Queen's House

The Queen's House sits on the Thames at Greenwich, a crisp white Palladian villa that stops you dead in your tracks the moment you round the corner. Built in the 1630s for a royal consort, it's one of Britain's finest classical buildings - all symmetry and restraint, which feels almost shocking after years of heavy Tudor timber and ostentatious baroque. Inside, the geometric perfection continues: a perfect cube of a room, a tulip staircase that spirals without visible support. It's architectural theatre, really, but the kind that makes you understand why people got obsessed with proportion and reason during the Stuart period.

The collection spans royal portraiture, decorative arts and the odd surprising loan - you never quite know what's on. It's unmissable if you're into seventeenth-century design or royal history, but honestly? Even if you're not, the building itself is worth the trip. Families with younger children might find it a bit dry unless they're already keen on palaces, but teenagers who like architecture will properly rate it. You'll need a good hour minimum, longer if you read the wall texts.

It's free entry, which is generous. Greenwich Park rolls right up to the gates - perfect if you want to make a morning of it with the Cutty Sark and the Observatory nearby. If you're staying at Abbey Wood Experience Freedom Glamping just up the road, you could knock this out before lunch without breaking sweat. Go on a weekday if possible; weekends get rammed with school groups.