The view from Greenwich Park over the Old Royal Naval College to Canary Wharf and the City

London areas

Greenwich Area Guide: The Observatory, Cutty Sark and North Greenwich

A complete Greenwich guide: the Prime Meridian, the Painted Hall, Greenwich Market days, getting there by river — and why Greenwich and North Greenwich are not the same place.

In this guide

At a glance

Vibe
Maritime village with a hill, a park and a world-class view
Time needed
A full day
Best day
Any day but Monday; Tuesday to Sunday has the full market
Travel zone
2–3
Walkability
4/5
Typical spend
££

Best for

  • Maritime history
  • Park walks and views
  • River trips
  • Markets

Nearest stations

  • Cutty SarkDLR
  • GreenwichDLRNational Rail
  • North GreenwichJubilee

Greenwich is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the only part of London where the sightseeing, the park and the view all sit on top of each other. From the hill outside the Royal Observatory you look down over Christopher Wren’s Naval College, across the river to Canary Wharf, and on to the City beyond.

It also holds the line the world sets its clocks by. Greenwich Mean Time and longitude zero are both defined here.

Greenwich has its own share of the commemorative plaques marking where notable people lived or worked - see them on our interactive map.

Why visit — and who should skip it

Come here if you want a full day out of central London that still feels essential. Greenwich has the best free view in the city, a genuine village centre, a market, a park with deer, and enough maritime history to fill a day.

Skip it if you have only two or three days in London and have not yet done Westminster or the South Bank. Greenwich is 30 to 60 minutes each way, so it costs you an entire day. Save it for a longer trip — and if you do come, arrive by boat.

Top sights and activities

  1. Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian — Longitude zero, the Harrison marine chronometers, and the red time ball that has dropped at 13:00 since 1833. Ticketed.
  2. The view from Observatory Hill — Free, and the best panorama in London: the Naval College, the river, Canary Wharf and the City. Go up even if you skip the Observatory itself.
  3. Cutty Sark — The last surviving tea clipper, dry-docked and raised so you can walk beneath the hull.
  4. The Painted Hall — Thornhill’s ceiling in the Old Royal Naval College, nineteen years in the painting. Separate ticket; the chapel opposite is free.

Looking straight up at the ornate painted dome ceiling of the Painted Hall in the Old Royal Naval College

James Thornhill spent nineteen years on this ceiling. It’s known as the UK’s Sistine Chapel, and the comparison holds up better than you’d expect. Photo: Maciek Lulko, CC BY 2.0. 5. National Maritime Museum — Free. Nelson’s coat with the bullet hole from Trafalgar, and a good children’s gallery. 6. Greenwich Park and the deer — 183 acres, London’s oldest enclosed royal park, with a wild deer herd in The Wilderness. 7. Greenwich Market — Covered, closed Mondays. Arts, crafts and food run Tuesday to Sunday; antiques only trade Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. 8. The Greenwich Foot Tunnel — An 1902 tiled tunnel under the Thames to the Isle of Dogs. Free, open always, and the classic view back at Greenwich from the far side.

The National Maritime Museum's columned entrance, with two giant white anchors standing either side of the doorway

The National Maritime Museum, with the giant anchors outside its entrance.

Greenwich and North Greenwich Are Not the Same Place

This is the single most common Greenwich mistake, so it is worth stating plainly.

GreenwichNorth Greenwich
What is thereObservatory, Cutty Sark, park, marketThe O2 arena, cable car, Design District
StationCutty Sark or Greenwich (DLR/Rail)North Greenwich (Jubilee)
Distance apartAbout two miles

They are on opposite sides of the Greenwich Peninsula and are not walkable from one another in any sensible way. If you have a concert ticket, you want North Greenwich on the Jubilee line. If you want the Observatory, you want Cutty Sark on the DLR. Arriving at the wrong one costs you half an hour.

What is at North Greenwich: The O2, one of the busiest arenas in the world, with the Up at The O2 roof climb over the dome; the IFS Cloud Cable Car across the river to the Royal Docks; and the Design District, a cluster of small studios and a good canteen.

The red brick and glass domed rotunda entrance to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel beside the Thames

The southern rotunda of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, beside the Cutty Sark. The lifts run during staffed hours; the stairs are always open.

