This summer we spent nearly a whole week staying in Greenwich on a trip to London, somewhere we had never been before. I was so surprised at how much there was to do there and especially as a family. Actually, there was so much to do that we missed out on a lot, including the planetarium.
Greenwich Park
A trip to Greenwich with children just wouldn’t be right without a visit to Greenwich Park. A short walk from the shopping area and the Cutty Sark, Greenwich Park has so much to offer. Greenwich Park is home to the Meridian Line, The Wilderness (deer park), the Royal Observatory and also the huge children’s play park.
The play area is huge and so much to do for children of a range of ages. Think climbing frames, swings and massive sandpits along with balance equipment and plenty of places to play hide and seek. With toilets on site, as well as somewhere to get a snack and a drink, you can spend hours here and the kids will definitely want to.
Find out more on the website.
Cutty Sark
Walking through Greenwich, it’s unlikely that you can miss the Cutty Sark. A huge ship out of the water is an impressive sight in itself, especially as it’s not even in the water. From the Cutty Sark you get exceptional views of London from across the river.
You can learn loads about the history of the Cutty Sark while onboard and find out what kinds of voyages it used to do. There are some informational videos to watch as well as hands on interactive areas for children. Erin found loads to see and do and for her to really get stuck in with. You can also go into some of the rooms that would have been used by the crew and see where they would have slept, cooked and socialised!
Read our review here.
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum was by far our favourite place that we visited on our stay in Greenwich and we definitely wasn’t expecting it. The museum is free to enter although you can book a ticket online or chance it and turn up on the day. There are children’s sections but some of these you need to pay for and is definitely advised that you do it in advance.
At the National Maritime Museum you can learn all about great ships, voyages, the people who went on ships and so much more. Children will probably enjoy all of the cannons dotted around and the interaction sections where they can practice Morse Code and fire at a pirate ship.
Read our review here.
The Queen’s House
Situated next to the National Maritime Museum and near the entrance to the Greenwich Park is the Queen’s House. Again, this is a free entry museum/ gallery and you can book tickets online or take a chance and see if you can just go in on the day.
Here you will see a lot of stunning paintings and portraits and it’s such a beautiful building to walk around. The Queen’s House might be better suited to older children although you can make a game out of your visit by making everyone pick a favourite from each room or maybe counting how many fireplaces there are (it’s quite a lot). In winter there is also an ice rink outside!
Find out more on the website.
Have you been to Greenwich before? What did you do there?
I’d add the market too (I assume it’s still there, I’ve not been for many years now!)
I have never explored this part of London, so thank you for giving me some great ideas!
I love that there are free entries to keep the cost down too.
I remember visiting here when I was younger with my parents and had a great time. There is so much to do there will have to revisit again and take the grandkids with us as they would love it
I’ve not been to Greenwich for years and the Cutty sark was being repaired – but I definitely need to go back. I’d not heard of Queen’s House. Thanks for the useful advice.
I’ve never been to Greenwich before, but I have a soft spot for maritime museums so I’d really like to visit the maritime museum there. My favourite maritime museum so far is the one in Amsterdam, closely followed by Hamburg.
I have never visited Greenwich but here it’s great. Good to know what you can do with kids as that’ll make it easier to convince the kids to go.
I can’t wait until we can go and have an explore of London. Greenwich park would definitely be on the list x