ListingsUpdated Sat 24 Oct
Greenwich London: what's on and things to do
Greenwich is the one part of London that is genuinely better as a whole day than as an evening, and the only one on this site where we would tell you to arrive in the morning. The market, the park, the observatory, the Cutty Sark and the river are within a fifteen-minute walk of each other, and the view from the top of the hill is the best free thing in south-east London.
Daytime
The covered market runs every day and is at its best midweek when you can move. The Cutty Sark and the Old Royal Naval College sit by the water; the Painted Hall inside the College is extravagant and worth the ticket. The Royal Observatory is at the top of the park, and the walk up is steeper than it looks and worth it for the view back across the river to Canary Wharf.
The National Maritime Museum is free and one of the better museums in London for children. Greenwich Park itself is a deer park, and the flower garden at the south end is quiet even on a bank holiday.
Evening
Greenwich is not a late-night place and does not pretend to be. What it has is river pubs: the Trafalgar Tavern and the Cutty Sark Tavern both sit on the water and both are better in winter than in summer, when the tables outside are three deep. In September the Totally Thames festival brings river events to the Greenwich bank, several of them free and most of them better at dusk.
Getting there and back
The DLR from Bank or Canary Wharf is quickest, the Thames Clipper from the centre is the nicest, and the foot tunnel under the river from Island Gardens is free and slightly unnerving. There is no Night Tube here: the DLR stops around half past midnight and the alternative is a night bus or a long walk to New Cross for the Windrush line.
What to expect
5 listings ahead in Greenwich. The busiest rooms are The O2, Peter Harrison Planetarium and Greenwich Market. Mostly Gigs, Seasonal and Talks.
Nearby
Each venue above has its own page with its address, its opening hours and every date we hold for it.
Saturday
24 October-
Talks From £12
Planetarium show at the Royal Observatory
The only planetarium in London, in a cone of bronze angled at the pole star, with a live astronomer rather than a recording. Shows run through the day and last about half an hour.
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Gigs
Fally Ipupa at The O2
Until 25 Oct
The Congolese star brings his new album XX to the arena, billed as the UK's biggest Francophone show. Sunday is sold out.
Sunday
25 October-
Gigs
Fally Ipupa at The O2
The Congolese star brings his new album XX to the arena, billed as the UK's biggest Francophone show. Sunday is sold out.
Monday
2 November-
Gigs
J. Cole at The O2: The Fall-Off Tour
J. Cole's first solo headline tour in five years, for The Fall Off, opening its London run on Monday. Doors 6.30pm.
Tuesday
1 December-
Markets Free
Greenwich Market in December
Until 31 Dec
The covered one, open every day 10am to 5.30pm and shut only on Christmas Day. Craft and antiques from actual traders, and the naval college two minutes away.
Saturday
24 April-
Seasonal Free
London Marathon
Until 25 Apr
Free to watch anywhere along twenty six miles. Cutty Sark at mile six and Tower Bridge at twelve are the loudest; the Mall is ticketed grandstands and a wall of people.
Sunday
25 April-
Seasonal Free
London Marathon
Free to watch anywhere along twenty six miles. Cutty Sark at mile six and Tower Bridge at twelve are the loudest; the Mall is ticketed grandstands and a wall of people.