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Key streets and micro-districts

Maritime Greenwich

The UNESCO core, and four separate sites within five minutes of each other — which makes knowing what is free and what is not the single most useful thing here.

Free: the National Maritime Museum, the largest maritime museum in the world, with a sea-themed playground and a genuinely good family offer; and the Queen’s House, an Inigo Jones villa holding the art collection, with the Tulip Stairs — the first geometric self-supporting staircase in Britain — costing nothing to walk up.

Paid: the Cutty Sark, £22 adult and £11 child, open daily 10am–5pm with last entry 4.15pm, where the money buys you the space underneath the hull as much as the decks. And the Old Royal Naval College’s Painted Hall, Thornhill’s ceiling, which took him nineteen years.

The order that works is the free museums first while you are fresh, then one paid site rather than both — most people run out of appetite before they run out of Greenwich.

The colonnade beside the Queen's House at the Old Royal Naval College, its white columns throwing long shadows across the flagstones

The colonnade beside the Queen’s House. The whole UNESCO core sits within a five-minute walk of this spot.

Greenwich town centre

A compact grid around the covered market, and the part that still feels like a town rather than a visitor attraction.

Greenwich Market is the anchor — under a roof, so it works in the rain, and unusual in that it mixes antiques, crafts and makers with food rather than being one or the other. Goddards at Greenwich has been selling pie and mash here since 1890, which is the most Greenwich lunch available. There is also a street food market by the Cutty Sark running weekends through the year.

Around it, Church Street, Nelson Road and College Approach hold the second-hand bookshops, a printmakers’ gallery, a guitar shop and several good pubs — including The Admiral Hardy on the market itself.

Come on a weekday if you want to browse. The market trades most days but weekends are shoulder-to-shoulder, and the antiques stalls are the ones that suffer for it.

Greenwich Park and the hill

The oldest enclosed royal park in London, and the climb behind the Maritime Museum is steeper than it looks from the bottom — allow ten minutes and take the path rather than the grass in wet weather.

The view from the top is free and is the reason to come. Queen’s House and the Naval College below, the river, Canary Wharf opposite and the O2 to the right — one of the great London views, at no cost, whether or not you go into anything.

The Royal Observatory at the summit is paid: £24 adult, £11 child, 10am–5pm with last entry 4pm, extended to 6pm through September. That buys the Prime Meridian line, Wren’s Octagon Room, and the Great Equatorial Telescope. You can see the meridian courtyard from outside without paying, which is worth knowing if the queue is long or the family is flagging.

Also free, and often missed: the deer in The Wilderness — a herd has been here since the seventeenth century — and the rose garden behind Ranger’s House, at its best in June.

Greenwich Park looking down over the Old Royal Naval College to the Thames, Canary Wharf and the O2

The view north from the hill: the Queen’s House and Naval College below, Canary Wharf across the river, the O2 to the right.

The riverside and the Foot Tunnel

The Greenwich Foot Tunnel is free, open at all hours, and the entrance is right at the pier beside the Cutty Sark — a glazed rotunda you would walk past without noticing. Opened in 1902 so that south London dockworkers could reach the Isle of Dogs, it is 370 metres of white tile under the river, and it comes up at Island Gardens for the view back at Greenwich that Canaletto painted. Lifts run limited hours; the stairs always work.

Head east along the river instead and you pass the Naval College to the Trafalgar Tavern, an 1837 riverside pub where Dickens set the wedding breakfast in Our Mutual Friend — in the Hawke Room, which you can still eat in. Whitebait is the thing to order, historically and still.

Going by boat is better than the DLR. Uber Boat by Thames Clippers runs from Greenwich Pier into central London, takes about 25 minutes to Tower Bridge, and is the only commute in the city people photograph.

The Trafalgar Tavern's riverside terrace strung with rows of colourful nautical signal flags

The Trafalgar Tavern, dressed in signal flags. Dickens set the wedding breakfast in Our Mutual Friend here, in the pub’s Hawke Room.

The cast-iron ribbed interior of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel running under the Thames

Inside the Foot Tunnel. Opened in 1902, free, and open at all hours.

