In honor of Father's Day, we went in search of locations representing famous dads. No, not rock stars or other celebrities: We're talking about the venerable Father Time, jolly Father Christmas and the Father of Our Country. We chose three places that should appeal to pops of every stripe, whether they're into history, the outdoors or just plain kitsch.
-- Anne McDonough
· Father Time
WHERE: Greenwich, England, about 20 minutes from central London by train.
GO BECAUSE . . . the UNESCO Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site is the home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the gold standard of time-keeping since 1884.
WHAT TO DO: Though UTC, or atomic time, is now the technically accurate international standard, it's often used interchangeably with GMT. Set your own watch by the time ball, dropped at precisely 1 p.m. daily.
It's the 330th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Observatory, where you can straddle the Prime Meridian and be the coolest dad in both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. The National Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory and Queen's House (displaying photos of the British coast by Magnum photographers through January) are all free. Info: 011-44-20-8312-6565, http://www.nmm.ac.uk . Search for an old timepiece at the Greenwich Village Market (weekends, 011-44-20-8858-0808) or at the collectibles and antiques day at the Greenwich Market (Thursdays, 011-44-20-8293-3110). The annual futuristic Greenwich + Docklands International Festival features pyrotechnics, aerial dancers, giant puppets and other free performances (June 25-July 30, 011-44-20-8305-1818, http://www.festival.org ).
INFO: Greenwich Council, http://www.greenwich.gov.uk .
