The London Eye: Yes, It’s Tourist Central. Yes, You Should Still Do It.
There are certain things Londoners like to pretend they’re far too sophisticated to do.
Buying an “I ❤️ London” hoodie. Taking a photograph with a red telephone box. Standing outside Buckingham Palace waiting for somebody royal to appear.
And riding the London Eye.
But here's the thing: sometimes the tourists are right.
Sitting on the South Bank opposite Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye has become such a familiar part of the capital that it's difficult to imagine the skyline without it. Yet compared with most of London's famous landmarks, it's practically a teenager.
And despite millions of photographs making you think you know exactly what the view looks like, there's something very different about actually being up there.
First things first: it's bigger than it looks
From across the Thames, the London Eye looks impressive.
Standing underneath it, it looks enormous.
At around 135 metres high, this isn't your average seaside Ferris wheel with somebody shouting at you to keep your hands inside the carriage. Instead, you step into one of the large enclosed glass capsules and begin a slow journey above the rooftops.
There's no dramatic launch.
No stomach-dropping rollercoaster moment.
It simply starts climbing.
And climbing.
Until suddenly Big Ben doesn't look quite so big anymore.
London looks rather good from up here
The real attraction isn't the wheel. It's what surrounds it.
As your capsule rises, London gradually reveals itself.
The Houses of Parliament dominate the view immediately across the Thames. Look further and you'll start picking out some of the capital's greatest hits: Buckingham Palace, St Paul's Cathedral, The Shard and mile after mile of London rooftops.
It's basically London's greatest-hits album, only viewed through several tonnes of glass.
And because the Eye rotates slowly, you actually have time to enjoy it.
There's enough time to take photographs.
Enough time to work out which building you're looking at.
And definitely enough time for someone in your capsule to confidently identify a landmark completely incorrectly.
When should you go?
Daytime gives you the clearest opportunity to pick out London's landmarks, but City Lynx would make a case for late afternoon heading into sunset.
Get the timing right and you can watch London change underneath you.
You begin with daylight views across the city, the sky starts changing colour and then London's buildings, bridges and streets gradually begin switching their lights on.
That's when the Eye really earns its place on the itinerary.
Just remember that London weather has its own management team and doesn't take bookings.
Is the London Eye a tourist trap?
Technically?
A little bit.
But there's a difference between something being touristy and something being rubbish.
The London Eye is famous because the location is exceptional. You've got Westminster directly opposite, the Thames underneath you and huge chunks of central London stretching into the distance.
Would we recommend spending your entire London trip hopping between major tourist attractions?
No.
City Lynx exists partly because some of London's best experiences are hiding down side streets, behind unmarked doors and inside places you'd otherwise walk straight past.
But that's exactly why the London Eye works.
Do the famous stuff.
Then go looking for the weird stuff.
Make a day of the South Bank
Another reason we like the London Eye is that you don't need to travel across London just to find something else to do afterwards.
Walk along the South Bank and you've got restaurants, street performers, cultural venues and some brilliant riverside views.
Continue along the Thames and you'll eventually find places such as the Southbank Centre and Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden — a particularly good option when the weather behaves itself.
Cross Westminster Bridge instead and you're immediately among Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.
In other words, there's very little chance of getting bored.
Getting distracted and accidentally spending three hours somewhere you hadn't planned to visit?
That's London.
So, is the London Eye worth it?
If you've lived in London your entire life, you may have spent years walking past it while proudly announcing you've never been on it.
We understand.
But perhaps it's time.
For first-time visitors, it's one of the easiest ways to understand just how enormous London really is. For regular visitors, it's an opportunity to see streets and landmarks you've walked past countless times from a completely different angle.
And for Londoners?
Consider it reconnaissance.
City Lynx verdict
Touristy? Absolutely.
Iconic? Definitely.
Worth doing once? We think so.
Book for later in the day, hope London's clouds cooperate and enjoy half an hour floating above one of the greatest cities on Earth.
Then, once you're back on solid ground, let City Lynx help you find somewhere considerably harder to spot from 135 metres up.