Greenwich Peninsula and North Greenwich

Two miles north, and a different world from the Maritime Greenwich end of the peninsula — modern, arena-scale, and built around The O2 rather than around history.

The O2's white dome and yellow support masts seen from across the Thames at dusk, with an Uber Boat by Thames Clippers moored in front

The O2 from across the river at dusk. The Thames Clippers pier here is the fastest way in on an event night.

The O2 is not just the arena. Wrapped around the dome is Outlet Shopping at The O2 — over 60 discount and outlet stores (adidas, Nike, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, Next and others), open the same hours as the rest of the complex. Alongside it: more than 30 bars and restaurants, a Cineworld cinema, bowling, and a trampoline park, on top of the Up at The O2 roof climb and whatever is playing in the arena itself. It works as a destination on a day with no concert ticket at all.

A red and white IFS Cloud Cable Car cabin crossing high above the Thames, with the O2 dome and the Canary Wharf skyline behind

The IFS Cloud Cable Car crossing to the Royal Docks, with the O2 and Canary Wharf behind. Contactless is accepted, and it counts as a TfL journey.

The Design District sits opposite the arena, a minute from North Greenwich station — 16 low-rise buildings by eight different architects, holding small design studios, workspaces and a straightforward canteen. Worth a look if The O2 itself feels too retail-heavy.

Where to eat and drink

SpotStylePriceWhy go
Greenwich MarketFood stalls£Covered, and the easiest lunch in the area
The Trafalgar TavernHistoric riverside pub££Regency pub on the Thames, associated with Dickens
The Gipsy MothPub with garden££Beside the Cutty Sark, with a large beer garden
Goddards at GreenwichPie and mash£Serving since 1890; the traditional London plate
The Old BreweryBrewery and dining££In the Naval College grounds
Design District CanteenFood hall£At North Greenwich, and useful before an O2 event

Food stalls under the glass and iron roof of Greenwich Market, with banners reading I Heart Greenwich Market

Greenwich Market under its Victorian roof. Arts, crafts and food stalls run Tuesday to Sunday; the antiques and vintage traders only set up on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

See all 12 places to eat and drink in Greenwich

Getting there

By river. The best way. Uber Boat by Thames Clippers runs from Westminster, Embankment, Bankside, Tower and Canary Wharf to Greenwich Pier. Thirty to sixty minutes depending on the start point. Oyster and contactless work, but river fares sit outside the daily cap — see the river boats guide.

By DLR. Cutty Sark station is the one you want — it is in the middle of the town centre. Greenwich station is a little further out.

For the O2. North Greenwich on the Jubilee line, not Greenwich. Roughly 15 minutes from Waterloo.

On foot. Through the Greenwich Foot Tunnel to Island Gardens and the DLR for Canary Wharf.

How long to spend, and when to go

If you haveDo this
Half a dayCutty Sark, the market, and the free view from Observatory Hill
A full dayAdd the Royal Observatory, the Painted Hall and the Maritime Museum
A full day plusAdd the cable car from North Greenwich, or the Foot Tunnel walk

Best time: Arrive by boat in the morning and walk up the hill before the coach parties. The hill view is best in afternoon light looking back towards the City.

Note: The Observatory, Cutty Sark and Painted Hall are three separate tickets. A combined ticket exists and is worth it if you plan on two or more.

Map of Greenwich

Open the map36 places: 12 places to eat · 15 things to do · 5 hidden spots · 4 places to stay

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Eat & drinkThings to doHidden LondonStay

What's on in Greenwich

Limited runs and the annual fixtures. Anything already finished is removed automatically.Links marked ad are affiliate links. If you book through one we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects what goes on this list.

  • Secret Cinema Presents Pirates of the Caribbean

    Film screening inside a built worldNorth GreenwichAn eveningBook ahead

    Secret Cinema's format: a full set built around the film, actors in it, and you in costume before the screening starts.

    16 February to 25 April 2027 - the furthest ahead on this list. Costume is expected rather than optional.

  • Jack in the Green, Deptford

    A giant leaf-covered Jack paraded through Deptford with morris sides and drumsStreets around Deptford High StreetA morningFree

    Fowlers Troop parade one of the tallest Jack in the Green figures in the country through streets no tourist visits, reviving a pagan May tradition that died out in Victorian London. No tickets, no marketing - you find it by knowing it exists.

