London Eye: Tips for Europe’s Largest Ferris Wheel

London Eye Quick Facts: 7 Fascinating Facts

Before we get into all the details about prices and tickets for the London Eye, here are seven cool facts about the Ferris wheel. We’re guessing you didn’t know all of these!

• There are 32 gondolas, but none numbered 13
• At 135 meters tall, it’s the second-tallest Ferris wheel in Europe
• One rotation takes about 30 minutes, and the wheel doesn’t stop for boarding
• Around 800 people can ride the London Eye at the same time
• Construction cost a whopping £75 million
• You can see up to 40 kilometers away on a clear day
• You can rent gondolas for a romantic dinner with views over the city

Our Recommendation: The Tickets We Booked

We went with the Fast Track Ticket, since we didn’t want to wait in a long line with two young kids.

No regrets at all — we think it’s the best ticket option. Once you’ve decided to ride the London Eye, a few extra pounds really don’t matter, and you’ll save time that you can spend exploring other things to do in London.

In the next section, we’ll take a closer look at the various ticket options and explain exactly why we chose the Fast Track Ticket.

Tickets and Prices for the London Eye

Cost of Riding the London Eye

Here’s a quick overview table with the tickets, prices, and a link to book. We list prices throughout this article in pounds, since the exchange rate is constantly changing.

The Different London Eye Tickets Explained

So what do the ticket options actually mean? Here’s the breakdown.

• Standard Ticket: You book a set time. That doesn’t mean you’ll board at that exact time — it just means you can join the queue from that point on. How long you actually wait depends on the crowds.
• Fast Track Ticket: At your booked time, you simply bypass the line and board right away. Our top pick!

Where's the Best Place to Buy London Eye Tickets?

You can buy your ticket either directly on the official London Eye website or through the ticket platform GetYourGuide.

We’ve worked with GetYourGuide for a long time and find booking through the platform really convenient. For easier reference, you can set the currency to euros or pounds.

Honestly, we find the booking form on the London Eye website a bit clunky.

Important: If you buy your ticket last minute or even on-site, prices are about 10 percent higher, no matter where you book.

Is the London Eye Fast Track Ticket Worth It?

We visited the London Eye on a weekday, and it was relatively quiet. But the maze of crowd-control barriers gives you a pretty good sense of how long the line can get during London’s peak travel season.

From joining the queue to clearing security and boarding a gondola, it took us seven minutes. Visitors with a Standard Ticket, on the other hand, waited at least 30 minutes.

So with the Fast Lane, you’re definitely much faster — especially during busy periods. If you’re traveling with young kids or only have a short time in the city, we strongly recommend booking the Fast Track Ticket.

Save Money with London Eye Combo Tickets

If you want to visit more London attractions, there are combo tickets that are significantly cheaper than buying individual tickets separately. On the website, you can combine your London Eye ticket with up to four other attractions and save up to 48 percent.

These attractions are available as combo tickets on the London Eye website.

• London Dungeon
• Madame Tussauds
• Sea Life
• Thames River Cruise
• Shrek’s Adventure
• Hop-on/Hop-off Bus Tour

Buy combo tickets for the London Eye

If the selection feels overwhelming, here are the most popular combo tickets on GetYourGuide:

London Eye Ticket with River Cruise

London Eye Ticket with Sea Life

London Eye Ticket with Sea Life + Madame Tussauds

Since the London Eye sits right on the Thames in a central location, you can easily pair it with other free attractions nearby. Covent Garden Market, for instance, is just a short walk away and one of the most well-known markets in London.

By the way, you can get great photos of the London Eye on a guided tour of London — a boat or bike tour works especially well.

Is the London Eye Included in City Passes?

The London Eye is not included in the London Pass, the London City Pass, or the London Explorer Pass by Go City — only in the Merlin Magical Pass. That said, the latter is essentially just the combo ticket for the London Eye with four other attractions, which you can — as described above — book directly on the website.

Our London Eye Review

What Is the London Eye Ride Like?

First things first — you’ll need to line up. Depending on which ticket you have, you’ll use the Fast Lane or the regular queue. Either way, you’ll then go through a security check. It’s no big deal: your bags are inspected and scanned with a metal detector.

The Ferris wheel doesn’t stop for boarding, but it moves so slowly that stepping on is completely effortless.

Each gondola fits 22 people. But don’t worry — the cabins are genuinely spacious, so you can easily walk around and take photos. If you want to sit down at any point, there’s a bench in the center of the gondola. Since the gondolas are fully glazed all the way around, you can look out over the city in every direction.

The ride lasts about 30 minutes and covers exactly one full rotation.

The View from the London Eye

In short, you can see everything from the London Eye!

The panorama takes in all the major landmarks of the British capital — Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Thames with Tower Bridge, and the towering skyscraper The Shard. On a clear day, you can even spot Windsor Castle, 40 kilometers away.

Find even more great viewpoints in London here!

Our Tips for the London Eye with Kids

We rode the London Eye with two young kids ourselves, and the little ones absolutely loved it. Here are a few details that parents will definitely want to know.

• Kids’ Tickets: Children under three ride for free, but they still need a ticket. Children and teenagers up to age 16 get around a 10 percent discount on both the Standard and Fast Track tickets.
• Strollers may only be brought on board folded up. If yours can’t be folded, you can leave it at a stroller park. It’s monitored by security, but you leave it at your own risk.
• A changing room is available on-site.

Is the London Eye Worth It?

Honestly, the London Eye is on one hand an extraordinary experience, and on the other, it’s genuinely expensive.

Alongside the London Eye, there’s another famous vantage point — the towering skyscraper The Shard. If we had to choose just one, we’d go with The Shard. It’s cheaper and, in our opinion, more impressive, since it’s quite a bit taller.

If you can, though, visiting both is totally worth it. You get a stunning vista over the British capital from each spot, and the two viewpoints offer completely different perspectives.