Few parts of inner London have parks and water this close to home. The nearest green space is about a minute's walk from the average front door. The Thames is a short walk further. Most homes are close to a national cycle route. What Greenwich doesn't have much of is private gardens.
The average home in Greenwich is about 90 metres from public green space and has about 33 green spaces within a kilometre. Greenwich Park is the big one, rising from the riverside up to Blackheath. The heath beyond it gives the area a second large open space before you reach anything you'd call suburban.
Water is about 300 metres from the average home, with about 66 bodies of water within a kilometre, counting the river, the creek and the docks. The Thames Path runs along the riverside. Across the water are the Isle of Dogs and Canary Wharf, Deptford Creek forms the western edge, and the Greenwich Peninsula and the O2 project into the river to the north-east.
The National Cycle Network is about 250 metres away on average, and about 82% of postcodes are close to it, with Route 1 running through the area along the river.
The valuation list holds 1,397 rateable premises in Greenwich. They include 488 shops, 313 offices, 77 restaurants and 37 pubs. These are premises on the rating list, which is not the same as businesses open today, but they show a centre that is built for trade and for office work. Of the 478 food outlets with a hygiene rating, about 81% hold the top score and about 1% fall at the low end.
Fine-particle air pollution averaged about 9 micrograms per cubic metre in 2024 across the Royal Borough of Greenwich, a figure for the whole council area.
The Royal Observatory and the Queen's House stand among nine scheduled monuments in and around the area. The University of Greenwich teaches in the old Royal Naval College by the river. The historic centre has the museums and the World Heritage Site. The peninsula is mostly new flats, and in between are terraces that predate most of the modern skyline. On a weekend the river path is busy in both directions, while the back streets carry on their own business.
Private outdoor space is scarce. The area has about 13,500 square metres of garden for every 1,000 residents, measured across all 29 of its small census areas, and with flats making up most homes many people have no garden at all. For a lot of Greenwich, Greenwich Park is the back garden.
None of Greenwich is covered by a countryside designation. There is no area of outstanding natural beauty, no site of special scientific interest and no ancient woodland. The protections here cover buildings, parks and history rather than wild countryside.
The surroundings are one of Greenwich's real strengths. A royal park, a long river path and dozens of smaller green spaces are within walking distance, and that makes up for a garden the size of a doormat.