    Route and timing vary year to year and publish quietly. Deptford High Street mid-morning on the day is the safe bet.

  • The London Marathon

    Mass-participation marathon through the cityBlackheath to The MallA full morningFree to watch

    Free to watch and one of the great days in the London calendar - the start is on Blackheath, and the course runs through Greenwich, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf to The Mall.

    FREE TO WATCH but it closes a great many roads and the DLR and Jubilee line are packed all morning. Greenwich around the 10km mark is one of the best and loudest stretches.

  • Greenwich Fair

    Free street theatre, circus and family entertainmentGeneral Wolfe Piazza, Greenwich ParkAn afternoonFree

    Two free afternoons of street theatre, circus, puppetry and acrobatics at the top of Greenwich Park - the closing weekend of GDIF, and small enough to still feel like a local fete rather than a festival.

    No booking - just turn up. A level access route runs from the Blackheath Gate (about 15 minutes); the step-free route from St Mary's Gate is uphill and takes 10-15 minutes.

Things to do in Greenwich

Beyond eating and drinking. Free things are listed first.Links marked ad are affiliate links. If you book through one we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects what goes on this list.

  • Greenwich Foot Tunnel

    Free

    Victorian tunnel under the ThamesAbout 15 minutes

    Walk under the Thames through a tiled Victorian tunnel and come up on the Isle of Dogs with the whole Greenwich waterfront laid out behind you.

    Free, open 24 hours, and step-free by lift - though the lifts do fail and the stairs are a long spiral. The view back from Island Gardens is the real reward.

  • Greenwich Market

    Free

    Covered market inside a World Heritage siteAn hour

    Trading since 1737 and the only London market inside a World Heritage site - designer-makers, antiques and a strong street food run under one roof.

    Covered, so it works in rain when the rest of Greenwich does not. Different traders on different days: antiques and collectables do not run every day.

  • Greenwich Park

    Free

    Royal park with a deer enclosure and boating lakeTwo hours

    183 acres holding a deer enclosure, a boating pond, a rose garden and London's longest herbaceous border, with the best free view in south London at the top.

    Free and open daily. The hill is steep - the path up from the Maritime Museum side is the gentlest way to the Observatory.

  • Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park

    Free

    Freshwater wetland reserveAn hour

    Four acres of wetland, marsh and woodland hidden behind the Peninsula's towers, with hides, a lake and a genuinely surprising amount of birdlife.

    Free, and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays - the single most common reason people find the gate shut. Step-free boardwalks throughout.

  • National Maritime Museum

    Free

    The world's largest maritime museumTwo hours

    Free, enormous, and holds Nelson's Trafalgar coat with the bullet hole still in the shoulder.

    Permanent galleries are free; the temporary exhibitions are ticketed. The children's galleries are among the best free ones in London.

  • Old Royal Naval College

    Free

    Wren's baroque riverside campusTwo hours

    Christopher Wren's riverside campus, and the Painted Hall - forty thousand square feet of baroque ceiling that took James Thornhill nineteen years and is often called Britain's Sistine Chapel.

    The grounds and chapel are free to walk into; only the Painted Hall is ticketed, and children go free with a paying adult. First Sundays run reduced-price tickets. It doubles constantly as a film location - Les Miserables, The Crown, Thor.

  • Peninsula Al Fresco

    FreeSummer only

    Mediterranean-inspired open-air summer marketAn hour or two

    Churros, fried chicken, pizza and a spritz bar under pergolas outside the O2 - free giant Jenga and Connect Four keep it family-friendly rather than purely a food market.

    NEEDS VERIFYING - runs summer season only (through 31 August in 2026), Mon-Fri 12-9pm, Sat 11am-9pm, Sun 12-9pm. Confirm current dates before visiting, and note the estate's long-running Urban Village Fete is on pause for 2026 - this is the current alternative, not a replacement for it.

  • The Painted Hall

    Free

    Baroque ceiling painting at the Old Royal Naval CollegeAbout an hour

    Forty thousand square feet of baroque painting that took James Thornhill nineteen years, restored to the point where you are handed a mirror to look up without breaking your neck.

