Royal Observatory
Visit the home of GMT

- Guaranteed entry time
- Stand on the Meridian Line
- Explore the historic buildings
- Planetarium
Prices
Adult: From £16.00
Child: From £8.00
Visit the beautiful Sir Christopher Wren designed Flamsteed House
Visit the home of GMT
Prices
Adult: From £16.00
Child: From £8.00
Make the most of your day out
Prices
Adult: £25
Child: £12.50
Unlimited entry all year from £49, including Planetarium shows
Direct Debit
Individual: £50
Family: From £60
One-off
Individual: £60
Family: From £70
Visitor notice: All Royal Museums Greenwich sites are currently closed to visitors, but you can still join us for online events and search our digital collections. Find out more
Get up close to beautiful Flamsteed House at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, designed by Sir Christopher Wren and historic home to Britain's Astronomers Royal.
Flamsteed House is the original Royal Observatory building at Greenwich. King Charles II instructed Wren, who was also an astronomer, to design the building in 1675 and it was completed the following year. While you're here, you can:
Buy a ticket to Flamsteed House and also get access to the Astronomy & Time Galleries and the Meridian Courtyard (ages 5 and under go free). The historic site also includes the Prime Meridian of the World and the UK's largest refracting telescope.
The positioning of Flamsteed House meant that the original purpose of the Royal Observatory could not be fulfilled from the Octagon Room. With big windows, the room was perfect for watching the sky, but not ideal for positional observations, because none of the walls were aligned with a meridian. Most important positional observations were actually made in a small outhouse in the gardens, though King Charles II remained blissfully unaware of this.
Find out more about the Octagon Room
The role of Astronomer Royal was created by Charles II in 1675, when he appointed John Flamsteed to draw up a map of the heavens with enough accuracy to be reliable for navigation. Since Flamsteed there have been nine Astronomers Royal, including Edmond Halley and Nevil Maskelyne, each of whom have contributed to the world’s understanding of the stars, time and space.
Find out more about Observatory Life
At sea, navigation is a matter of life and death. Out of sight of land, how can you tell where you are? Time and Longitude tells the story of the quest to find longitude at sea in the age before satellite navigation, and showcases Harrison's celebrated sea clocks.
Find out more about the Time and Longitude gallery
This gallery looks at the historical need to develop increasingly accurate timekeeping see amazing objects including the actual GPS receiver used by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston on his record-breaking round-the-world voyage of 1994.
Delve deeper into this fascinating topic