London, the capital city of England and the British Isles, has a large selection of tourist attractions, a large number of of which are amongst the most popular in the country. For a great deal of time London has been an immensely popular vacation destination and much of this interest is due to the grandness of the historical buildings and the unique culture. While many of the tourist attractions to be found in London are historically interesting, for example Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and the Houses of ParliamentBuckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London, there are many others which are rather modern, for example the London Aquarium, Millennium Bridge, Millenium Dome, and the most popular of these, the London Eye.

The London Eye is commonly named as the Millennium Wheel because it was constructed in nineteen ninety nine to celebrate the coming of the new millennium. It was officially opened by the UK PM, Tony Blair, on the evening of December 31st but, sadly, there was a number of technical issues therefore it was not opened to the public until March 2000. At a heaight of 135 meters above London the London Eye has become a greatly visible, and unmistakable landmark.

In 1895, at Earl’s Court, was the Great Wheel of London, which was a mosterously big Ferris Wheel which could entertain about 1,600 visitors at a time. Unfortunately it was knocked down in 1907 but now London has something of a replacement in the London Eye. Although it is not the largest Ferris wheel in the world it can legally declare that it is the worlds largest cantilever observation tower!

Although the London Eye is unable to accommodate as many visitors as could the Great Wheel of London, it is able to accommodate 25 visitors in each of its thirty two pods. Unlike in a Ferris wheel, on the London Eye, you are able to stand up and walk around in one of the pods however you may decide that you wish to remain seated as it takes approximately half an hour for it to go through a complete revolution.

With as many as three and a half visitors flying on the London Eye each year it’s, now, the most visited paid visitor attraction in London and Britain. The likely reason why visitors choose to enjoy a trip on the London Eye is to see for themselves the unique panoramas afforded by it. From the top of the Eye one is able to see the surrounding four miles. From this unbeatable standfpoint it is possible to spot such world famous landmarks as St Paul’s, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Hampton Court Palace. of course these are just a few as you can also see the finest possible views of the majority of London’s landmarks. In fact the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben look as though they are directly below you.

The London Eye has proved to be rather a romantic place with many people proposing to, and even marrying, their partners there. When booking a flight it is also possible to book other things such as educational trips for small groups of students of all ages.

If you are only in London a short time the London Eye is a real life saver as you are able to take in nearly all of the most important London landmarks while enjoying the half hour ride which is impossible to do any other way (excluding a helicopter or balloon ride). Luckily it is not too difficult to find hotels near the London Eye which should save more time. If you are on a tight budget you will be pleased to know that it is also possible to find cheap hotels in London without too many problems