Zoom in on the Best Things to do Near Royal Observatory Greenwich

Dive into exciting adventures close to Royal Observatory Greenwich.

Published: March 21, 2025
Royal Observatory Greenwich

Perched atop the hill in Greenwich Park, the Royal Observatory offers incredible views and a fascinating journey into the world of astronomy. But there's more to this historic area than celestial sights. From lush gardens and maritime history to vibrant markets and delightful dining, Greenwich is a treasure trove of activities. Let's explore the top things to do near Royal Observatory Greenwich and make your visit a stellar adventure! 

Greenwich Park 

Start your adventure in Greenwich Park, where you can enjoy expansive lawns, ancient trees, and gorgeous flower gardens. Relax with a picnic while taking in views of the cityscape and the River Thames. The park's serene atmosphere provides a refreshing escape in the heart of London. 

Cutty Sark 

Step aboard the Cutty Sark, a legendary 19th-century tea clipper. Discover its rich history through engaging exhibits and interactive displays. The ship's striking design and fascinating tales offer a vibrant maritime experience that captivates visitors of all ages. 

National Maritime Museum 

Dive into naval history at the National Maritime Museum. The interactive exhibits and historic artifacts celebrate Britain's seafaring heritage. The spacious galleries and engaging stories make it an educational and enjoyable visit for the whole family. 

Old Royal Naval College 

Royal Naval College

Visit the Old Royal Naval College, known for its stunning architecture and historical significance. Marvel at the breathtaking Painted Hall and learn about its naval history. The grand surroundings and riverside setting offer a memorable experience for history enthusiasts.

Queen’s House 

Explore the elegant Queen’s House, a masterpiece of classical architecture. Wander through its art collection, including works by famous masters. The serene surroundings and stunning interiors provide a delightful cultural outing. 

Greenwich Market 

Indulge your senses at Greenwich Market, where unique crafts and delectable street food await. Browse artisan stalls, devour delicious delicacies, and enjoy the lively atmosphere. The diverse offerings and friendly vibe make it a must-stop for shoppers and foodies. 

Emirates Air Line Cable Car 

Ride the Emirates Air Line Cable Car for stunning aerial views of London. The peaceful journey across the river offers a unique and scenic perspective. It's a relaxing and fun way to see the city from above. 

The O2 

O2 Arena

Experience world-class entertainment at The O2, hosting concerts, sports, and events. The vibrant setting and diverse program ensure an unforgettable night of excitement and entertainment. Explore the innovations of The Millennium Dome within The O2. Discover cultural exhibits and futuristic attractions. The fusion of technology and creativity creates a stimulating modern experience. 

Trafalgar Tavern 

Dine at the Trafalgar Tavern, a riverside pub with historic charm. Enjoy traditional British dishes like fish and chips with a view of the Thames. The welcoming ambiance and picturesque location create a delightful dining experience. 

Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park 

Explore Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park, a verdant haven with wetlands and diverse wildlife. Wander the trails and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. The natural beauty and serene environment offer a refreshing retreat for nature lovers. 

Mudchute Park and Farm 

Enjoy a day at Mudchute Park and Farm, one of London’s largest city farms. Meet the animals, explore the green spaces, and enjoy the family-friendly atmosphere. The farm offers an interactive and educational outing for all ages. 

Eltham Palace

Eltham Palace

Discover the art deco glamour of Eltham Palace. Explore beautifully restored interiors and stunning gardens. The blend of architectural styles offers a unique glimpse into the past and a luxurious cultural experience. 

Ranger's House 

Visit Ranger's House, showcasing the Wernher Collection of art and jewels. The Georgian mansion and its treasures provide a cultural experience steeped in history and elegance. 

Blackheath Village 

Explore Blackheath Village, a charming area known for its independent shops and cozy cafes. The relaxed vibe and community spirit make it a delightful place to wander and unwind. 

Café Rouge Greenwich 

Savor French cuisine at Café Rouge Greenwich in a cozy, Parisian-style setting. Enjoy classic dishes like coq au vin in a warm ambiance. The delightful flavours and friendly service make it a must-visit dining spot. 

