A day in Greenwich, London

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
5
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
9
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
5
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
5
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
7
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
7
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
65 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
228th/454
Top 50%
continent
Europe
country
UK
Length of time
1 day or less
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$90 ($35-$100 in 2020 prices)
Time of year visited
August
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Cool neighbourhoods Gardens Museums
All Tags
Big city Breweries Market River Experience Skyscrapers UNESCO world heritage site
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐
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
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#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

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#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

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#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

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#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

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#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

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#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

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#7 The quirky and unusual walk under the Thames via the Greenwich Foot Tunnel

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#8 A tour of the Meantime Brewing Company and trying some of the Meantime beers made right here in Greenwich

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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