Our Complete Guide to the London Eye Ferris Wheel

A capsule full of passengers rises to the London sky on a cloudy day.

We jumped in with both feet and played London tourists.

It took a few visits before finally getting to the London Eye, that iconic Ferris wheel-style attraction that looms over the Thames and promises great bird's-eye views of the city and beyond.

We always been put off by the idea of queuing up in those long lines and paying those steep prices for what is essentially a short outing. But, deciding you readers were well worth it, we put it on the agenda for review this time around.

It's the Coca-Cola London Eye, officially, since January 2015. What the hell isn't sponsored these days?

Anyways, the London Eye opened in March 2000 on the South Bank of the city's famed river. Back in those ancient times, the 394-foot diameter and 443-foot tall wheel was the highest public viewing point in London. It lost that superlative in February 2013 when the 804-foot-high 72nd floor observation deck of the Shard building opened.

The London Eye held the title of tallest Ferris wheel in the world until 2006 when it was surpassed by China's Star of Nanchang (525 feet), which lost its title in 2008 to the Singapore Flyer (541 feet), which was knocked from the throne in 2014 by Las Vegas' High Roller (551 feet).

Despite its diminished status in the great global Ferris wheel space race — hey, it's still the tallest wheel in Europe — we gave it a go.

You bypass the queue and save some money when booking a ticket online.

Resident Londoner friends gave us a few tips to save time and money. Go online and book a reservation for your ride. Online tickets come with up to a 20 percent discount, and you often can find additional savings when coupon codes are available. Different classes of tickets allow you to bypass the queue for a fast-pass entry. You may get a ticket for a particular time. We reserved Sunday at 4:30, for example, for about $40 per person. You also can keep your day or week more flexible, booking for a certain day or anytime during a certain week.

These options end up being nominally more expensive (like a couple more bucks for each type of ticket as you have a less narrow time frame for when you will ride).

Try the 4D experience before your ride, if only to rock those specs.

At the site, a free 4D experience can be watched at the theater. The five-minute show is simply a high-tech visual feature that places you high above the Thames as if viewing the city below from a capsule in the London Eye. It's OK but nothing that special.

Speaking of those capsules. The London Eye has 32 of them that fit up to 25 people each. You can sit on benches in the middle, but most people stand at the windows to get a good view. It's polite to rotate around and not spend too much time in one spot so that everyone can enjoy all possible vantage points. So, views are obstructed by the structure of the giant wheel itself, of course.

Settling in for the ride to the top.

The entire ride circuit takes about 30 minutes and is a bit of a stop-and-go experience as the ride is loaded.

Onboard tablets provide details about what you are seeing.

On our day, the sky was almost completely white with clouds. I am sure the views are much more inspiring with blue skies and sunshine, but we enjoyed seeing all the buildings lining the river and off in the distant reaches on London. You will be right across from Big Ben and Parliament Square, offering the most iconic sightings from way up top.

Some views look through the London Eye apparatus, but still offer a cool effect.

I'd say once is enough just to say you have been, especially at the prices. It was nice not to have to wait in a long queue, though. The attraction gets very busy in the summer and high tourism season, so definitely book online and get a fast pass if you decide to ride.

Thanks for reading,

JR