Greenwich Foot Tunnel 

Walk through the historic Greenwich Foot Tunnel, connecting Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs. This underground passage offers a unique urban adventure with a touch of history. 

With so many attractions near the Royal Observatory Greenwich, your visit promises to be filled with exploration and enjoyment. From historic sites and cultural wonders to fantastic dining and nature escapes, this lively area offers something special for everyone. Enjoy your journey in this iconic part of London! 

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Tourist on Westminster Bridge by Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
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How to get Cheap London Attraction Ticket Deals

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that London is not a cheap place to visit. Indeed, it’s regularly cited alongside the likes of Hong Kong, New York, Singapore and Sydney as one of the most expensive cities in the world. That’s largely due to its well-deserved reputation as one of the planet's top bucket-list destinations, with household-name attractions like Westminster Abbey, The Shard, Oxford Street, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Tower of London around almost every corner. And, as surely as night follows day, high demand means high prices. But London isn't just for lottery winners, celebrities and Russian oligarchs. No! This vast playground of historical attractions, world-class museums, stellar theatrical performances, and destination dining is for everyone to enjoy. And it is possible for savvy travelers to visit on a shoestring, as detailed in our self-explanatory blog ‘How to Visit London on a Budget’ right here. Read on below as we take a deeper dive into how to get cheap ticket deals at London attractions, including all the most highly sought-after landmarks and theaters. The London Pass Serious sightseers who plan to hit up a lot of major attractions and tours should consider The London Pass – basically a catch-all way of ticking off the big (and little) hitters in town while saving cash in the process. It’s the only pass of its kind that gives you access to Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral and Tower Bridge (plus some 80 or so additional attractions and tours across London), and it’s conveniently stored on your phone or mobile device for speedy scan-through access at each address. And here’s how it works. You choose a duration for your London Pass package – (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 10 consecutive days) – download the Go City app to your phone and you’re good to go. Your pass activates as soon as you scan in at your first attraction and is valid for consecutive days (not 24-hour periods), so you should make sure to start early on your first day of sightseeing. The London Pass can save you up to 50% on gate prices if you make full use of it and visit several attractions each day, but its value weakens when you only visit one or two places each day. Fear not though: the pass’s savings guarantee means that, if you visit at least three attractions each day for the duration of your pass, and don’t save money, you can apply for a refund of the difference. Some of the 80+ attractions you can visit with your London Pass include: The Tower of London – William the Conqueror’s notorious 1,000-year-old fortress on the Thames. The View from The Shard – dizzying panoramic views from atop the UK’s tallest building. London Zoo – a family favorite with over 750 species of weird, wonderful and downright cute critters. Hampton Court Palace – the grand former home of gouty serial monogamist Henry VIII. Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre – lovingly reconstructed replica of the bard’s 17th-century London playhouse. Kew Gardens – kaleidoscopes of colorful wildflowers, tropical foliage, treetop walkways and more at London’s best botanical garden. Get The London Pass here. More Cheap London Attraction Ticket Deals There are several other straightforward methods of making savings on tickets to London attractions. Traveling to London by train? National Rail runs a promo that gives you 2-for-1 prices on major London attractions when you buy train tickets. There’s a decent list of attractions included in the promo, such as Madame Tussauds, London Dungeon, the ArcelorMittal Orbit and the Tower of London. You’ll need to register on National Rail’s Days Out website, from where you can then download and print vouchers for your chosen attraction. Present these with your train ticket (bearing the National Rail logo) at each attraction to claim your discount. You’ll get these when you take pretty much any train into London (with the exception of the Tube and some airport trains), or you can get them by buying a London Travelcard at any London railway station (as opposed to Tube station) such as Victoria, Liverpool Street, Paddington, Charing Cross and Waterloo. Remember to check your chosen dates are available before pitching up at the attraction – some of the biggies have blackouts on the 2-for-1 offers during peak periods. Other potentially money-saving options include the likes of the Merlin Pass, which includes access to Merlin attractions like the London Eye, London Dungeon, SEA LIFE London and Madame Tussauds, but has a lot of date restrictions during school holidays on the cheaper basic passes. Then there are cash-saving voucher sites like Groupon and Wowcher, which are great for finding bargain London attraction tickets, especially outside of peak season. Cheap London Theater Tickets The West End’s reputation for astronomical ticket prices is almost as famous as its world-class plays and musicals. We’re talking the likes of Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Matilda and The Mousetrap (only the world’s longest-running play, fact fans). Incredibly, it is in fact possible to bag cheap last-minute tickets to all of these and more, as long as you’re a) savvy and b) willing to queue for several hours at the box office on a wing and a prayer. Here’s the lowdown: very few shows are ever completely sold out and many West End venues offer day seats. Tickets for these are cheap and are generally released between 9AM and 11AM for same-day performances, so you’ll need to be flexible and yes, for the more popular shows, you’ll definitely have to queue and may still end up disappointed. Some shows also run lotteries via their website or app. This is much the same as the day-seat option, but means you can avoid schlepping to the venue and do it all from the comfort of your armchair. Winners are chosen at random. You can also get last-minute bargains from the tkts booth on Leicester Square, again for shows that same evening. If you can afford to be really flexible about your plans, it’s also well worth taking a gamble on ultra-last-minute cheapies direct from the theaters. And by ultra-last-minute we mean, like, an hour before the performance begins. The Royal Court does 10p tickets. Yes, that’s just ten new pence. These are standing only but hey, that’s a small price to pay, right? Similarly, the hip Donmar theatre in Covent Garden has been known to release £10 tickets for same-day performances, and you can bag tickets to the pit at Shakespeare’s Globe for £5-£10 at most performances. An absolute bard-gain. Save on things to do in London Save on admission to London attractions with the London Pass. Check out @londonpass on Instagram for the latest top tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
London Transport Museum
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A complete guide to visiting London Transport Museum

