The National Maritime Museum

About The National Maritime Museum

Museum in London, England, United Kingdom

The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, south-east London, is the United Kingdom's leading maritime museum and one of the largest of its kind in the world. It sits at the heart of the Maritime Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site and, with the Royal Observatory, the Queen's House and the clipper Cutty Sark, forms Royal Museums Greenwich. A public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, it charges no general admission like Britain's other national museums, though most temporary exhibitions are ticketed. Opened in 1937 in buildings that once housed a school for sailors' children, it holds the national collection of maritime objects: ship models, charts, navigational instruments, marine chronometers, paintings and uniforms, most famously the coat Admiral Nelson wore when he was fatally wounded at Trafalgar in 1805. Its galleries follow Britain's relationship with the sea from explorers, ocean trade and empire to naval warfare and today's marine environment, and include an interactive children's gallery. Do not expect whole ships, which is the role of the Cutty Sark on the nearby riverfront. Next door stands the Queen's House, designed by Inigo Jones in the early 17th century as England's first Palladian building and now showing maritime paintings and royal portraits. Arab visitors will find particular interest in the trade and navigation galleries, which show the role of Eastern seafarers and the Indian Ocean routes.

Where:

London, United Kingdom