Essential Information

Location
Price Treasures Tour: £3.50 adults | All other tours and talks are free

The National Maritime Museum is a treasure trove of objects, stories and memories.

But with so much to see, where to begin? Our daily tours and gallery talks are the perfect way to discover the must-see highlights of the Museum, all led by our friendly and knowledgeable guides. 

Check out the details below to find out what's currently on offer, and get ready to embark on a voyage of discovery.

For bespoke tours, exclusive offers, or group (15+) enquiries, please make a group booking enquiry.

Treasures Tour

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A guide takes a tour group around the Museum

Explore some of the Museum’s most prized – and lesser-known – objects on this guided tour.  

Meet and greet a Fijian canoe; be chilled by tales of polar exploration; marvel at the oldest boat in our collection and learn about life at sea in the age of Nelson.

  • Timings: Tours run daily at 12pm and 2pm.
  • Duration: 50-60 minutes.
  • Meeting point: Information Desk, located by the Parkside Café on the ground floor of the National Maritime Museum.
  • Price: £3.50 for adults; £2.50 for students; £1.75 for children; free for Members.
  • Suitability: The tours are suitable for adults and children.
  • Audio headsets: You will be provided with headphones and an audio headset, which allow you to clearly hear the guide and adjust the volume if required. The headphones and headset will be collected at the end of the tour.
  • Tour size: Each tour has a maximum capacity of 25 people.
  • Accessibility: The tour passes through several galleries located on different floors of the Museum. Step-free access is available via lifts.

Book now

Want to take things at your own pace? The Treasures audio tour is a self-guided, audio version of the Treasures Tour. It is a great alternative if you aren't able to join a group or can't visit the Museum. Find out more about audio guides at the National Maritime Museum here.

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Entrance to the Pacific Encounters gallery featuring a crested wave

Gallery Favourites

From the secret lives of women in Nelson's Navy to Ponko the penguin, dive deeper into the stories within our collection during our free gallery talks. Where will your journey of discovery take you? 

  • Timings: Daily at 11am, 1pm and 3pm subject to availability – speak to staff at the Information Desk (located by the Parkside Café on the ground floor of the National Maritime Museum) if you are interested in joining a talk.
  • Duration: 15-25 minutes.
  • Location: Talks take place in various galleries around the Museum. Listen to the tannoy announcements, check the posters around the site or ask a member of our team for more information.
  • Price: Free. No booking is required.
  • Suitability: Suitable for adults and children.
  • Accessibility: All floors of the Museum are accessible via lifts.
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A model ship in a glass bottle in front of the National Maritime Museum.

Volunteer tours and talks

Uncover some of the wonders of the past with our volunteer guides. 

  • Timings: Subject to availability – speak to staff at the Information Desk (located by the Parkside Café on the ground floor of the National Maritime Museum) for more information.
  • Location: Events take place in various galleries across the Museum.
  • Price: Free.
  • Suitability: Suitable for adults and children.
  • Accessibility: All floors of the Museum are accessible via lifts.

What’s On

Find more events at the National Maritime Museum

Image of a small proportion of the Sun, which is lit up in golden yellow at the surface and moves to darker colours away from the surface. A golden plume of a coronal mass ejection is coming out of the Sun and flowing parallel to it.
Exhibitions | Space and astronomy

Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition

See the world's greatest space photography at the National Maritime Museum
Open daily until 11 August 2025 | 10am-5pm
Free
National Maritime Museum
A man dressed in period sailor costume leads a tour of the National Maritime Museum, with kids and parents following behind
Family fun

Character Encounters at the National Maritime Museum

Visit the National Maritime Museum every Saturday to discover a different character from history with their own fascinating story to tell
Every Saturday
Free
National Maritime Museum
The gold hilt of a sword against a dark fabric background. The outline of a human skull has been digitally superimposed on to the right side of the hilt.
Exhibitions | Maritime history

Pirates

Explore the myth, discover the truth: Pirates at the National Maritime Museum is now open
Open daily until 4 January 2026 | 10am-5pm
Adult: £15 | Student: £11.25 | Child: £7.50
National Maritime Museum
Adults and children enjoying a storytelling session.
Family fun

Play Tuesdays

Bring your under 5 on a different adventure every week! Explore the Museum together through song, dance and stories
Term time Tuesdays | 10.30am, 11.30am, 1.00pm, 2.00pm
£4 per child and accompanying adult | Under 6 months free
National Maritime Museum
A group of four with adults and children participating in a craft.
Family fun

