At 135 metres, the London Eye is the world's tallest observation wheel, with 40 kilometre panoramic views on a clear day. The gradual flight in one of the 32 high-tech glass capsules takes approximately 30 minutes and offers spectacular views of London and its famous landmarks such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and St Paul's Cathedral.
For a different perspective visit at sunset and see the city lights come on and the skyline awash with vibrant colours. Visit the London Eye after dark and you will enjoy the capital's stunning buildings all lit up.
Since opening in March 2000 The London Eye has become an iconic landmark and a symbol of modern Britain. The London Eye is the UK’s most popular paid for visitor attraction, visited by over 3.5 million people a year.
A breathtaking feat of design and engineering, passengers in the London Eye's capsules can see up to 40 kilometres in all directions.
The London Eye is the vision of David Marks and Julia Barfield, a husband and wife architect team. The wheel design was used as a metaphor for the end of the 20th century, and time turning into the new millennium.
Back in 2000, the London Eye was known as the Millennium Wheel.
The London Eye has won over 75 awards for national and international tourism, outstanding architectural quality and engineering achievement since opening in March 2000.
Interesting things you never knew about the London Eye
A TEAM EFFORT: It took seven years and the skills of hundreds of people from five countries to make the London Eye a reality.
A VIEW FIT FOR A QUEEN: You can see around 40KM (25 miles) from the top as far as Windsor Castle on a clear day.
FLYING HIGH: The London Eye welcomes an average of 3.5 million customers every year. You would need 6,680 fully booked British Airways Boeing 747-400 jumbo jets to move that number of fliers!
DING! DING!: The London Eye can carry 800 passengers per revolution - equivalent to 11 London red doubled-decker buses.
HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: Each of the 32 capsules weighs 10 tonnes. To put that figure into perspective, it's the same weight as 1,052,631 pound coins!
SLOWLY BUT SURELY: Each rotation takes about 30 minutes, meaning a capsule travels at a stately 26cm per second, or 0.9km (0.6 miles) per hour - twice as fast as a tortoise sprinting; allowing passengers to step on and off without the wheel having to stop
THE ONLY WAY IS UP: The circumference of the wheel is 424m (1.392ft) - meaning that if it were unravelled, it would be 1.75 times longer than the UK's tallest building - One Canada Square in Canary Wharf.
TONNES OF FUN: The total weight of the wheel and capsules is 2,100 tonnes - or as much as 1,272 London black cabs!
UP, UP AND AWAY: The height of the London Eye is 135m (equivalent to 64 red telephone boxes piled on top of each other) making it the fourth tallest structure in London after the BT Tower, Tower 42 and One Canada Square in Canary Wharf
BLAST OFF: The spindle holds the wheel structure and the hub rotates it around the spindle. At 23 meters tall, the spindle is around the size of a church spire and, together with the hub, weighs in at 330 tonnes: over 20 times heavier than Big Ben.