From 1512 until the mid-18th century, Greenwich was the headquarters for the British navy. First established under King Henry VIII, the Royal Navy became key to Britain’s success as a nation in trade and warfare alike, and its base was always Greenwich, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Among the noteworthy attractions is the Queen’s House, built for Anne of Denmark (1574–1619) and designed by the so-called father of British architecture, Inigo Jones. (And if you approach from the river, you’ll see the remarkable symmetry in the buildings that flank the house, one of Christopher Wren’s classic feats of architectural wonder.) Once a royal residence, the Queen’s House now holds an excellent collection of art, including the 1588 Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I sitting in regal splendor before scenes showing the ruined Spanish Armada and the victorious British fleet. You can also see 19th-century master J.M.W. Turner’s largest canvas, The Battle of Trafalgar (1822), only recently put on display.

But that’s only one small part of the Greenwich complex. Don’t miss England’s answer to the Sistine Chapel at the Old Royal Naval College: the Painted Hall (1707–26), James Thornhill’s masterpiece, reopened to the public in 2019 after major conservation. For a comprehensive history of Britain’s maritime exploits, from sailing the seven seas and polar exploration to warfare and global trade, visit the National Maritime Museum, whose highlights include the Trafalgar Coat, the uniform that Admiral Horatio Nelson wore on his deathbed in 1805. Then visit the Cutty Sark, the fastest sailing ship of its time. Built in Scotland in 1869, she traded tea from China with a typical round trip taking just seven to nine months. And then, to tie the whole site together, head to the iconic onion dome of the Royal Observatory, where time was first standardized, in 1884. Step on the prime meridian line, gratis, or buy advance tickets to see the Great Equatorial Telescope, installed in 1893.