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Greenwich
offers a lot more than “mean time” even thought time is
measured out from the observatory here. While it’s not far
from downtown London, it can easily take a day to visit even
without the dubious joys of the overpriced Millennium Dome.
Smart travelers who arrive at the Tower of London at least a
half hour before it opens can zoom through the Royal Jewels
and, well before noon, be ready dive around the corner to the
elevated Docklands Light Rail station.
The fifteen minute trip down to the Isle of Dogs across
the Thames from Greenwich can, if you stop at all the upscale
replacements for the dock area bombed out in WW II, take much
of the day.
When
you arrive at the river stop for the view of Christopher
Wren’s Old Royal Naval Collage, Indigo Jone’s Queen’s
House and the clipper ship Cutty Sark.
The Greenwich Foot Tunnel dives under the river.
There are some very Victorian elevators that may even
be working. On
the other side the Cutty Sark, a wonderful small shopping area
with an excellent Vietnamese noodle house and a host of
nautical antique shops is at your feet. Notice the Greenwich Pier to the left; that’s the way home.
Follow
the signs and make the first big decision.
Is it up the hill to the Observatory with its
incredible navigational and time keeping displays, or along
the flat to the National Maritime Museum with oddments like
Nelson’s Trafalgar uniform complete with bullet hole and
blood stains, and the incredible royal barges.
Models of everything else that floats wash down a
couple of hours. Then
it’s the Queen’s House Indigo Jone’s first Palladium
project with it’s cubical main hall and floating tulip
staircase. The
usual next stop is at the river in the Royal Naval College
open in the afternoon with its incredible Painted Hall.
Then, with tired feet, head for the Trafalgar Tavern
right on the water for seasonal whitebait and a beer before
heading back to the pier for the launch ride back to
Westminster. The
two-way ride town to the Thames Barriers and back up into
London can be a nice hour and a half.
TIP:
Avoid Sundays when the Greenwich Market brings mobs.
Skip the Millennium Dome that’s bad Disney.
It does have an underground station if you want to walk
over and tube home.
Address: Romney Road SE
10 London.
Nearest Underground:
Docklands Light Railway Station
Hours: 10:00 to 17:00
daily except three days around Christmas
Admissions: The best
deal are combination tickets for the National Maritime Museum,
Royal Observatory and Cutty Sark. At £12 ($17)pounds for
adults£9.60 ($14) for students
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