The view from the Royal Observatory made it worth climbing the hill. The Prime Meridian is a brass…read moreband in the pavement showing the divider between the eastern and western hemispheres. To see the line up close requires paying an admission fee of about 20 pounds to get into the observatory. We didn't pay the 20 pounds and didn't get our photos taken with one foot in each hemisphere. But the view from just outside the observatory was amazing.

This is where the world gets the correct time from, everywhere sets their time from this post!…read moreThe prime meridian is a line of longitude defined a 0 . You can literally be standing in two different hemispheres, East and west. Definitely a tourist stop, great for photos. It was so much fun,

Neat tunnel that takes you underneath the Thames River. Makes it convenient to cross to the other…read moreside without having to find a bridge or take the ferry. It can be a bit eerie to think that a lot of water is all around you and the only thing separating you from it is a man-made structure. Pretty bare bones so don't expect anything eye catching.

Greenwich Foot Tunnel is a really handy way to cross the river if the DLR isn't running for any…read morereason - it's classed as a public highway so it's kept open 24 hours a day. It's also part of the National Cycle Network but you're not allowed to ride your bike through it - cyclists are supposed to get off and push. The lifts at either end are operated by attendants and only open between 7am and 7pm. There's no guarantee that they'll be working when you go through though - especially if you happen to be carrying a lot of heavy shopping! As for safety, I've walked through there at all hours and never felt threatened or unsafe. There are a few CCTV cameras and most of the time there'll be at least a couple of other people down there with you.

Other than the Observatory and the Maritime Site Greenwich has many nice homes dating back to…read morebeyond the last century. The Wernher Collection which is based in the Ranger's House is an amazing collection to view.The collection which was started by Sir Julius Wernher the diamond magnate contains a sumptous album of silver,porcelain,paintings,ivories and a spectacle of fine jewels.

Business district worthwhile to explore…read more This business area has hidden parks, eateries, waterways integrated into the metal and glass landscape. This whole area is an ode to the modern financial face of London. Ah, there are many faces to this dynamic city.

I stayed here with my friend who has spent most of the Covid period in London. He moved here from…read morethe Nottinghill Area looking for a quieter area of London. I asked how he chose this area versus say the London Eye area. He moved in back in spring of 2021. He said he looked around and this was newly developed. The apt building he moved into was beginning to lease units. It's a bit of a hike but not too bad in my book. I'm the ultimate city dweller who appreciates the public transportation life. Canary Wharf is FiDi.2 while City of London is the FiDi of London. Recently adopting a nomadic life, Canary Wharf reminds me most of Chicago.

This little garden was on a list of strange/offbeat attractions to see on my trip to London because…read moreof the dark history around it. It's basically a garden grown atop a mass grave for poor, unmarried women, sex workers, and children. Small but lovingly cared for by volunteers, it is only open from noon to 3PM on weekdays during the summer. There is some artwork and little memorials. It's a little out of the way, but if you're in the area it's a nice quick stop to pay tribute to the forgotten women and children.

