Queen’s House

The first Palladian building by architect Inigo Jones after he returned from Italy, what was at first called the ‘House of Delight’ is indeed far more enticing than the art collection it contains, even though it includes some Turners, Holbeins, Hogarths and Gainsboroughs. The house was begun in 1616 for Anne of Denmark, wife of James I, but was not completed until 1638, when it became the home of Charles I and his queen, Henrietta Maria. The Great Hall is the principal room – a lovely cube shape, with an elaborately tiled floor and the helix-shaped Tulip Staircase (named for the flowers on the wrought-iron balustrade) leading to a gallery on level 2, hung with paintings and portraits with a sea or seafaring theme from the National Maritime Museum’s fine art collection. Don’t miss the paintings in the Historic Greenwich gallery on level 1.