From steam trains and horse-drawn omnibuses to roundels, Routemasters and the Tube map, London Transport Museum tells the story of how London got moving. Expect engaging galleries, real vehicles you can step inside and tiny hidden details that transport nerds (and everyone else!) will love.
Alice Padfield
Alice Padfield
Brick Lane street sign.
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East London Attractions

East London may well lay claim to being the city’s coolest quarter, thanks to its proliferation of urban art, bleeding-edge galleries, buzzy markets, global street food and hipper-than-thou cocktail bars and speakeasies. It’s also where you’ll find landmarks including the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Walthamstow Wetlands, and Whitechapel’s haunting, haunted lanes, which have retained the best of their Victorian character. Take a walk with us as we explore some of the finest attractions East London has to offer... Brick Lane The good news is that, in spite of the area’s ongoing gentrification attempts, Bangladeshi and Jewish influences continue to dominate along Brick Lane. You’d still be hard-pressed to find a better curry or bagel anywhere else in London, and that’s reason enough to visit this characterful kaleidoscope of cultures, in our humble opinion. But there’s so much more to see and do along these iconic cobbles. We’re talking flea markets that fairly heave with retro fashions and vintage vinyl; supermarkets brimming with exotic fruits and spices; tiny antique stores and bouji indie boutiques; plus some of the best street art this side of NYC. Heck, there’s even a bowling alley. Something, in other words, for just about everyone. ArcelorMittal Orbit Britain’s largest piece of public art, a looping, swirling behemoth designed by Turner-Prize winning artist Anish Kapoor and engineer Cecil Balmond, the ArcelorMittal Orbit is the centerpiece of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. Ascend to the viewing platforms 260 feet up for views across Olympic tracks where records were set and broken at the 2012 games. And that’s not all: you can also see a great many more London landmarks from up here, including the Shard, Big Ben and the 02 Arena. Thrillseekers who fancy experiencing the quickest route back down to terra firma can take on the world’s longest and tallest slide, an epic 12-loop monster designed by German artist Carsten Höller that twists and turns its way down for 40 seconds of pure fun. Or terror, depending on your constitution. Dennis Severs’ House Tucked away on a quiet side street a stone’s throw from Spitalfields Market, Dennis Severs’ House is a mesmerizing throwback to a bygone era; the kind of out-of-time oddity you only really tend to find in East London. Step inside this Georgian townhouse, where Severs spent the last 20 years of his life painstakingly recreating the 18th-century lives of a fictional Huguenot family. Preserved since his death in 2000, the house is, in effect, a theater set that’s alive with period décor and furnishings hawked from market stalls, and is at perhaps its most evocative around Christmas, when rooms are decked out with festive candles, trees and decorations. The Guardian called it “a three-dimensional historical novel written in brick and candlelight” while Severs himself described it, rather more prosaically, as a "time machine". Columbia Road Flower Market Tucked between Shoreditch and Bethnal Green, Columbia Road is a pretty colorful place to visit at the best of times, all independent delis and bakeries, tiny art galleries and cool boutiques where rummaging for vintage clothes and retro records is practically a way of life. But it’s on Sundays that it really bursts into full