Christmas Eve Morning Experience of London Tour
8th November 2024
Here at Best Value Tours, we are delighted to recommend great festive period tours and today we feature Christmas Eve Half Day Tour of London; Christmas Eve Morning Experience of London Tour | Best Value Tours
Full details below, but first some brief history of the London Eye, or The Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the Thames in London. Europe’s highest cantilevered observation wheel and the UK’s most popular paid tourist attraction, with over three million people annually. It appears frequently in popular culture.
The building stands 135 meters (443 feet) tall and the wheel is 120 meters (394 feet). It opened in 2000 as the world’s highest Ferris wheel. The 160-metre Star of Nanchang in 2006, the 165-metre Singapore Flyer in 2008, the 167-metre High Roller (Las Vegas) in 2014, and the 250-metre Ain Dubai in 2021 exceeded it. Unlike these taller instances, the Eye’s operators call it “the world’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel” from its single A-frame. The 245-metre-high (804 ft) observation deck on the 72nd floor of The Shard replaced the Eye as London’s highest public viewing point in early 2013.
On the South Bank of the Thames between Westminster Bridge and Hungerford Bridge alongside County Hall in Lambeth, the London Eye is adjoined to the western end of Jubilee Gardens (formerly the Dome of Discovery). The closest tube stop is Waterloo.
History, Design and Building
The Eye’s operators call it a cantilevered observation wheel supported by a single A-frame. Marks Barfield Architects principals Julia Barfield and David Marks designed the London Eye. Hollandia was the steelwork contractor and Tilbury Douglas the civil contractor. Mace managed construction. Tony Gee & Partners designed the foundations and Beckett Rankine the marine works.
To alter the South Bank Thames wall, Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners helped The Tussauds Group gain planning and listed building consent. They also examined and reported on the implications of a Section 106 agreement attached to the original contract and prepared planning and listed building consent applications for the attraction’s permanent retention, which required an Environmental Statement and a planning supporting statement explaining its retention. Hub, spindle, and tensioned cables support the rim.
Eye rims are supported by steel cables and resemble large spoked bicycle wheels. The lighting was replaced with Colour Kinetics LEDs in December 2006 to provide digital control instead of manual gel change over fluorescent tubes.
The wheel was built in parts moved up the Thames on barges and erected flat on heaped platforms. An Enerpac strand jack lifted the wheel upright after completion. It was lifted at 2 degrees per hour to 65 degrees and left there for a week while engineers prepared for the second phase of the operation. Major components for the project came from six countries: steel from the UK and fabricated in The Netherlands by Hollandia, cables from Italy, bearings from Germany (FAG/Schaeffler Group), spindle and hub from the Czech Republic, capsules from Poma in France (with Italian glass), and electrical components from the UK.
House of Parliament from Westminster Bridge at sunrise, panoramic view
Prices/Book Tour – Christmas Eve Morning Experience of London Tour | Best Value Tours
Description
Explore London this Christmas Eve with these classic activities.
London Panorama Tour
Watch London sparkle this holiday. Your Christmas Eve begins with a panoramic guided tour of the city’s most iconic monuments, looking for Christmas lights and decorations. Explore Pudding Lane, where the Great Fire began in 1666, and WW2’s deadliest Blitz neighbourhoods.
Photo Stop at Tower of London
Your bus tour will stop at the Tower of London, where many tragic figures died. Before leaving, take a photo of the castle.
The Buckingham Palace
Wave royally as you approach Buckingham Palace. From outside the front gates, see King Charles III’s majestic London home and the King’s Guard’s scarlet tunics and bearskin headgear (sadly still made of bear). You may watch the Changing of the Guard, but it doesn’t happen every day, so you’ll go to the Horse Guards Parade down the street.
River Thames Boat Ride
Finish your Christmas Eve experience with a Thames river tour. Relax and enjoy a unique view of London from the river before returning to land for a Christmas drink.
Prices/Book Tour – Christmas Eve Morning Experience of London Tour | Best Value Tours
The London Eye
Include a London Eye flight. Step into one of its distinctive glass capsules to see London differently. For breathtaking 360-degree views of Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and other London sites, choose fast track or normal tickets and climb 135 meters. Explore London this Christmas Eve with these classic activities.
London Panorama Tour
Watch London sparkle this holiday. Your Christmas Eve begins with a panoramic guided tour of the city’s most iconic monuments, looking for Christmas lights and decorations. Explore Pudding Lane, where the Great Fire began in 1666, and WW2’s deadliest Blitz neighbourhoods.
Photo Stop at Tower of London
Your bus tour will stop at the Tower of London, where many tragic figures died. Before leaving, take a photo of the castle.
Buckingham Palace
Wave royally as you approach Buckingham Palace. From outside the front gates, see King Charles III’s majestic London home and the King’s Guard’s scarlet tunics and bearskin headgear (sadly still made of bear). You may watch the Changing of the Guard, but it doesn’t happen every day, so you’ll go to the Horse Guards Parade down the street.
River Thames Boat Ride
Finish your Christmas Eve experience with a Thames river tour. Relax and enjoy a unique view of London from the river before returning to land for a Christmas drink.
The London Eye
Include a London Eye flight. Step into one of its distinctive glass capsules to see London differently. For breathtaking 360-degree views of Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and other London sites, choose fast track or normal tickets and climb 135 meters.
Prices/Book Tour – Christmas Eve Morning Experience of London Tour | Best Value Tours
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