all I want of London and would love to return.

[usavvy2]

our 2nd stay in London last week. Booked the Eye thru British Airways web site (10% discount). Shorter line (~3pm) to retrieve our tix and got right on the Eye 5 min. later. Only about 8ppl in our capsule. Cool to see the city from that height. remarkable engineering. disappointed that they wanted to charge another few pounds (forget if it was 2 or 3) to buy the map pointing out everything. I brought my own and we figured out the main sites since we had been there once b4 but if this were our first time we would've bought their pix map to know what we were looking at. 1st time we chose the hop on/off bus (now 20# pp for 24 hours on Big Bus Co.) so didn't want to spend the $$$ for Eye too. This time we didn't use the hop on/off bus but did the eye instead ($63 for 3 ppl w/10% discount). pleased with our choices both times.

[VickiVSN]

The EYE was the first thing we did when we got to London. The plan was the Eye with the river cruise (did that) and then dinner and a night bus tour to orient ourselves with London on the day we arrive. It was a great plan only we missed the night but tour the 1st night so had to take it the 2nd night.

 

The line for the eye after picking up pre-purchased tickets at the kiosk (no line) was only about 20 - 30 minutes. I think it was about 3:00p. We ended up in a pod with a bunch of other Americans that were quite obnoxious. But other than that it was a cool way to see London for the first time. The river cruise add-on was worth it as well.

[Sea-hawk]

I would highly recomend it. Just the engineering is a marvel.

 

When we went a few years ago we were able to purchase tickets in advance and didn't wait in line, but have been back a few times since and have not seen long lines. (but it wasn't in the summer)

 

The hop-on hop-off busses are great too for first time visitors, even if you never hop off!

[Nickwolf]

I hate to be a nay sayer but I did it a couple of years ago and found it quite disappointing. I do seem to be in the minority on this point though.

 

Nick.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Katisdale, had not thought to do the eye next year when we will be there, but thanks for telling me about the Florence Nightingale museum. As a fan of Anne Perry mysteries, and having visited the Crimea on a cruise last year, that would be very interesting to me!

[indigoviolette]

Do the Eye in conjunction with the Tate Britain, Tate Modern and the Tate Boat that carries you between all of them - the London Aquarium and Dali Museum are also right next to the Eye, there's other things to do there too.