Another Halloween visit? This one holds a celebration here…read more Cross Bones Graveyard was a mediaeval burial ground, situated in St Saviours parish, now Redcross Way SE1. There is a long established tradition that it was a final resting place for Winchester Geese, ie prostitutes, from the legalised brothels or 'stews' of Bankside. This dates back to the days when the Bishop of Winchester ran Bankside and licensed the Geese. Recent archaeological digs for the Jubilee Line extension have uncovered evidence of a highly overcrowded graveyard where bodies are piled up on top of each other and tests have shown that many of the bodies are women and children with diseases ranging from smallpox, TB and pagets disease to osteoarthritis and vitamin D deficiency. This is Cross Bones, an unconsecrated graveyard going back to medieval times. The Tudor historian John Stow refers to it as a burial ground for 'single women' - a euphemism for the prostitutes who worked in Bankside's legalised brothels or 'stews'. In his 1603 Survey of London, Stow writes: 'I have heard of ancient men, of good credit, report that these single women were forbidden the rites of the church, so long as they continued that sinful life, and were excluded from Christian burial, if they were not reconciled before their death. And therefore there was a plot of ground called the Single Woman's churchyard, appointed for them far from the parish church.' The burial registers of St Saviour's parish don't distinguish between burials in Cross Bones and those in the churchyard adjoining what is now Southwark Cathedral. However, the long-established local tradition - that Cross Bones was a prostitutes' graveyard - is restated in the Annals of St Mary Overy (1833): 'There is an unconsecrated burial ground known as the Cross Bones at the corner of Redcross Street, formerly called the Single Woman's burial ground, which is said to have been used for this purpose' Such women were condemned to be buried in unhallowed ground. Yet many were actually licensed by the church. For some 500 years, the Bishop of Winchester exercised sole authority within Bankside's 'Liberty of The Clink', including the right to licence prostitutes under a Royal Ordinance dating back to 1161. These women became known as 'Winchester Geese'. Cromwell and the Puritans shut down the Bankside pleasure quarter, with its bear-pits, theatres, taverns and stews. By Victorian times, the area around Cross Bones was known as The Mint - an overcrowded, cholera-infested slum, and a notorious thieves quarter. When William Booth was conducting his survey of poverty, his researcher George Duckworth described it as: ' a set of courts and small streets which for number, viciousness, poverty and crowding, is unrivalled in anything I have hitherto seen in London.' Duckworth walked around The Mint with a policeman who told him: 'Police don't go down here unless they have to, and never singly.' Around this time, Cross Bones witnessed many a pauper's burial. It was also the haunt of body-snatchers, seeking specimens for the anatomy classes at nearby Guy's Hospital. The graveyard was finally closed in 1853, on the grounds that it was 'completely overcharged with dead' and that 'further burials' would be 'inconsistent with a due regard for the public health and public decency'. In 1883, it was sold as a building site, prompting Lord Brabazon to write to The Times: ' with a view to save this ground from such desecration, and to retain it as an open space for the use and enjoyment of the people.' (10th November 1883) The following year the sale was declared null and void, under the Disused Burial Grounds Act (1884). Subsequent attempts to develop the site were fiercely resisted by local people. The land was briefly used as a fair-ground until an action was taken against the showmen for abatement of the nuisance caused by steam organs and noisy music. Apart from these minor intrusions, the graveyard slept peacefully and unmolested for the best part of a century. Then, in the 1990s, London Underground built an electricity sub-station to supply power for the Jubilee Line Extension. Prior to the work, Museum of London archaeologists conducted a partial excavation of the site, removing some 148 skeletons. By their own estimate, these represented: 'less than 1% of the total number of burials that were made at this site.' Some were exhibited at the Museum's 1998 London Bodies exhibition, including: ' a young woman's syphilitic skull with multiple erosive lesions, from Red Cross Way, Southwark, 18th century'.' 'For tonight in Hell, they are tolling the bell For the Whore that lay at The Tabard And well we know how the carrion crow Doth feast in our Cross Bones Graveyard.' They have since conducted many rituals and community events at the graveyard. The rituals are simple, inclusive and non-dogmatic, emphasising respect for 'the Ancestors', and honouring the spirit of

We bought tickets a few days in advance and was able to get an 11am entry time. There was no line…read morewhen we got there, but had to snake through before entering. There was a guided tour starting right when we entered, but we did the audio tour on our own. I had also prepaid for a kids's book that we picked up at the gift shop. I wouldn't get it again if I had a redo. We also picked up our audio guides, which were included in the price of admission. This was great as it had a kids program and the guided map let us pick and choose what path we wanted to take. We chose to hit the highlights, which takes 90 minutes and we ended up being there for 2 hours. The line for the crown jewels wan't too bad and was the highlight of the visit. They also had live shows in the common area that the kids loved.

Beefeaters Tour. That's all…read more The crown jewels are beautiful to see, but my favorite part of the Tower of London was the free Beefeaters Tour. I recommend heading to the Tower of London right when they open because it gets busy, even on weekdays. I was not prepared for the amount of crowds I would encounter. At 9AM, we went straight to the Crown Jewels. No photos are allowed inside. After 10:30AM, there is already a line to enter. We went straight to the first Beefeaters Tour at 10AM. The tour is normally for a group of 50 people, but there was no one taking a headcount when we arrived and our group went over 50 people. The tour was informative and hilarious. I would recommend the Tower of London for the Beefeaters Tour alone.

In 1954, after the Blitz in London, Roman temple ruins were discovered. The ruins dating to 400…read moreA.D. were painstakingly preserved and studied. Today, this underground museum houses the ruins and artifacts found and is opened free to the public. (The Museum is beneath the Bloomberg Building). We ordered free tickets on line, but most people show up without tickets and get in fine. They run the tours every 20 minutes or so. On ground level is a display of the artifacts found at the site. We were surprised by the sophisticated workmanship. A theater describes the people, temple and their devotion to Mithras, a sun/star-type deity. Visitors descend into the area of the temple ruins and experience a virtual program of the temple as it might have appeared 2000 ago. After the brief program, visitors can walk around and take photos. The museum is remarkably well done and I was fascinated by the experience and thinking about these early inhabitants of the region. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Donations are encouraged. Restrooms are available. The entire museum is accessible. Plan a short 30-45 minute visit.

