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Thames river experience(s)

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We are thinking of including thames river cruising in our London experience. After some research I am considering either the cruise between Westminster and Tower of London (or continue on to Greenwich), or to take river sightseeing from Hampton Ct to Richmond on our way back from Hampton Ct, or do both.

I have 2 questions with this part of planning:

1 If we don't want to visit Greenwich observatory, just for the cruising experience itself, is it worth taking the river boat beyond London tower all the way to greenwich? We will tour 1-2 sites if we do continue on to Greenwich (e.g. old royal naval college, queen's house, national maritime museum, greenwich park, cut sark), but these are on the list only if the cruise experience is worth the extra time.

2 We are considering taking the boat trip back from Hampton Ct, but if we are already doing #1 above, is it worth the extra time (our time is limited and hence we would need to maximize time value and avoid repetitions).

Thank you for your kind advices!

Posted by
1070 posts

I thoroughly recommend Westminster to Greenwich. The whole journey is full of interest and Greenwich is a fun place to visit.

I prefer it to the Richmond/Hampton Court end of the river as Westminster to Greenwich gives a fantastic sense of the history of London - from medieval to the super-modern developments at Canary Wharf.

From Greenwich, it’s fun to take the DLR back to central London. It’s fascinating as it winds amid the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf.

Posted by
454 posts

Another vote for Greenwich. As well at the sights mentioned above (it's "Cutty Sark") there is a great craft market some days.
It's also not too long a boat trip - the Hampton Court one is much longer.

Posted by
356 posts

If you walk or get the bus from the Cutty Sark towards the O2 arena (North Greenwich tube station) you can get the cable car over the Thames and then get back to the city using the DLR from the Royal Victoria station which is close to the northern cable car station. It's relatively expensive for a short ride but it does give some great views.

Posted by
1301 posts

Every time we have time, my favourite riverboat experience is to take the boat from Westminster to Kew, and then walk to the Gardens.

Posted by
29 posts

thank you everyone. I am adding Greenwich back to our itinerary based on these suggestions. appreciate the help!

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