List of museums dedicated to maritime and port heritage
Arles : Museum of Ancient Arles
Departmental museum with a section devoted to navigation and maritime trade during the time of the Roman colony. Since 2003, the museum has been enlarged to accommodate an exceptional piece: the Gallo-Roman barge Arles Rhône 3.
Museum of Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean in Marseille (Mucem)
A national museum designed by the architect Rudy Ricciotti, opened in 2013 during the Marseille European Capital of Culture year, MUCEM is a transdisciplinary museum dedicated to the conservation, study, presentation and mediation of an anthropological coastline relating to the European and Mediterranean area. A certain number of collections can propose maritime themes depending on the programming.
This Museum was created on the initiative of former ship repair workers. It is devoted to the history of their profession and life on the building sites. Overview of wooden boats, welded ships, caulking and modern ferries.
The Marseille History Museum, located in the Centre Bourse, near the Old Port, houses the site of the Ancient Port, a permanent exhibition of 3,500 m2, a temporary exhibition space, a documentation centre and an auditorium. Of particular note is the history of trade, the collection of seven ancient wrecks discovered during the excavations of Place Jules Verne and the historical evolution of the ports of Marseille.
The museum has been housed since 1992 in the former Town Hall, a neo-renaissance style building. "Napoleon III" notably offers collections dedicated to naval construction over 200 years: history of the shipyards, exceptional boats, shipyard trades (caulking, tailpiece maker, carpenter, master sailmaker, boilermaker, etc.).
The National Museum includes 5 permanent exhibition sites and presents some flagship works including precious objects, models of frigates, galleys, battleships, liners and arsenal machines. It houses a research activity represented by a department of underwater archaeology and two reference libraries in the field of the navy: maritime history, shipbuilding, navigation techniques, medical and natural sciences, and exploration trips.
Saint-Tropez : Museum of Maritime History
The museum tells the story of the time when Tropezian sailors travelled the world, from the 15th to the 20th century. Part of the museum is devoted to traditional activities such as fishing, coastal navigation and shipbuilding, hydrography. 11 rooms allow visitors to explore the great navigational epics and characters of the City.
Grasse : Navy Museum, Admiral de Grasse Memorial
This museum houses a magnificent collection of models and naval pieces that remind us how much the history of the city is linked to that of one of its most illustrious heroes, Count François-Joseph Paul de Grasse, known for his decisive role in the War of Independence of the United States of America.
Off the coast of Cannes, on the first of the Lérins islands, Sainte-Marguerite Island, the Museum of the Sea, classified as a historic building, occupies the oldest part of the Vauban-type Royal Fort. The museum displays underwater archaeological material from the Roman and Sarrazine wrecks of La Tradelière and Le Batéguier (ceramics, loads of amphoras, glass...) and fragments of Roman mural paintings from land excavations on Sainte-Marguerite Island.
Monaco : Oceanographic Museum of Monaco
Within the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco, the museum space is dedicated to the Sea, with an exploratory visit experience accessible to younger visitors, a set of collections related to the underwater world (Oceanomania) and a room offering a dive into the immensity of the ocean (Whale Room).
The Naval Museum of Monaco, founded in 1993, presents an exceptional collection of more than 250 ship models, paintings and marine objects, from ancient times to the present day, enriched by the loan of numerous antique models from the personal collection of Prince Rainier III of Monaco.
Opened in 2004, the year of Genoa European Capital of Culture, Galata is today considered the largest maritime museum in the Mediterranean, innovative and technological, with also a museum area on the quays that tells the story of shipyards and commercial-maritime activities. The museum has areas dedicated to the great historical dates of navigation, to the history of cartography, a boat room, a carpentry workshop, and the journey of the great maritime emigration and immigration.
Pise : Museum of ancient ships
Opened after 20 years of excavations discovering a heritage of ancient ships preserved in their almost totality, the Museum of Ancient Ships of Pisa retraces 1000 years of history: trade and sailors, routes and shipwrecks, navigation and life on board, 800 works are grouped together in the Medicean arsenals.
Non-exhaustive list of museums, please do not hesitate to send us your suggestions: PortCenter@cote-azur.cci.fr