technicolor life, thanks to a blooming marvelous flower market that runs the gamut from £1 bedding plants to ten-foot-tall banana trees, and just about every conceivable plant in between. Come for the colors, stay for the sweet scents and chilled Sunday morning vibes. Jack the Ripper Tour The characterful cobbled avenues and neat brick houses of Whitechapel, one of East London’s most visited attractions, exude Victorian charm. But they weren’t always this pleasing to the eye – or this safe. Jack the Ripper remains big business around these parts, his legend drawing thousands of amateur sleuths every year, all keen to unravel this infamous murder mystery. Take a walking tour with expert guides, who will transport you back to the East End of the late 19th Century, visiting dimly lit alleys and recounting bloodcurdling tales of the Ripper’s murders as well as seeking out some of the regular haunts of his victims, and the notorious murder sites. Chilling, thrilling stuff. ABBA Voyage And now for something a little more... light-hearted. ABBA Voyage is a musical extravaganza that takes place in the (purpose built, no less) ABBA Arena at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Using four avatars of the original members of the band as they appeared in their 1979 heyday – all velvet suits with flared trouser hems, floaty kaftans and brightly coloured glitter suits – the show takes fans on a musical journey, with a live band providing the enthusiastic backing to iconic hits including Voulez-Vous, The Winner Takes It All and, of course, Dancing Queen. Look out for the space-age neon ‘ABBAtron’ outfits. A strong look in any era. Walthamstow Wetlands Europe’s largest urban wetlands can be found a short walk from the Tottenham Hale Station on the Victoria line. This awesome 500+ acre site encompasses 10 reservoirs and a whole host of colorful bird and insect life. A busy program of talks, walks, tours and kids’ activities helps reveal some of the reserve’s most interesting visitors, among them breeding birds including gray herons, tufted ducks and little egrets, wintering waterfowl such as pochard and gadwall, and kingfishers and peregrines that swoop and dive for their supper. Depending on the season, you might also spot damselflies, dragonflies, butterflies, bats and amphibians. Whitechapel Gallery Tucked away on Whitechapel High Street, this wonderful gallery has been quietly wowing punters for over a century, thanks to its wide-ranging (and ever-changing) exhibitions of modern and contemporary masterpieces. The gallery even exhibited Picasso’s Guernica, one of the most powerful anti-war statements ever committed to canvas, back in 1938. Step inside for free art shows and installations that are all but guaranteed to expand your mind. Victoria Park Victoria Park (or Vicky Park as it’s known to locals) is perhaps East London’s best-loved green space, chock-full of walking trails, playgrounds, cafés and interesting monuments. Look out for the Grade II-listed drinking fountain designed by Henry Darbyshire and the famous Dogs of Alcibiades statues. Keep your eyes peeled and you might even spot some stone alcoves from the original London Bridge tucked away in the park’s northeast corner! There’s a cool food market with live music every Sunday and the V&A playground is a boon for all parents of energetic toddlers. Come back in summer for a whole host of live entertainment, including major music festivals such as All Points East. Save on Activities and Attractions in London Save on admission to Paris attractions with The London Pass. Check out @GoCity on Instagram for the latest top tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak

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