Royal Observatory, Greenwich

Step across the meridian line at a museum dedicated to space and time

The meridian line in Greenwich, south-east London, marks the point from which all the world’s time zones are measured. While placing yourself at the very centre of time and the world is in itself a tempting reason to visit, it is the Royal Observatory surrounding the line that will hold your attention.

King Charles II commissioned the original observatory in 1675 and the official Astronomer Royal was stationed here for the next 273 years. Much work was done on establishing measurements of longitude here and by 1884, Greenwich was adopted as the world’s Prime Meridian.

While the observatory has since moved, Royal Museums Greenwich use the former buildings to present a range of historic astronomical equipment and navigational tools, including John Harrison’s four sea watches, revolutionary devices designed for ships to measure their longitude.