Greenwich was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in 1997 and the following brief description is given on their website:

"The ensemble of buildings at Greenwich, near London, and the park in which they are set, are distinguished symbols of English artistic and scientific endeavour in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Queen's House of Inigo Jones was the first Palladian building in the British Isles, whilst the complex that was until recently the Royal Naval College was designed by Christopher Wren. The Park, laid out on the basis of an original design by André Le Nôtre, contains the original Royal Observatory, the work of Wren and the scientist Robert Hooke."

Comments

1. Only a small section of Greenwich Park (the grass parterre) was designed by André Le Nôtre.
2. The 17th and 18th centuries are emphasised, but Greenwich was an important place long before 1600, and has been so since 1800.
3. No mention is made of the River Thames or Blackheath or the distinctive landform which gave rise to the architectural work of the 17th and 18th centuries.
4. It appears that UNESCO is more interested in the architecture of Greenwich than its landscape. Yet the real drama of Greenwich is as 'the finest single work of landscape architecture in London' (see comment on strategy).