Is Greenwich worth visiting?

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London is stacked with things to do and – well – Greenwich is one of them. If you have a packed itinerary in the UK’s capital, North of the River Thames, is Greenwich worth visiting? This blog post will answer all your questions and they will add up to a big YES:

• fascinating history
• great places to eat
• the Meridian Line where you can stand in two time zones at once
• beautiful parkland
• stare into London’s naval past

We used to live in Greenwich. After several years in Asia, we came back via China one winter. I found a nice-looking, Greenwich flat on the internet in a Beijing internet café, emailed the agent and made it back to the UK (weeks later) to find they were still desperate to rent it to us. It wasn’t even that expensive. It was titchy, up three flights of stairs and had no central heating, but that’s not really that bad for a London letting in Zone 2. We were happy there for quite a while.

This unlikely interaction with London’s–usually pitiless–property market still haunts me. When it was time to move on, every other place in London we tried to rent was gone about 17 seconds after we got on the Tube to go and look at it. Let alone weeks.

Greenwich Park

If anything makes Greenwich worth visiting, it’s the fantastic view of London from Greenwich Park.

It was the reason we were so excited to live in Greenwich. An authentic tourist magnet that provided a fantastic day out minutes from our flat. And it’s one of the reasons why Greenwich is a special place to live.

What to do when you are visiting Greenwich Park

The Royal Observatory (the storied building where time begins and ends in the universe or some such) sits atop the rolling, green slopes of Greenwich Park. If, on a warm summer’s day, you climb to it–a picnic bag banging against your legs–you can sit down and enjoy a spectacular view.

Snug to the South Bank bank of the Thames, the pale, serene structures of the Naval College sit below you at the foot of a rolling sweep of parkland. The elegant, porticoed buildings are connected by the long arms of shady colonnades that cast their slow-moving shadows across smooth, well-tended lawns. This UNESCO site is now leased by my alma mater, the University of Greenwich. It must provide an inspiring and studious backdrop for studies!

Beyond the college, the curve of the Thames flows by the shimmering haze of London’s economic centre. Glittering, interesting skyscrapers point upwards; Towers of modernity contrasting with London’s granular, bumpy skyline which sprawls into the hazy distance. This is not a hidden place. Crowds of people surround you, on their way to and from Greenwich’s pretty streets and crowded pubs, but it feels different to elsewhere in the capital.

Getting there

Greenwich is easy to reach. You can take the Docklands Light Rail, from Bank, which takes 20 minutes or so, or the mainline rail to Greenwich station. This is a bit further for the Cutty Sark and the general town.

Don’t miss

You can walk through, and along, the grounds of the old naval college. Stick by the river for a view of the North bank of the Thames and a selection of (slightly) less crowded pubs.

If you have time, explore the area between Greenwich St and Blackheath Hill. Interesting, Georgian townhouses border pretty greens and the occasional cluttered antique shop or off-beat eaterie.