Ben Schott likes nothing better than a glass of dry sherry in Barry's Reform Club, but the London Eye gives him a funny turn
My wonder is the atrium of the Reform Club. It was designed by Sir Charles Barry and it's breathtaking. Like all the wonderful clubs of St James, the joy is that you leave behind a teeming London and enter these glorious, often empty spaces with a wonderful sense of proportion. I know these places are horribly elitist and I'm not entirely sure I'm commending the principle on which they stand, but as spaces within a bustling city, I think they are uplifting and relaxing.

Blunder's too strong a word for the London Eye, because I wouldn't want to pull it down, but I don't particularly like it. It monkeys with the scale of London. The city used to have a sense of proportion – the buildings that were most significant stood out, like St Paul's, the Palace of Westminster, the National Theatre and so on.

A lot of new buildings work – I love the new bridges, for instance – but I don't think the wheel does. It's also been put in a curious place.

It is wonderful in that it brings people to the capital, but it gives the wrong view. It perpetuates the myth that London is the West End. If you want the best view of London, go to Vertigo 42 – a bar on the 42nd floor of the old NatWest building. The view from there starts at the City and spreads outwards, just as London itself did.

Ben Schott is the author of Schott's Original Miscellany and Schott's Food & Drink Miscellany.