Visit Greenwich Maritime Museum brimming with treasures.
Here, you'll come across artifacts from every era.
Today, let's get down to the nitty-gritty and find out what you can see.
Greenwich Maritime Museum: article summary
Maritime Museum Greenwich: at a glance
The reasonably-sized museum houses objects related to the sea throughout history, such as portraits of explorers, navigational instruments and ship models.
You'll find a large, bright space with a mezzanine, allowing you to contemplate the ship's parts and lighthouse equipment from above.
From this space, exhibition rooms lead off, where you can view sketches, manuscripts and other nautical objects in hushed, dimly lit spaces, making the objects the stars of the show.
What can you expect at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich?
The Greenwich National Maritime Museum is a museum dedicated entirely to nautical objects. Here you will find ship models, navigational instruments, maritime art and the world's largest nautical library.
The exhibition rooms offer the chance to see objects related to the sea, such as sketches by marine artists, naval uniforms and ship equipment.
A huge library
The National Maritime Museum boasts one of the world's largest reference libraries on maritime history.
It contains 100,000 manuscripts devoted to the study of maritime history from the 14th to the 20th century. A veritable treasure trove every moment you spend here.
Maritime Museum Greenwich: a brief history
The museum has existed since 1934. A special law was passed to create the National Maritime Museum: the National Maritime Act of 1934.
It was opened thanks to donations from Sir James Caird and King George VI. Throughout history, the Greenwich area was associated with the sea.
The museum is part of the Greenwich UNESCO Maritime World Heritage Site, along with the former Royal Naval Hospital and Greenwich Park.
These are places where important cultural, maritime and scientific developments have taken place. The museum buildings was founded in 1807 as a school for sailors' children.
See a real boat at the National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum opened its new Sammy Ofer wing in July 2011, featuring a new permanent gallery called Voyagers.
There are also :
- A new library and archives
- A new temporary exhibition space
- A Compass Lounge
- A new café
- A brasserie
- A store
In this wing, the objects are accompanied by interactive display panels for to help you better understand what it's all about.
Maritime Museum Greenwich: how to get there?
You can get to Greenwich from central London by boat. It's an interesting way of getting to the museum and helps you realize just how much maritime history is important for London and the UK as a whole.
It's not possible to take the subway directly to Greenwich. You'll need to take either the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) or an overland train to get to the museum.
Depending on which part of London you're visiting Greenwich from, there are different options for getting to the museum.
The Maritime Museum in Greenwich is an establishment not to be overlooked on your vacation. Here you can discover unique and historic exhibits. What you need to the delight of all naval enthusiasts.
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