The Royal Navy moved its college from this site in 1998, giving over the operation of the facility to the Greenwich Foundation. The buildings are Sir Christopher Wren’s design. The artwork in the Painted Hall (the dining room) is the work of Sir James Thornhill, completed between 1707 and 1726. The chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul was re-done after a fire in 1779, but the architecture is also Wren and the rococo decoration is worth seeing. Admission to these buildings is free, though guided tours are also available. The Royal Naval College is open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.

The National Maritime Museum celebrates Great Britain’s long and glorious history at sea. The masthead from Admiral Lord Nelson’s flagship, The Victory, is outside. Inside, among the naval treasures, you will find other Nelson memorabilia, including the uniform he was wearing when fatally shot at the Battle of Trafalgar. Admission to the museum is free. It is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.

The Queen’s House, originally commissioned for Queen Anne, wife of James I, has undergone numerous changes in its four century existence, but it has now returned to something like what was originally planned. It houses an extensive art collection, some permanent, some temporary exhibits. As it is part of the National Maritime Museum, the admission is also free and the hours of opening are the same.

Also part of the National Maritime Museum, the Royal Observatory is free and is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. The Royal Observatory was created by King Charles II in 1675. Sir Christopher Wren designed what is now called Flamsteed House (named for the first Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed). Charles II’s commission to Flamsteed was to discover how to calculate longitude, something previously impossible for ships at sea to determine. While the Royal Observatory itself moved away from Greenwich following World War II (too much environmental interference from the lights and pollution of London), the buildings there now house a museum. Of course, Longitude Zero is still there – have your picture taken with one foot in each hemisphere!