    NOT free, whatever the listicles say - about £19, though under-16s go free and First Sundays are £5. The ticket converts to an annual pass at no extra cost.

  • CrazyPutt Adventure Golf

    18 holes modelled on famous coursesAbout an hour

    Eighteen holes done in deliberately old-fashioned 1980s crazy golf style, with holes modelled on the Belfry, Wentworth, Augusta and St Andrews.

    Outdoor and a few hundred metres from North Greenwich station. The opposite of the polished bar-and-golf venues in the centre, and cheaper for it.

  • Cutty Sark

    Tea clipper you can walk underneathAbout 90 minutes

    The last surviving tea clipper, raised three metres so you can stand underneath the hull and look up at the lines that made her the fastest ship of her day.

    The under-hull space is free to walk through as a cafe - you do not need a ticket for that part, which almost nobody realises.

  • IFS Cloud Cable Car

    Cable car across the ThamesAbout 10 minutes each way

    The only cable car crossing of the Thames, running from the Peninsula to the Royal Docks at a height that puts Canary Wharf below eye level.

    Takes contactless and is cheaper with an Oyster. Closes in high wind, so it is not something to build a plan around.

  • Peter Harrison Planetarium

    London's only planetariumAbout 45 minutesBook ahead

    The only planetarium in London, in a tilted bronze cone on the Observatory site, with shows narrated live by an astronomer rather than pre-recorded.

    Separate timed ticket from the Observatory and shows sell out. Book the show first and plan the rest of the hill around it.

  • Royal Observatory Greenwich

    The Prime Meridian and the history of timekeepingTwo hours

    Longitude zero, Harrison's sea clocks, and the courtyard line where the eastern and western hemispheres meet - the reason the world's clocks are set the way they are.

    Ticketed, and it sits at the top of a steep hill in Greenwich Park. The view back over the Old Royal Naval College to Canary Wharf is free and does not need a ticket.

  • The O2 Arena

    20,000-capacity arena under the DomeAn eveningTicket prices varyBook ahead

    The busiest music arena in the world by ticket sales, inside the Millennium Dome - and the reason most visitors ever go to North Greenwich.

    Jubilee line to North Greenwich, and the queue to leave afterwards is genuinely long - the IFS Cloud cable car and the Thames Clipper are both slower but far more pleasant escapes. Up at The O2 climbs the roof of the same building by day.

  • TOCA Social

    Interactive football booths with food and drinkAbout 90 minutesBook ahead

    Private booths where a screen and a ball-feeder turn football into a target game - it works whether or not anyone in the group can actually play.

    Booked by the box rather than per person, so a small group pays the same as a large one. Under-18s must be out by early evening on most nights.

  • Up at The O2

    16+

    Guided climb over the roof of The O2About 90 minutesTicketedBook ahead

    A harnessed walk over the tented roof of The O2 to a viewing platform 52 metres up, looking back along the river to Canary Wharf and the City.

    Minimum age and a minimum height apply and it is not step-free. Sunset slots cost more and sell out first. Runs in rain, cancels in high wind.

Book IFS Cloud Cable Carad

4.4 out of 5 on GetYourGuide, from 4,489 reviews. Live dates and prices below.

Hidden Greenwich

Free, self-guided and easy to walk past without knowing it's there.

  • 28 Weeks Later's Greenwich Foot Tunnel

    Filming location

    28 Weeks Later (2007) - a chase sequence beneath the Thames

    Greenwich Foot Tunnel

    The Victorian pedestrian tunnel under the Thames, already an atmospheric spot in its own right, gets used for a tense sequence in the sequel - worth combining with a normal Greenwich-to-Island Gardens walk under the river.

    Free and open 24 hours (lifts have restricted hours) - a genuine way to cross the river on foot, film connection aside.

  • Bridgerton House (Ranger's House)

    Filming location

    Bridgerton (2020-) - the Bridgerton family home exterior

    Chesterfield Walk (Ranger's House)

    An ivy-covered Georgian villa on the edge of Greenwich Park doubles as the Bridgerton family's London home - genuinely one of the prettiest house exteriors in Greenwich even without the show.

