National Maritime Museum

Lonely Planet review

Though it hardly sounds like a crowd-pleaser, this museum designed to tell the long and convoluted history of Britain as a seafaring nation is the most impressive sight in Greenwich. From the moment you step through the entrance to this magnificent neoclassical building you'll be won over. And it just gets better as you progress through the glass-roofed Neptune Court into the rest of this three-storey building.

The exhibits are arranged by theme, focusing on Explorers, Maritime London, Art and Sea and much more. Visual highlights include the golden state barge built in 1732 for Frederick, Prince of Wales, and the huge ship's propeller installed on level 1. The museum also owns the tunic that Britain's greatest sea-faring hero, Horatio Nelson, was wearing when he was fatally shot (including the actual bullet), plus a replica of the lifeboat James Caird used by explorer Ernest Shackleton and a handful of his men on their epic mission for help in Antarctica.

The environmentally minded are catered for with the Your Ocean exhibit on level 2, examining the science, history, health and future of the sea. Kids will love firing a cannon in the All Hands exhibit or manoeuvring a tanker into port by using the state-of-the-art bridge simulator on level 3. Even fashionistas will be wowed by Rank and Style (uniforms) and the Passengers exhibit (classic travel posters and the mock-up of the cocktail bar of a cruise ship).