Royal Observatory

The Royal Observatory is one of London's best loved and most famous landmarks, it is located at Maritime Greenwich, a world heritage site, and home to the National Maritime Museum and The Queens House.

Founded by Charles II in 1675, the observatory was built in a bid to improve navigation at sea and find the longitude of places by astronomical means. In the early 18th century Parliament established a panel of experts, the Board of Longitude, and offered a reward of £20,000 to anyone who could solve the problem of finding longitude at sea, after 60 years a little known Yorkshire clockmaker called John Harrison claimed his prize. The highlight of a visit to the observatory is viewing Harrison's four groundbreaking timekeepers that has maintained in full working order.

Greenwich is most famous for being the source of the Prime Meridian of the world, this meridian line divides the Eastern and Western hemispheres of earth and is defined by the position of the large transit circle telescope in the Meridian building. Currently, the Prime Meridian has served as the base for the calculation of Greenwich Mean Time that keeps the international standard of time.

This fantastic museum of time not only hold, cultural, historical and international significance for everyone but also houses some of the most interesting sea-faring and time-keeping equipment. In addition to Harrison's timekeepers visitors can also view astronomical instruments and special exhibitions relating to the sea, ski and time.

There are also a number of special and temporary exhibitions some of which are free but some do charge an admission fee. There are also family events taking place throughout the year, you can find out more about these in our Exhibitions and Family sections.

The Royal Observatory is open daily from 10am to 5pm excepting Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The museum also closes early on New Year's Eve and opens late on New Year's Day, and London Marathon Day.

Find out more about the Royal Observatory.

How to get there

The closest station is at the Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich on the DLR line. If travelling by bus the 129, 177, 180, 188, 199, 286, 386, D3 and D7 all serve Greenwich.

Images © National Maritime Museum, London.