Greenwich

Greenwich is the best day out in London that most first-time visitors overlook. A short trip downriver from central London, it is a royal riverside town whose ensemble of buildings and park was inscribed as Maritime Greenwich, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in 1997. Tudor monarchs were born here, Christopher Wren designed the riverside Royal Hospital for Seamen that became the Old Royal Naval College, and Inigo Jones built the Queen's House, often described as the first truly classical building in England. Much of Greenwich is free. The National Maritime Museum, the largest maritime museum in the world, has free permanent galleries telling Britain's story at sea: exploration, empire and trade, and the Navy, with the coat Nelson wore at Trafalgar, still showing the hole made by the fatal musket ball. The Queen's House, also free, holds the famous Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I, works by Turner and Canaletto, and the elegant Tulip Stairs. Greenwich Park, the oldest of the Royal Parks, rises steeply behind; climb to the statue of General Wolfe for one of London's great views, across the Queen's House and Naval College to Canary Wharf and the City. At the top, the Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian are a paid visit, but the Shepherd Gate Clock showing Greenwich Mean Time outside the walls is free, and the red Time Ball on Flamsteed House drops at one o'clock every day. Down by the river, the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College are free to wander, the Cutty Sark tea clipper can be admired from outside, and Greenwich Market is a covered market of food and crafts.

Getting there is part of the pleasure. Thames river boats from Westminster, the London Eye or Tower piers make the most scenic approach, arriving at Greenwich Pier beside the Cutty Sark; the Docklands Light Railway to Cutty Sark station, or a mainline train from London Bridge to Greenwich, are faster. Many visitors take the boat one way and the train back. A complete free day might begin at the Cutty Sark and Old Royal Naval College grounds, continue through the National Maritime Museum and Queen's House, then climb Greenwich Park for the view and the Shepherd Gate Clock, finishing at Greenwich Market and a riverside pub for dinner.

The paid extras are optional but rewarding. The Royal Observatory lets you stand astride the Prime Meridian and see the historic timekeepers that solved the longitude problem, and the Peter Harrison Planetarium runs shows for all ages. The Cutty Sark, the last surviving tea clipper, is raised in a glass-walled dry dock so you can walk beneath her hull. Royal Museums Greenwich sells tickets that combine several paid sites. Families with children should note the National Maritime Museum has hands-on galleries for younger visitors, and Greenwich Park has a playground and a boating pond. On the north side of the river, the pedestrian Greenwich Foot Tunnel, opened in 1902, leads under the Thames to Island Gardens and a famous view back to the Naval College.

Why make the trip? Greenwich combines royal history, the sea, astronomy and one of the best views in London, with a village atmosphere that the centre lacks. It is calmer than South Kensington on weekends, much of it is free, and it works in any weather thanks to the museums. Allow a full day to do it justice, and consider staying for a sunset view from the hill before heading back by boat as the lights of the city come on.