For those who haven’t visited, Greenwich is one of the loveliest places to visit in London and yet, other than the admittedly incredible Observatory where you can literally stand on Greenwich Mean Time, there are so many other things to do and places to see while there. Here are a few of my favourites that you may like:
Aji Ichiban
The best sushi in London. Bar none. You can pay a fortune at more well-known places across the city, but Aji Ichiban is one of those increasingly rare places with seriously good food and understated, friendly, yet highly efficient service. This used to be our local and it is still fantastic and like everything in Greenwich, a very short walk to get there.
It’s always a joy simply walking through this part of Greenwich as you not only get a sense of the significant role that Greenwich played in British naval history (and if you’re really into that kind of thing, the Maritime Museum is fascinating), but the architecture is simply breathtaking and hugely popular with film production companies who always seem to use the College grounds as a set for ‘historic England’.
On my morning walks through the College, I remember seeing sets for countless films (read Is This The Most Popular Film Location In The World?). If you get the chance, the Painted Hall is also an incredible thing of beauty.
I’m not even a big jazz fan, but I used to love going to Oliver’s just for a drink and to watch whatever band they had on that night. It’s one of those small basement venues that seem to be disappearing as London continues to expand into a anonymous world of glass and steel. Oliver’s is the antithesis of that. An intimate venue abundant in laid-back atmosphere and the room at the back is a cool place to be.
The commuter boat to London Bridge
As you may know, London has the occasional Tube strike, however I strangely looked forward to them as it meant that I could justify taking the boat to work from time to time. And with your Oyster travel pass, you even get a discount. I used to love it as not many other people seemed to use the service as the schedule was never the best for commuters.
Of course, there are countless other things to mention, but those are our favourites and so whenever we go back to England to visit friends and family, we make sure to spend some time in Greenwich doing some of the above with local friends.
After a few days in Greenwich and a few more elsewhere in England seeing family, we were then all set for our 3-month trip to the USA and Cuba. Next stop – Boston!
Departures and Coffee 