The most talked about venue this year has to be the Millennium Dome in London. I have been there and all I can say is go. It's brilliant. The size is incredible, eight hours can easily disappear wandering around and still leave you wanting to see more.
The Dome is divided into 14 zones, such as body, talk, play, faith, our world, learning, rest, money and skyscape. The body zone is the most photographed image in the Dome and it is weird to be able to wander around inside a human body, simulated I might add. Other zones I loved included Journey, that was the history of travel from feet to space travel; Talk, where I had an avatar (virtual reality character) made of myself and Living Island, a recreation of a typical British seaside resort.
The Millennium Show takes place in the central arena, whatever you do, don't miss it. It is incredible, combining aerial acrobatics with trapeze, dance, theatre, trampolining and Peter Gabriel composed music.
Plan your day around the performance times shown on your ticket. es and restaurants to choose from and prices are High Street.
The initial queues have disappeared by changing opening times. The Dome is now open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday and 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and public holidays. The Jubilee Line Extension on the Underground goes right to the Dome at North Greenwich station.
The following Irish tour operators are offering packages to the Dome at very good prices. Arrow Tours (041) 31177, Cityscapes (01) 670 8877, PAB Travel (01) 87334411, UK Flying Visits (062) 51019. Ferry packages for families are very reasonable from Irish Ferries 1890 313131, Stena Line (01) 204 7777, Swansea Cork Ferries (021) 271166.
I also recommend that you visit the British Airways London Eye at County Hall. This 450-foot high observation wheel is a tribute to British engineering. It rises high above the city and you can see for up to 50 miles around London. You can book tickets over the telephone on 00 44 870 500 0600 and collect them by swiping your credit card in the booking hall. Otherwise just queue. The cost is stg £7.45 for adults and £4.95 for children.
Tickets for the Dome and London Eye are available from the Britain Travel Centre, 18/19 College Green, Dublin 2, (01) 670 8000. In Irish prices, for the Dome £24.00 adults and £19.80 per child and London Eye is £9.55 per adult and £6.55 per child.
Joan Scales can be contacted at jscales@irish-times.ie