Musée National de la Marine (National Maritime Museum), Paris

The Musée national de la Marine is France's national maritime museum, in a wing of the Palais de Chaillot at 17 place du Trocadéro in Paris's 16th arrondissement, facing the Eiffel Tower across the Seine. It tells the story of France and the sea through ship models, paintings and objects from the 17th century to today. It suits families, sailing enthusiasts and anyone near Trocadéro with two hours to spare.

The collection began in 1748, when the scientist Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau gave a set of ship models to Louis XV, which makes it one of the oldest maritime collections anywhere. The Musée de la Marine was officially established on 27 December 1827 and moved to the Palais de Chaillot in the 20th century. The Paris site closed in 2017 for a full renovation and reopened in late 2023. The national museum also runs sites in Brest, Port-Louis, Rochefort and Toulon, each tied to the naval history of its port.

Ship models, exploration and ocean science

The renewed galleries cover naval history and exploration, fishing and trade, ocean science and present-day maritime questions. Ship models remain the core. The Trianon collection includes 19 warship models ordered by Napoleon in 1810, a model of the frigate Muiron recalls his return from Egypt, and more than 400 models of small craft were commissioned under Admiral Pâris to record traditional boats before they disappeared. Decoration from Napoleon's imperial barge is also on show.

Large paintings by Joseph Vernet show French ports in the 18th century. A big model of the warship Océan greets visitors at the entrance, near a Neptune sculpture by Yves Collet, and Pen Duick V, the racing yacht of the sailor Éric Tabarly, is on display. Into the Deep, an exhibition on undersea exploration from antiquity to the present day, runs from 14 October 2026 to 4 April 2027. The museum is exceptionally closed on 9 and 11 November 2026 because of the Paris Peace Forum.