National Maritime Museum
Greenwich
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The world's largest maritime museum, free to visit, beside Greenwich Park. Explorers, Nelson, polar adventures and Ocean Court, plus two brilliant children's galleries and the Cove playground outside.
Sitting at the foot of Greenwich Park, the National Maritime Museum tells the story of Britain and the sea across four floors of free galleries. You can see Nelson's coat, travel from the Arctic ice to the islands of the Pacific, and get lost in centuries of ship models, paintings, charts and treasures from the Royal Museums Greenwich collection.
The heart of the building is Ocean Court, a vast glass-roofed space that's a lovely spot to start, with the Ocean Court Café on the first floor the Parkside Café looking out over the park, and the Parkside Shake Bar for maritime-themed ice creams, milkshakes and seasonal hot chocolates. Special exhibitions in the Sammy Ofer Wing change through the year, and the museum is also home to the Caird Library, the world's largest maritime archive.
For families
- AHOY! Children's Gallery: an immersive play gallery for under-7s, with sensory and role-play areas for babies and toddlers, and cannons, cabins, ropes and boilers for older ones. Free on term-time weekdays; £5 per child for a 45-minute slot at weekends and in holidays
- All Hands Children's Gallery: for ages 6 to 12, with a ship to clamber aboard and steer, a galley to cook in, cargo to load and Morse code messages to send
- The Cove: an outdoor adventure playground with a pirate ship, a giant kraken, a compass roundabout and the "Cutty Shark", designed with accessible elements including a ramp up to the ship and BSL signs (hours vary with the seasons)
- While the Royal Observatory is closed for restoration, the museum hosts its space programme too, including the Astronomers Take Over gallery with its 30-minute planetarium show
Entry to the permanent galleries is free, so it's an easy place to pop into for an hour on a rainy afternoon, or to combine with the Queen's House next door and a walk up through the park.