Royal Greenwich by Foot

Greenwich is a borough of London known for its maritime and royal history. In Greenwich, our ship was moored in the middle of the River Thames, and Thames Uber Boats provided tender services to the pier. The included shore excursion for the afternoon was Royal Greenwich by Foot, and Tim and I joined the tour.

We spent the entire tour discovering all aspects of Maritime Greenwich, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although we had seen some of the buildings during our sail in, it was an incredible experience for me to walk among them. The history of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century architecture unfolded before my eyes in a location that was unfamiliar to me. I apologize if this post reads like an architectural history lesson.

We joined our guide at the pier and stopped first at the famous Cutty Sark, the world’s only surviving tea clipper and the fastest sailing ship in the world when it was built in 1869.

Who Knew That There Are Uber Boats

Cutty Sark

We walked down the grand axis of the palatial Old Royal Naval College, originally the Royal Hospital for Seamen. Laid out according to a master plan developed by Christopher Wren in the late seventeenth century, it was developed over many decades by him and other leading architects. This complex is among the most outstanding group of Baroque buildings in England.

Old Royal Naval College

Our next stop was even more amazing to me. Queen’s House, designed by Inigo Jones, England's first great architect, was the first Palladian building in Britain and the direct inspiration for classical houses and villas all over the country in the two centuries after it was built. Queen’s House is part of the last Royal Palace at Greenwich.

Queen's House

Queen's House Details

We continued onward and walked into the courtyard of the King William Block within the Old Royal Naval College. In the courtyard is a building designed in 1699, by Nicholas Hawksmoor, who worked with Christopher Wren. 

One of the more notable features of the courtyard is the Nelson Pediment, a public memorial to Admiral Lord Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The sculpture was designed by artist Benjamin West, who also produced the famous painting of the same name, and depicts the dead Nelson being offered to Britannia by a winged Victory.

King William Block Designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor

King William Block and the Nelson Pediment

Details of the Nelson Pediment

We passed by the National Maritime Museum, which occupies a building complex that was once the home of the Royal Hospital School. We then found ourselves on the north side of Queen’s House. I continued to be amazed at this building. From here, we could see the Royal Observatory, founded in 1675 and located high on the hill and surrounded by the Royal Park laid out in the 1660s by André Le Nôtre.

Together, this incredible ensemble of buildings symbolizes English artistic and scientific endeavor in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

National Maritime Museum

Tim at the Queen's House

The Royal Observatory Within the Royal Park 

The Royal Observatory

As we started to walk back to the pier, we stopped to see Nelson's Ship in a Bottle, one of the most photographed artworks in London. We passed by the famous Greenwich Market and St. Alfege Church, which was rebuilt in 1712-1714 to the designs of Nicholas Hawksmoor. The church is dedicated to the Archbishop of Canterbury who was killed on this spot in 1012 and is also where Henry VIII was baptized.

Nelson's Ship in a Bottle

St. Alfege Church

Our guide covered an amazing number of sites in just over an hour, but I want to return to spend more time in this incredible place.

We returned to our ship for our last night aboard and watched the London skyline as the sun was setting. We’ll be heading to London tomorrow for four nights on our own.

The London Skyline from Greenwich

The Sun Sinking Over London