National Maritime Museum

The museum is centrally located in beautiful Falmouth, with good access from the car park, as well as from public transport; the train station is approximately 10 minutes from the museum.

The National Maritime Museum is a place to enrich and excite your understanding of the sea, as well as Cornwall. The exhibitions shine a light on both past and present issues, highlighting their relevance to the present day, whilst promoting Cornwall’s maritime heritage. The modern building was built with wheelchair accessibility in mind.

Celebrating the sea, boats and Cornwall, this multi award winning visitor attraction not only has 15 galleries beautifully describing the maritime past, present and future of this island nation but also offers a number of stunning exhibitions, a quality cafe and shop.

Built in 2002, there are 5 levels in the museum, all of which are accessible by lift or ramp. You should allow at least 1.5 hours for your visit.

There is level access to the main entrance of the museum, and all levels in the museum (there are 5 ranging from being under the sea, to the top of the tower, giving spectacular views of the historic docks) can be accessed via the lifts or ramps.

The museum has an accessible toilet on the first floor, with grab rails, emergency pull cord and a low level sink.

Large print and Braille guides are available free of charge from reception. A small number of wheelchairs are available for loan free of charge, no booking necessary.

The museum wanted to install a Changing Places toilet at the museum, however, the structural implications of such a project require significant investment. National Maritime Museum Cornwall believes in the importance of making Changing Places facilities available to visitors who require them, so they have arranged to have Mobiloo facilities on site at National Maritime Museum Cornwall as follows:

Wednesday 19 August 2020
Saturday 24 October 2020
Wednesday 30 December 2020
Saturday 13 February 2021

With spectacular views over Falmouth’s magnificent harbour, the Waterside Cafe is a popular port of call for museum visitors. We offer a range of home-made sandwiches, pasties and cakes, where possible made from locally sourced produce, plus fair trade coffees and teas and home-made soup of the day.

The shop has locally sourced, quirky maritime themed gifts, everything from silk scarves and children’s clothing to model boats and pirate flags. The shop is situated on the ground floor and is free to enter.