    An English Heritage property with its own paid entry and opening hours (it also houses the Wernher art collection) - check before visiting.

  • Cecil Day-Lewis's Greenwich Home

    Blue plaque

    Cecil Day-Lewis (1904–1972), Poet Laureate

    6 Crooms Hill

    Day-Lewis lived here as Poet Laureate - Crooms Hill is one of Greenwich's prettiest streets, running alongside the park.

    A private residential building - viewable from the street only.

  • Maryon Park

    Filming location

    Blowup (1966) - the photographs, and the body in the undergrowth

    Thorntree Road

    The park where Antonioni's photographer shoots a couple and then, blowing up the negatives, finds what might be a corpse in the bushes. The tennis courts where the film ends with a mimed game are still there.

    Free, open dawn to dusk, and genuinely quiet. Charlton station, five minutes. It is a proper park rather than a location - most people here are walking a dog.

  • The Crown's Buckingham Palace (Old Royal Naval College)

    Filming location

    The Crown (2016-2023) - the Buckingham Palace exterior and courtyard

    Old Royal Naval College, King William Walk

    Wren's naval college stands in for Buckingham Palace throughout the series - the real palace does not allow filming, so the courtyard scenes you remember were shot in Greenwich. The same colonnades appear in Les Miserables, Thor and The Dark Knight Rises.

    The grounds are free and open daily; the Painted Hall and Chapel are ticketed separately. Already the most-filmed building in London, so expect to recognise it from several things at once.

  • The Dark Knight Rises's Italian Cafe (Old Royal Naval College)

    Filming location

    The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - Alfred spots Bruce and Selina

    Old Royal Naval College

    The riverside colonnades here stood in for a Florence street cafe in the film's final scene - a different Greenwich landmark angle from the Bridgerton connection already on this site.

    Free grounds, open daily; the buildings themselves have their own separate opening hours and some charge for entry.

  • The Old Royal Naval College

    Filming location

    Thor: The Dark World (2013) - the Greenwich finale

    King William Walk SE10 9NN

    Thor and Malekith fight through the colonnades in the film's climax, and Greenwich plays itself rather than standing in for anywhere. Wren's buildings have doubled for Paris, St Petersburg and Gotham in other productions.

    The grounds are free and open daily. The Painted Hall is ticketed and worth it on its own terms.

Where to stay

A pleasant, village-like base if you do not need to be central every day, and much cheaper than Zone 1.

  • Greenwich town centre — Small hotels and inns near the market. Quiet and walkable.
  • North Greenwich — Modern hotels by the O2, on the Jubilee line and 15 minutes from Waterloo.
  • Canary Wharf — Twenty minutes north, with the Elizabeth line into central London in six minutes.

Cheapest first. Prices are a typical starting rate per night, not a quote.Links marked ad are affiliate links. If you book through one we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects what goes on this list.

  • Holiday Inn Express London Greenwich Peninsula

    ££HotelBreakfast includedAccessible rooms

    From About £95Budget chain by the arenaDouble, twin, family

    The cheap bed within walking distance of the O2, with breakfast in the rate - which the arena hotels charge extra for.

    About a 15 minute walk to the O2 and North Greenwich station. Reprices on arena nights like everything else on the peninsula.

  • Staycity Aparthotels London Greenwich High Road

    ££AparthotelAccessible rooms

    Apartments by Greenwich stationStudios and apartments with kitchens

    A minute from Greenwich rail and DLR, and about eight from the Cutty Sark, the market and the park gates - a kitchen within walking distance of the Observatory.

    Greenwich prices rather than Zone 1 ones, and the trains reach London Bridge in eight minutes. NOT PRICED YET - no rate has been sampled for this row.

  • Zedwell Greenwich

    ££HotelAccessible rooms

    From £66–£145 a Cocoon 2Windowless cocoon rooms, riversideCocoon 2 and Cocoon 4, both windowless

    The same soundproofed windowless format as the Piccadilly flagship, at Greenwich prices and within reach of the Cutty Sark and the Observatory.

    THE STEADIEST PRICE OF ANY ZEDWELL HOTEL - it moved 2.2x across five sampled dates against 3x at Piccadilly, and a February midweek came in cheaper than an October Sunday. A Cocoon 4 sleeping four starts at £117, but it is two double beds in a bunk, so it suits two couples rather than four friends. Private room, own door, en-suite, no window. Early check-in is £25 here against £60 in the West End.