The Temple of Mithras - known also as the London Mithraeum - are the remains of a temple dedicated…read moreto the Roman god Mithras, in the city of London, underneath an office block built for Bloombergs in 2012-14. During construction, the Temple was moved to its original position and this visitor centre was constrcuted to house it and enable the public to have regular access. The mithraeum was built here, on what were then the banks of the Walbrook river, around AD 240, in the middle of the Roman city of Londinium, which became the site of the present-day London (and of course gave us the city's name). The worshippers in this temple were members of an all-male cult that spread across the Roman Empire in the first four centuries AD. By the later 5th century AD, following the departure of the Roman legions from Britain in 410AD, Londinium had been effectively abandoned, and the temple had been abandoned with it. The site became buried and the medieval and then the modern city of London evolved above. The remains were unearthed during World War II, when bombing destroyed much of the area on and around the site, and a subsequent archaeological excavation here revealed the ruins of a Roman building. The excavation was open to public display and generated a great deal of interest at the time. On the last day of the excavation, a sculpted head of the god Mithras was uncovered, confirming the identity of the building as a mithraeum. In response to public interest, the temple remains were dismantled and reassembled nearby, and remained on view until the early 2000s. The redevelopment of the site has enabled the temple to be returned to its original location, and additional remains were also found. It was decided at the time that the remains should form part of a small museum open to the public, providing interpretation of the site. This has included the development of a multi-media interpretation in which light and sounds are used to give an impression of the building as it was originally constructed and used. You enter at ground level, where this is a display of some of the many and impressive objects discovered during the 2012-14 excavation. Sadly, the interpretation is rather limited, but they includes coins, surgical and grooming instruments, pottery, keys, jewellery, footwear, a paddle and even (rare) surviving part of a Roman panelled door. (It's actually an impressive collection of everyday objects that would be very welcome in any museum.) You then descend to a lower floor where there is an audio loop about the site and the cult of Mithras, and some more limited interpretation on interactive computer screens. This is interesting but there need to be more screens for the number of people visiting. (You had to queue up to read them.) Then, every 20 minutes, access is provided to the remains of the temple itself, where there is a sound and light show. We also found this a bit disappointing: it would have been an ideal opportunity to explain all about the building and how it was used, instead of which everything was focused on creating "atmosphere". But visitors are able to remain behind for a short while to take photographs. So all in all, an interesting diversion for 30 minutes, but it could have been better presented. Entrance is free, but it is best to book as space is limited and entry is controlled to 44 people an hour (11 people every 15 minutes). Access is via stairs or a lift to all floors (but the main entrance door is not automatic). There are toilets. Note the light show includes periods of very low lighting and rumbling noise, so may not suit everyone.

Magnificent palace located in a far out London suburb. This palace was for a time, the home for the…read moreCourtaulds family who built a magnificent house attached to a mediaevel hall. The hall was all what remained of a Royal palace. But its foundations have been partly excavated and exposed for public viewing in the magnificent gardens. If you love art deco interiors, then you will love this place which still remans fresh and contemporary with its numerous en suite bathrooms and fitted bedrooms. And a simply beautiful lobby with a unique domed ceiling. Do buy a bag of carp food and have fun feeding the greedy fishes!

My fiancé and I visited from the US and we're looking to visit some unique attractions in England…read more This is one of them. A beautiful Art Deco house! The staff was very friendly. They have beautiful gardens to stroll in as well. If you can appreciate vintage/antique Art Deco architecture you'll enjoy walking around this palace. They also have a tea room at the end of the walk which we enjoyed a pot of tea and a slice of maple walnut coffee cake. Very good.

Sky Garden ended up being such a fun experience while we were in London…read more We started at the restaurant on the 27th floor and ordered a bottle of champagne for my friend's birthday. They gave us a really nice birthday discount which was unexpected and appreciated. The service the whole time was fantastic and the views were honestly incredible. After that we went down to the 26th floor and stayed there for a while because the vibe was just really good. Live music, more amazing views, people hanging out and enjoying themselves... it felt very "London night out" in the best way. Touristy? Sure. Worth it? Absolutely. Definitely something I'd recommend making time for if you're visiting London.

The Sky Garden is an absolute masterclass in how to waste people's time while pretending to run a…read more"reservation system." We had tickets for 12:45. In any remotely competent operation, that means you show up at 12:45 and go inside at 12:45. Not here. Here, your reservation is basically a polite suggestion that no one intends to honor. There is zero clear signage, so instead of simply following directions like a normal human being, you are forced to stand in a line just to ask someone what you are supposed to do. And who is handling this? One single, overwhelmed employee who is somehow responsible for scanning tickets and answering every random walk up question. One person. For a major tourist attraction. It is not just inefficient, it is absurd. After wasting time in that line, you are then sent to another, much longer line. For your "timed entry." So at 12:45, your actual reservation time, you are not entering. You are standing in a slow moving queue wondering why this place even bothers issuing tickets with times on them. Let's call it what it is. If you cannot honor reservation times, do not offer reservations. This system does not manage crowds, it creates them. And here is the part that really pushes it over the edge. We missed another reservation because of this disaster. Not because we were late. Not because we did not plan. But because this place is so poorly organized and so wildly inefficient that it derailed the rest of our day. That is not just annoying, it is completely unacceptable. This is not some small oversight. This is a fundamental failure in basic operations, communication, and respect for visitors' time. It is almost impressive how badly it is handled. By the time you finally get inside, it honestly does not matter how good the view is. The experience has already been ruined by the chaos, the delays, and the sheer incompetence of the system. If you value your time, skip it. Or go in fully expecting your "reservation" to mean nothing and your schedule to take the hit.