Is it irony that one of the most important advances in history is the machine built to measure it? On the surface, it seems unlikely that a tangle of gears, springs and weights charged with something so mundane as ticking off fractions of a day could be imbued with so much romance, dressed in so many forms and be the main reason medieval squares across Europe have towers. Clocks are the crack dealer to our junkie-like obsession with the passage of time and, well, life. Here are few stops geared toward horophiles - and those who just need a fix.

1. Hanson's Clock Shop, Solvang

If it tells time, is made in Germany's Black Forest and features punctual wooden characters crying for attention on the hour, you can probably buy it at Hanson's. Since 1969, this family business has been selling cuckoo clocks made by Anton Schneider, August Schwer and Rombach & Hass, among others. The shop, a fixture in the Danish-themed village, welcomes browsers - but beware being there when all the cuckoos cuckoo. 467 Alisal Road, (800) 939-5426,

2. Downtown Seattle

There are so many classic display clocks and street clocks in downtown (at least a dozen within four blocks of Pike Place) that clock fan Rob Ketcherside created a tour "for Seattleite horological pedestrians." The tour wound down, but the Seattle Clock Walk website still offers a map you can print out and follow. Visit

3. Conger Street Clock

Museum, Eugene, Ore.

No, clepsydras isn't something contagious. It's a hand-tooled water clock, and this funky gallery and museum has one from England dated 1551. That and a clock tower mechanism built in 1780 - the pendulum is 13 feet long and takes four seconds to cycle - are the highlights among the cases full of clocks in every shape and historical era. 730 Conger St., (541) 344-6359,

4. Sather Tower, Berkeley

When it was completed 99 years ago, this 307-foot freestanding clock tower (8 feet shorter than Big Ben) probably helped students on the UC Berkeley campus get to class on time. What the tower, generally known as the Campanile, is best known for (especially if you're on the observation deck) is the set of 61 bells, which a carillonist plays for brief concerts three times a day. Bring earplugs. Intersection of Campanile Way and South Hall Road,

5. Sundial Bridge, Redding

This 700-foot-long bridge by Spanish designer Santiago Calatrava crosses the Sacramento River at the Turtle Bay Exploration Park. It's modeled as an ultramodern sundial with the 217-foot mast as the gnomon, which casts a shadow that moves fast enough that the passage of time is noticeable. Don't set your watch to this sundial, however, unless it's June 21, the only day of the year when it's accurate. The park is at 844 Sundial Bridge Drive, (800) 887-8532,

- Spud Hilton,