The British Airways i360 observation tower in Brighton, England, on Tuesday., 2nd August 2016
The British Airways i360 observation tower in Brighton, England, on Tuesday., 2nd August 2016 © Glyn Kirk/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

LONDON — It has been billed as “the world’s tallest moving observation tower,” a futuristic 531-foot-high structure that will give visitors an experience that one of its creators likened to floating in a hot-air balloon. Combining high-tech modernism with a somewhat incongruous Victorian seaside vibe, the tower, British Airways i360, opened on Thursday in the city of Brighton in southern England.

A view from the observation tower that will open in the seaside town of Brighton on Thursday.
A view from the observation tower that will open in the seaside town of Brighton on Thursday. - The attraction, which cost £46.2 million to build, is the brainchild of David Marks and Julia Barfield, the husband-and-wife team of architects behind the London Eye on the South Bank of the Thames. The Eye, a towering Ferris wheel, is one of the most popular attractions in the capital, and it has helped to revitalize the area. © Glyn Kirk/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images