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United Kingdom

London (Greenwich), England

London (Greenwich): Maritime Greenwich and the Prime Meridian

Greenwich, on the south bank of the Thames in southeast London, gave its name to Greenwich Mean Time, and the Prime Meridian runs through the Royal Observatory on the hill above the town. Its riverside buildings, park and old town center have formed the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site since 1997. Most of the sights are close together, but the Observatory is at the top of a steep hill.

Good to know

Arriving in Greenwich

Your cruise line will tell you where your ship moors on the Thames and how you come ashore. In Greenwich itself, the river pier stands right beside the Cutty Sark, and the Old Royal Naval College, the National Maritime Museum and the covered market are all within easy walking distance.

  • Greenwich is about 9 km east-southeast of Charing Cross in central London.
  • Uber Boat by Thames Clippers boats run from Greenwich Pier to central London, calling at piers including Canary Wharf, Tower Millennium Pier and Embankment.
  • Cutty Sark station on the Docklands Light Railway, 200 meters from the Cutty Sark, has trains to Bank in the City of London.
  • The Discover Greenwich visitor center and tourist information are in the Pepys Building, a short walk from the pier.

Greenwich on Your Own

Greenwich's main sights can all be reached on foot from the pier, and the Royal Observatory is a climb of 10 to 15 minutes up through Greenwich Park from the National Maritime Museum. Central London is a river-boat or train ride away if you have time left.

  • Cutty Sark: The tea clipper built in 1869 has stood in dry dock here since 1954, and the ship is raised so that visitors can walk beneath its hull.
  • Old Royal Naval College: A ticket covers the Painted Hall, whose ceiling and walls Sir James Thornhill painted between 1707 and 1726, and the visitor center.
  • National Maritime Museum and Queen's House: Both are free. The Queen's House, designed by Inigo Jones, was the first consciously classical building in England, and its Tulip Stairs are a wrought-iron staircase that holds itself up.
  • Royal Observatory: In the courtyard you can stand across the Prime Meridian, longitude zero.
  • Tickets: In 2026 an adult ticket cost 22 pounds for the Cutty Sark and 24 pounds for the Royal Observatory, and children under 4 go free. Check before you go.
  • Under the river: The Greenwich foot tunnel, opened in 1902 and open around the clock, runs 370 meters under the Thames from beside the Cutty Sark to Island Gardens on the Isle of Dogs.
  • Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own.

Tipping in the United Kingdom

Tipping in the UK is not expected the way it is in some countries, but a tip of about 10 to 15 percent is customary in restaurants for good service. Many bills already include a service charge marked as optional, so check before you add more. The currency is the pound.

  • Tipping is not a tradition in most pubs.
  • In a taxi, many people round the fare up to a convenient amount.

Time, Music and the Park

Greenwich is where the world's longitude and time are counted from, and a green laser has marked the Prime Meridian across the night sky since 1999. Behind the town, Greenwich Park was the palace's hunting ground before it was laid out as a royal park in the 17th century.

  • A metal strip set into the Observatory courtyard marks the line of the meridian.
  • St Alfege Church, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and completed in 1718, is dedicated to Archbishop Alphege, killed by Danish raiders at Greenwich in 1012. The composer Thomas Tallis is buried there, and the church holds free lunchtime recitals.
  • Trinity Laban, a conservatoire of music and dance, uses buildings in the Old Royal Naval College.
  • Greenwich Park has a deer park with herds of red and fallow deer.
  • The Old Royal Naval College has been a film location for productions including The King's Speech, Les Misérables and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

A Brief History

Greenwich grew from a riverside royal manor into a Tudor palace, a hospital for seamen and then the Royal Navy's college. Its hilltop observatory, founded in 1675, made the town the starting point for the world's longitude.

  • 1012: A Danish fleet lay in the Thames off Greenwich, and its army camped on the hill above. They held Archbishop Alphege of Canterbury prisoner here for seven months and then killed him.
  • 15th century: Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, built a riverside palace, later renamed the Palace of Placentia.
  • Tudor births: Henry VIII was born at the palace in 1491, Mary I in 1516 and Elizabeth I in 1533.
  • 1616 to 1635: Inigo Jones built the Queen's House, begun for Anne of Denmark and completed for Henrietta Maria.
  • 1675: Charles II founded the Royal Observatory, designed by Christopher Wren, and appointed John Flamsteed the first Astronomer Royal.
  • 1690s: Mary II ordered a Royal Hospital for Seamen on the site of the old palace, and Wren's buildings went up between 1696 and 1712.
  • 1873: Four years after the hospital closed, the buildings became the Royal Naval College, which stayed until 1998.
  • 1884: An international conference in Washington adopted the meridian through the Observatory as the world's Prime Meridian.
  • 1937: King George VI opened the National Maritime Museum.
  • 1954 to 2012: The Cutty Sark came to permanent dry dock in 1954. It was badly damaged by fire in 2007 during conservation work and reopened in 2012.
  • To learn more ashore: The National Maritime Museum, on Romney Road, tells the story of Britain at sea, and it is free to enter.

Greenwich with Children

Greenwich suits a family day, because its museums, park and river are close together and the National Maritime Museum is free. Plan the Observatory climb for when legs are fresh.

  • Younger children: The National Maritime Museum has Ahoy, a play gallery for children up to 7, and The Cove, a sea-themed playground. Greenwich Park has space to run and herds of deer.
  • School age: Walk under the Cutty Sark's hull, then read about its 1872 race home from Shanghai against the Thermopylae, when it lost its rudder and the ship's carpenter built a new one at sea. At the Observatory, stand with one foot on each side of the meridian.
  • Teenagers: Walk through the foot tunnel under the Thames and back, then take an Uber Boat for a view of the city from the river.

Accessible Travel

The Royal Observatory is the one sight that takes real effort to reach, high in Greenwich Park above the museums. The main path up from the National Maritime Museum includes steps, while a gentler route recommended for wheelchair users takes about 25 minutes.

  • Buses 53, 54, 202 and 380 stop at the top of Greenwich Park, which avoids the climb to the Observatory.
  • At the Observatory, the courtyard cobbles are uneven in places, four steps lead into Flamsteed House, and the staircase to the Octagon Room has 17 steps.
  • The National Maritime Museum has lifts to every floor.
  • On the Cutty Sark, five lifts link the decks, though some areas are reached only by short staircases. For safety, only one wheelchair user can be on each deck at a time.
  • At the Old Royal Naval College, a step-free route crosses the grounds, but the Painted Hall has steps down to its lower hall, so ask about lift access before you go.
  • Cutty Sark station has step-free access, and the foot tunnel has lifts as well as 100 steps at the Greenwich end.
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