A day in Greenwich, London
Summary
Greenwich is one of the gems on a visit to London that has the added benefit of being less crowded than some of the more popular attractions in the centre. You have the wonderful history of the Royal Observatory, the prime meridian of the world and source of the universal measurement of standard time, the National Maritime Museum, which in addition to its magnificent architecture also tells the story of when Britain used to rule the seas, and the Cutty Sark, the last of the greater clipper ships that sailed between Britain and China bringing back the riches of the East. But its also about the cute village feel of Greenwich village, the wide open parks that surround Greenwich and the views across the River Thames, nearby skyscrapers of Canary Wharf and of central London
Maybe won’t make everyones’ list when trying to hit all of the famous sights of London for a weekend (see here for the top 10 and must sees for a 2 day visit to London – 2 days in London and top 10 things to do), but certainly a highlight for day 3
Extra tip 1 – be sure to also have a venture down to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel which is a tunnel only for pedestrians that connects Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs on the other side of the Thames. You can easily find it right by the water and the Cutty Sark and is one of those fun quirky London things to check out
Extra tip 2 – Greenwich makes a cracking series of beers, called Meantime. You can find the beers in many of the pubs in Greenwich, but its also worth a visit to the Meantime Brewing Company which is around a 15in walk along the river
highlights
#1 The Royal Observatory - it is fascinating learning about how the British tried to get a measurable handle on time by cracking the Longitude Problem and ultimately leading to Greenwich Meantime being the universal standard. The ornate intricate time pieces are worth the trip alone
#2 Greenwich Village - cute pubs and restaurants, an arcade market and pretty windy streets that are quintessentially English with views overlooking the Thames. One of the nicest neighbourhoods to walk around in London
#3 The Cutty Sark. Many will not have heard of the Cutty Sark, but it is one of the most famous British ships that made its journeys during the height of Imperial power. What makes the visit quite unique is being able to see underneath the ship itself in what is a surprisingly well done visitor attraction
#4 Walking through Greenwich's parks. Greenwich is one of the greenest spots in what is already a very green city. The walk from the Maritime Museum up to the observatory is gorgeous and has great views over London
#5 The National Maritime Museum. A detailed museum that brings to life the operations of the machine that was the immense Royal Navy. The architecture of the grounds themselves that are the highlight and you can quickly see why so many weddings are held here
#6 The views over Canary Wharf and central London. As you walk up to the observatory you can start to see some stunning views of the skyscrapers of nearby Canary Wharf and further to the left of central London
#7 The quirky and unusual walk under the Thames via the Greenwich Foot Tunnel
#8 A tour of the Meantime Brewing Company and trying some of the Meantime beers made right here in Greenwich
Experiences nearby
The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences
Other Historical Experiences around the World
Score Detail
Background - how many times have you asked someone what a travel experience was like and the response was "amazing" or "awesome"? That response is nice to know, but it makes it hard to differentiate that experience compared to others. That is exactly what these scores are trying to do - differentiate the experience by giving a score out of 10 based on 6 categories and then giving an overall experience score
This overall experience score is calculated by: take the highest of the "Culture" or "Nature" score (1-10) + "Fun factor" (1-10) + "Avoiding the crowds" (1-10) + highest of the "Unique" or "World Famous score" (1-10). Then convert into a score out of 100
Extra detail - the logic being that I find all of the 6 individual scores important, but I don't want to mark an experience down just because it doesn't cover both "Culture" and "Nature", or because it isn't both "World Famous" and "Unique". Take the examples of Safari in The Serengeti and walking through Rome - they both appeal at opposite ends of the nature / culture spectrum, and you can have a fantastic time without needing to appeal to both sides. So, their overall scores aren't penalized for their lack of one or the other, and I've done the same for "World Famous" vs "Unique". But . . . I do think that the "Fun factor" of an experience is important, irrelevant of other factors, and so is "Avoiding the Crowds" (or where there are crowds that add to the experience). So, both of these scores are standalone