  • DoubleTree by Hilton London Greenwich

    £££HotelAccessible rooms

    From About £160Modern hotel in the historic quarterDouble, family

    A fifteen-minute walk from the Cutty Sark, the Old Royal Naval College and the National Maritime Museum, unlike the Peninsula hotels which are a DLR ride from all three.

    In the historic World Heritage part of Greenwich rather than on the Peninsula - the better choice for anyone whose trip is about the Observatory and the market, not the O2.

  • InterContinental London - The O2

    ££££HotelAccessible rooms

    From About £280Modern tower on the PeninsulaDouble, suite

    A glass tower on the river with a spa and pool looking straight across to Canary Wharf, attached to The O2 for anyone catching a show there.

    On the Peninsula rather than in Greenwich town - a DLR or riverboat ride from the Cutty Sark and the Observatory, not a walk.

Make a day of it

Combine Greenwich with

Walking times are from the centre of Greenwich. Each of these works as an afternoon once you have finished here.

  • Canary Wharf

    20 min walk

    North by DLR, or on foot through the Greenwich Foot Tunnel under the river.

  • By DLR to Bank, or far better by river boat to Tower Pier.

  • South Bank

    45 min walk

    By Uber Boat along the river — the best way to arrive anywhere in London.

  • Shoreditch

    35 min walk

    North by DLR and Overground for markets and evening bars.

Suggested full-day route

  1. Arrive: By Uber Boat to Greenwich Pier.
  2. Cutty Sark: Walk under the hull, then into the covered Greenwich Market.
  3. Naval College: The Painted Hall, and the free chapel opposite.
  4. Maritime Museum: Free, and a good hour.
  5. Up the hill: Through Greenwich Park to the Royal Observatory and the view.
  6. Finish: The Trafalgar Tavern on the river, or the Foot Tunnel for the view back.
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Common mistakes to avoid

  1. Going to North Greenwich for the Observatory. Two miles and a different Tube line. Cutty Sark on the DLR is the one you want.
  2. Taking the Tube when you could take the boat. The river journey is the best part of the day.
  3. Paying for the Observatory just for the view. The famous panorama from the hill outside is free.
  4. Underestimating the hill. It is a genuine climb from the Maritime Museum. There is a gentler path from Blackheath Gate.
  5. Buying three separate tickets. A combined ticket covers the Observatory, Cutty Sark and Maritime Museum attractions.
  6. Coming on a Monday for the market. It’s closed. Tuesday to Sunday has the full range, though antiques only trade Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Common questions

Are Greenwich and North Greenwich the same place?

No, and this catches people out constantly. Greenwich is the historic maritime town — the Observatory, Cutty Sark, the park and the market, served by DLR and National Rail. North Greenwich is on the Greenwich Peninsula about two miles north, and is essentially the O2 arena and the cable car, served by the Jubilee line. If you are going to a concert you want North Greenwich; for everything else you want Greenwich or Cutty Sark station.

Do you have to pay to stand on the Prime Meridian?

To stand on the marked meridian line in the Royal Observatory courtyard, yes — that is inside the ticketed area. The meridian's actual path continues across Greenwich Park for free, and there is a marker outside the paid zone. The view from the hill outside the Observatory is free and is the famous one.

Is the Painted Hall worth the ticket?

Yes. It took James Thornhill nineteen years to paint and is often called the UK's Sistine Chapel. It sits in the Old Royal Naval College, separate from the Observatory, with its own ticket. The adjacent chapel is free.

What is the best way to get to Greenwich?

By river. Uber Boat by Thames Clippers runs from Westminster, Embankment, Bankside and Tower piers and takes 30 to 60 minutes depending on where you start. It costs more than the DLR but is a far better journey. Oyster and contactless are accepted, though river fares are separate from the daily cap.

What days is Greenwich Market open?

Every day except Monday, when it is closed. Arts, crafts and food stalls run Tuesday to Sunday; antiques and vintage traders only set up on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. It is a five-minute walk from Cutty Sark DLR station.