Greenwich (pronounced ‘gren-itch’ not ‘green-witch’) is a borough of London to the South of the River Thames, slightly out of the centre of London and the perfect place for a day trip from the city. Greenwich is known for its Maritime history, as well as being the spot where the Eastern and Western hemispheres of the world meet at a longitude of 0º.
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How to get to Greenwich
- You can take a South Eastern train from London Bridge to get from the city to Greenwich in 8 minutes
- Make the short hope on the Jubilee tube line directly in to Greenwich North.
- You could even choose to get to Greenwich by Thames Clipper boat – from Embankment Pier, Tower Pier or Canary Wharf. This was the option we chose, and we really recommend it as you can take in the sights of The Thames as you go.
Things to do in Greenwich
The Royal Observatory & Prime Meridian
The Royal Observatory sits atop a hill with lovely views down to Greenwich Park and The Thames. It played an important role in the history of astronomy and navigation and as such the prime meridian line passes through it, giving it its name Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
At the Observatory, you can stand astride the Meridian line with one foot in the East and one in the West. You can also tour the museum around the history of time and navigation, with an incredible display of clocks and an exhibition on John Harrison’s quest to solve the problem of longitude. You can also learn about significant astrologers, the history of the site itself and learn about the role of telescopes.
Did you know that the red ball on top of the Observatory actually tells the time? At 1pm every day the time ball drops, and you can learn how this historic time device was used by attending a talk in the Courtyard.
The Planetarium
The Peter Harrison Planetarium is a 120 seat theatre where you can take a tour of the solar system, narrated by astrologers. Shows are around 40 minutes long, the seats are really comfortable, and they can take you to land on Mars, watch the birth of a star, speed through the solar system or head inside the Hadron Collider at CERN. There are loads of shows to choose from, and we chose one about Dark Matter which was brilliant.
There are also a few floors of exhibitions to discover so if you’re really in to space and the planets, then you may want to spend longer here and either not go to the Maritime Museum or The Cutty Sark.
Greenwich Park
After a 5 minute walk down the hill, you reach Greenwich Park which is a beautiful open space, perfect for a little stop to watch the world go by. There are some nice walking trails, a small cafe to grab a drink, and lots of open space to just sit and relax. After strolling around the park, you’ll probably be ready for some lunch – and there are lots of great options as you head from the Park up towards the River Thames.
Greenwich Market & Town
At the bottom of the hill, Greenwich town itself is also lovely to stroll around. There are lots of lovely independent shops, and Greenwich Market is also amazing, full of antique shops, lots of other stalls and plenty of places to eat.
If you’re visiting England and want to try an English tradition, head to Heap’s Sausages which serves incredible home made sausages and mash. If that’s not for you, you could hit Gastropub The Greenwich Tavern, head to Pho Street for tasty Vietnamese, grab Argentinian at Buenos Aires Cafe or even Japanese at Sticks’n’Sushi.
The National Maritime Museum
From the restaurant area it’s a 5 minute stroll to the National Maritime Museum. Outside the museum is a ship in a bottle – this is a scaled down version of Admiral Nelson’s HMS Victory, on which he died at the Battle of Trafalgar. At the museum you can learn more about the UK’s Maritime history, covering everything from major battles, uniforms, weapons, ships themselves and maps. It’s such an interesting and interactive collection to explore and there are also some super interesting temporary exhibition – at the time we visited, this was ‘The Moon’ – which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo landings.
The Cutty Sark
From The Maritime Museum, head down to the riverside and to Cutty Sark. This historic ship is an ex-tea trading ship, and fastest of its time, which first set sail for Shanghai in 1870. It could carry about 47 double decker buses full of tea, and completed 8 successful trips to China before having to change with the times when the Suez canal was opened and she was no longer needed in the tea trade. Instead, Cutty Sark transported wool from Australia, until again steam ships began to enter the trade and complete the task much more quickly.
Cutty Sark was sold to the Portugese, and eventually became a sailing ship, and then a training ship for cadets until it was restored to its original form and converted in to a museum. The ship has seen everything – from every major port in the world, to murder on board, to a Captain committing suicide by throwing himself in to the sea from the deck. And she’s here to tell us the tale – a really interesting way to spend a couple of hours.
Old Royal Naval College
The Old Royal Naval College is a set of majestic buildings at the heart of Greenwich, listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. Without doubt the stars of the show are The Chapel in Queen Mary Court and the Painted Hall in King William Court. The domes are above the entrances and you cannot miss a visit if you’re in the area.
The O2
The O2 is just down the road from Greenwich, and it’s a great place to visit with regular shows and concerts on. It also has a number of nice restaurants, and if you’re feeling adventurous you can also do ‘Up at the O2’ and climb up to the top of it for views over London. We chose to ride the cable car to and from Greenwich, and it was beautiful at sunset.
More Information
- Full London Itinerary: HERE
- Full London Area Guide: HERE (coming soon)
- Other Area Guides (posts coming soon):
- Shoreditch
- South Bank
- Bloomsbury & Kings Cross
- Southwark
- The City
- Westminster
Thanks for reading and I hope you found this post helpful if you’re visiting the capital and looking for things to do. Stay safe everyone and happy travelling.
Barney Travel Technologies
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