National Maritime Museum

#21

The National Maritime Museum tells Britain's ocean story as a web of ventures, risks and reckonings. Nelson's Trafalgar coat, pierced and preserved, anchors the human cost beneath grand narratives. Nearby, the 'Sea Things' wall turns thousands of curiosities into a mosaic of everyday seafaring. Pacific Encounters reframes oceans as cultural highways, while Polar Worlds weighs courage against cold and logistics. Time and Longitude reveals the elegance of navigation-precision as empire's quiet engine. Galleries are spacious, family-friendly, and rich with interactives without losing scholarly backbone. Entry is free; special shows vary. Pair with Greenwich Park, the Queen's House or the Observatory, and budget ninety minutes to three hours.

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Opening Hours

Sunday: 10:00 – 17:00

Monday: 10:00 – 17:00

Tuesday: 10:00 – 17:00

Wednesday: 10:00 – 17:00

Thursday: 10:00 – 17:00

Friday: 10:00 – 17:00

Saturday: 10:00 – 17:00

What's not to miss inside?

Nelson’s Trafalgar Coat

Uniform worn at Trafalgar (1805)

Look for the visible bullet hole - a stark reminder of the battle that shaped Britain’s naval story.

Step to the case’s left to line up the entry hole and epaulettes in one view.

📍 Nelson, Navy, Nation gallery

Sea Things Wall

1000+ curious maritime objects

From Roman anchors to sailor-made scrimshaw, this floor-to-ceiling display tells seafaring stories in objects.

Pick one item and read its label fully - then find its ‘cousin’ two rows away.

📍 Ground-floor ‘Sea Things’ gallery

Pacific Encounters

Oceans as cultural highways

Navigation, voyaging canoes and exchange show how Pacific peoples mapped seas long before GPS.

Find a stick chart and trace a route with your finger across the ‘swell’ lines.

📍 First-floor galleries

Polar Worlds

Arctic & Antarctic survival

Equipment, diaries and photographs bring Franklin, Scott and Shackleton-era expeditions into sharp focus.

Compare wool-and-canvas kit with today’s hi-tech gear in the labels.

📍 Exploration galleries

Time & Longitude

Finding your place at sea

Marine chronometers and instruments reveal how precision timekeeping unlocked global navigation.

Match a sextant to its star chart in the same case.

📍 Navigation & astronomy displays

🤓 Fun Facts

Opened by King George VI on 27 April 1937; created under an Act of Parliament in 1934.

Part of Royal Museums Greenwich alongside the Royal Observatory, the Queen’s House and Cutty Sark.

Holds over two million items - from ship models and charts to paintings, uniforms and figureheads.

Vice-Admiral Nelson’s Trafalgar uniform is displayed with the fatal bullet hole still visible.

General admission is free; charges apply for some special exhibitions.

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