Majestic Greenwich from the other bank of river Thames

Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian (0° longitude) and Greenwich Mean Time.

Majestic Greenwich from the other bank of river Thames

Famed for giving its name to Greenwich Mean Time, Greenwich is where hemispheres meet and is home to a World Heritage Site

Old Royal Naval College

The centrepiece of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, the classical buildings of the Old Royal Naval College were designed by England’s greatest architects and are considered amongst the finest in Europe

Old Royal Naval College

In an age of world wars and developing technology, the Royal Naval College provided state-of-the-art training for promising young officers. It would also see thousands of Wrens trained here during World War II. The Navy left in 1997, and the Old Royal Naval College is open for the public to visit.

Old Royal Naval College

Old Royal Naval College

Old Royal Naval College

Old Royal Naval College

The Royal Observatory

The Royal Observatory is Britain’s oldest scientific institution. It was founded in Greenwich by King Charles II in 1675 for perfecting the art of Navigation.

The Royal Observatory

Since the late 19th century, the Royal Observatory is the historic source of the Prime Meridian to the world, Longitude 0° 0' 0''. The world prime meridian marks the divide between the eastern and western hemispheres.

Before It, There Was No Standardised Method For Measuring Time

Before the Observatory, there was no standardised method of measuring time, which could be very, very confusing. Standardised time was essential for navigation so that mariners were able to measure their distance from the Prime Meridian in Greenwich. In the 19th Century, mariners start relying on Greenwich and helped GMT to become a universal standard for decades.

The Royal Observatory

Greenwich observatory is home to the Prime Meridian Line, the UK’s largest refracting telescope, a 4.5 billion-year-old asteroid and the only London planetarium

The Royal Observatory

The Royal Observatory

Prime Meridian

The meridian line in Greenwich represents the Prime Meridian of the world, Longitude Zero (0° 0' 0"). Every place on the Earth is measured in terms of its angle east or west from this line.

Why does the Prime Meridian run through Greenwich?

There were two main reasons for this choice. The first was the fact that the USA had already chosen Greenwich as the basis for its own national time zone system. The second was that in the late 19th century, 72% of the world's commerce depended on sea-charts which used Greenwich as the Prime Meridian.

The Standards of Measurement

The Royal Observatory Greenwich features a set of Public Standards of Length. Marked out by brass pegs, these measurements set out the exact length of different imperial measurement units, including a yard and a foot.

The Standards of Measurement

Discover Greenwich visitor centre

Discover Greenwich visitor centre

National Maritime Museum

The museum includes a gallery of special exhibitions, including a permanent gallery "Voyagers" which introduces the story of Britain and the sea. The museum was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

A View of London from Greenwich Park

Spectacular sunset over the city of London