Which museums you can advise?

[Lucky Jack]

Hi mates,

I would like to know, which museums you could advise to a friend.

Here two examples:
the maritime museum in Barcelona: a museum about all marine matters, inclusing a rebuilt galley of Juan de Austria.
the Vasa-museum in Stockholm: A whole museum about the sunken ship, that should had been the flagship of sweden.

Maybe you have some more hints for us.

Lucky Jack
http://www.sailsofglory.org/images/smilies/SGN/salute.png

[Jason]

Hi Mate,

During my recent visit to Paris, besides showing my girlfriend a standard tour of Versailles, Louvre and Tour Eiffel, I managed to convince her to forfeit a precious hour from an extremely tight weekend sightseeing schedule for the French Navy Maritime Museum. It's located at Trocadero, the place where everyone goes for a selfie with Eiffel Tower. The museum was a blast for me, several enormous SOL models, and I have found the big oil paintings of engagements equally interesting. When you see them on the web they are just pretty pictures, but faced with a canvas the size of a car, you can pick out all the details, rigging, guns, damage to the ships and the emotions of men. I highly recommend it. They also have a bus-sized model of Ocean-class SOL.

I found just one picture, because i shoot mainly videos (to have a 360 angle of the models), but there are a dozen models like this one, real guns, ship figures, etc, really cool stuff.

12776

[Nightmoss]

Great suggestions and photos so far. Looking forward to see what's suggested next. :hatsoff:

[David Manley]

Here's a quick list of must-see naval museums in the UK focusing on the age of sail

Portsmouth:
National Museum of the Royal Navy (inc Victory, Mary Rose, Warrior)
Fort Nelson Royal Armouries Museum
Explosion Museum of Naval Firepower

London
National Maritime Museum

Hartlepool
HMS Trincomalee

[Jason]

Thanks, I didn't know about HMS Trincomalee. Is the Royal Navy museum in Portsmouth one facility with the Victory? I've planning to pay it a visit next time I'am in England, but from the website, I believed it's just the ship.

[David Manley]

Yes it is, all three ships (indeed 4 since the monitor M33 will be open to the public later this year as well) are part of the museum, which is itself quite extensive. To be honest you really need 2-3 days to do Portsmouth and Gosport justice as you have the Royal Marines Museum, the D Day Museum and the Submarine Museum there as well. Special mention if you have a few extra days as well - the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton in Somerset (my kids have demanded a visit there this half term holiday) and the Tank Museum at Bovington in Dorset (the best accessible collection of armoured vehicles outside Russia)

[Jason]

Wow. It seems like it would be a pretty good idea to plan a week of vacation at Portsmouth just to enjoy all that goodness. A weekend at least.

[7eat51]

If visiting Chicago:

U-505 exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry: http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/u-505/the-exhibit/

For a touristy sailing: http://tallshipwindy.com

Some years during August, Chicago hosts a Tall Ship event: http://www.choosechicago.com/event/Tall-Ships-Chicago/20931/

For Great Lakes and Chicago maritime history: http://www.chicagomaritimemuseum.org/about-us/

Chicago Maritime Festival: http://www.chicagomaritimefestival.org/about_us/

If ever in need of restaurant suggestions, please ask; my initials are EAT for good reason.

[Nightmoss]

While Wisconsin has nothing to compare to some of the worlds larger maritime museums we do have a number available. Here's a list of spots one can check out.

http://www.maritimemuseums.net/WI.html

I have been to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum and toured the USS Cobia. It was a memorable trip.

http://www.wisconsinmaritime.org/index.php

If you happen to be a diver and are interested in underwater archaeology you can check out these sites as well:

http://www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org/

http://www.wuaa.org/

[David Manley]

If visiting Chicago:

U-505 exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry: http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/u-505/the-exhibit/......

They also have one or two absolutely gorgeous tour guides (we had a nice chat about deep diving depths and other techie stuff :happy: )

[Popsical]

Wow. It seems like it would be a pretty good idea to plan a week of vacation at Portsmouth just to enjoy all that goodness. A weekend at least.

A weeks trip to portsmouth is highly recommended. David is correct regarding the sites he has stated. You can add to those the Spitbank forts and Southsea castle, also nearby is Bucklers hard and its maritime museum, this has a whole exhibit on the building of Nelsons era navy, a must see for those of an 18th century ship interest.

[Union Jack]

Musee National de la Marine (Rochefort):

A long time ago since I visited but they have a large collection of model ships, circa Napoleonic period and earlier.
The longest building I've ever been in that was used to make the longest single piece ropes for ships cordage.
Well worth the visit.

[7eat51]

They also have one or two absolutely gorgeous tour guides

When did we meet? :takecover:


I have not been to that exhibit in decades - must do this year with Sue. I remember, even as a young one, being impressed with how small the space within the U-boat was.

[Titolo]

Museo naval de Madrid (Ministerio de Defensa)

The best naval museum in Spain. You must see the beautiful video in the museum web:

http://www.armada.mde.es/ArmadaPortal/page/Portal/ArmadaEspannola/ciencia_museo/prefLang_es/

Museo histórico militar de Canarias (Ministerio de Defensa)
(Fuerte Almeyda-Santa Cruz de Tenerife)

http://www.portalcultura.mde.es/cultural/museos/canarias/archivo_34.html

[Nightmoss]

Museo naval de Madrid (Ministerio de Defensa)

The best naval museum in Spain. You must see the beautiful video in the museum web:

http://www.armada.mde.es/ArmadaPortal/page/Portal/ArmadaEspannola/ciencia_museo/prefLang_es/

Museo histórico militar de Canarias (Ministerio de Defensa)
(Fuerte Almeyda-Santa Cruz de Tenerife)

http://www.portalcultura.mde.es/cultural/museos/canarias/archivo_34.html

I know that video. I linked it last May on the homework Spanish thread. Thanks for linking it once again though. It's a museum I'd enjoy visiting very much.

[Mark Kaiser]

In Michigan, there are 2 big ones that have classes, charters, dives, stores, maritime cathedrals and ship tours. The first is in southwestern lower peninsula, South Haven, it is called Michigan Maritime Museum by Grand Rapids and looks to have a full sailing sloop for charter. The second, is in the Upper Peninsula (West), at Whitefish Point, it is called the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, and focuses on the maritime merchants, their ships and roles and ultimately their deaths in the unpredictable frigid waters of the Lakes. "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and it's detailed history and crew are the focal point of this museum, but by no means all. Gordon Lightfoots song rings throughout and the ghosts returning home is an uneasy feeling throughout, many lighthouses of 100's of years dot the coastline and often are accessible to the public, in both the upper and lower portions of the state, as well as Maritime Churches adorned with the "Sailors Cross" out front, and marked graves in back.