While we were in London to watch the UEFA Champions League Final 2013, we had a chance to be on the London eye (as a part of the hospitality package).
The Eye is 443ft/135m high. Each pod holds about 20 people. Because we were catered in a private pod, we had to wait a bit. The line was rather long too for the regular tourists. We went around twice, one more revolutions than normal admittance. Otherwise, they don’t have enough time to serve us wines and finger sandwiches.
The Eye is located on the south bank of the Thames just downstream of the Westminster bridge. Parliament. Here we are looking upstream of the Thames and the House of Parliament and Big Ben (316 ft/96 m high). The wheel spins clockwise, so we saw the west side of London on our ascent.
If we look directly across the river, it is the Ministry of Defense (building with four copper roof buildings), behind it the House Guards parade and then St. James Park.
A guide was in the pod with us and pointed the various sights out to us.
Thames downstream, east London. St. Paul’s Cathedral, OXO tower.
On our descent, Charing Cross train station and the Hungerford bridge comes into view.
This is Her Majesty’s Treasury and there is the Foreign Office on its right.
One can almost see Buckingham Palace with a little help from the zoom lens.
Further away, it is possible to see the white arch at the Wembley stadium (where we saw the Champions League Final, see earlier post).
The view South is less interesting than the North, except this building which is under construction. Apparently it is not the Shard (1016 ft/310m) as I initially assumed, because the construction of the Shard was completed last year. Can someone tell us about this building ? We did not ask our guide in the pod because we could not see it so clearly without the zoom lens in the camera.
Not sure what those buildings are, they are on the south bank near Battersea ?
Another view of the Eye.
Yes, it looks a bit titled towards the Thames – now you know I have a cheap camera.
This is a great way to see a city, we rode other ferris wheels over Vienna and Lyon, click to see our earlier posts.