Safe Harbour

Safe Harbour is a series of free workshops created to provide a safe space for foster and adoptive families with children under 13 years
Monthly: Next date 28 June | 12.30pm - 2.30pm
Ticketed | Free
National Maritime Museum
Sensory Sailors
Family fun

SENsory Sailors

Come along and enjoy this brand new sensory play session for children under 13 years with special educational needs
Once a month on Saturdays | 11am-12.30pm
Free | Pre-booking required
National Maritime Museum
(Source of a mother helping the child to draw using a pencil Picture)
Family fun

Discover Sundays

Each Sunday come and explore the Museum's collection through hands on creative activities
Term time Sundays | 11am - 1pm | 2pm - 4pm
Free | Drop-in
National Maritime Museum
The gold hilt of a sword against a dark fabric background. The outline of a human skull has been digitally superimposed on to the right side of the hilt.
Talks and tours | BSL tours

BSL Tour: Pirates

Join John Wilson for a British Sign Language (BSL) tour of our Pirates exhibition at the National Maritime Museum
Thursday 15 May and Saturday 1 November 2025 | 2pm-3pm
Adult: £15 | Student: £11.25 | Child: £7.50
National Maritime Museum
Photograph of the entrance to the National Maritime Museum
Events and festivals | Member events

Members' Summer Party

Join fellow Royal Museums Greenwich Members for a fabulous evening at the National Maritime Museum
Tuesday 1 July 2025 l 6.30pm-8.30pm (Sold out)
Free for Members – booking required
National Maritime Museum
Events and festivals

Teachers' Evening 2025

Celebrate the end of term at the National Maritime Museum and find out about schools sessions, resources, CPD and project opportunities at all Royal Museums Greenwich sites
Thursday 3 July 2025 | 4.30pm-7pm
FREE for UK school teachers and educators
National Maritime Museum
A group of people stretch their arms to the side
Experiences | Ocean Court

Movement on the Map: Tai Chi Qigong

Find your flow in these gentle sessions on the Ocean Map
Friday 4 July 2025 | 1pm-1.30pm and 1.45pm-2.15pm
Free
National Maritime Museum
Illustration of a pirate, with dagger and rifle over his shoulder
Talks and tours | Member events

Members' Lecture: Pirate Commonwealths

Join Dr Richard Blakemore as we delve deeper into 'pirate commonwealths' and how they affected empires, politics and piracy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
Thursday 10 July 2025 | 6.30pm
Free for Members
National Maritime Museum
Portrait photo of the band Blue Machine, featuring the group of four stood on board historic ship Cutty Sark
Events and festivals | Museum Lates

Ocean Songs

Live music at the National Maritime Museum celebrating our ocean planet, its mythology, natural wonders and as-yet-undiscovered depths
Friday 11 July 2025 | 7pm
£10
National Maritime Museum
A dance leaps beside Nelson's Ship in a Bottle sculpture
Events and festivals | Ocean Court

Rhythm!

Go with the flow at the National Maritime Museum's vibrant dance festival, inspired by the ocean and movement
Saturday 12 July 2025 | 11am-5pm
Free
National Maritime Museum
Eleanor Anne Porden
Talks and tours | Member events

Members' Lecture: Eleanor Anne Porden

Uncover the often-forgotten life of John Franklin's first wife, Eleanor Anne Porden, with author Sam Pope
Monday 14 July 2025 l 6.30pm
Free for Members
National Maritime Museum
A photograph of children wearing cardboard cars smiling and laughing
Family fun | Ocean Court

Ready Steady Sail!

Join us for a day of ocean fun with crafting, storytelling and through an interactive walkabout performance to bring our new Ocean Map to life!
Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 July | 10.30am, 12pm, 1.45pm, 3.15pm - sold out
Free
National Maritime Museum
Aerial view of waves crashing in a dark blue sea
Talks and tours | Member events

Members' Lecture: Blue Machine

Discover the blue machine that drives our planet with scientist and presenter Dr Helen Czerski
Monday 21 July 2025 l 6.30pm
Free for Members
National Maritime Museum
A mother and daughter sit on the Great Map during World Ocean Day at the National Maritime Museum
Family fun | Ocean Court

Ocean: above and below

Dive into an ocean adventure with free activities every day at the National Maritime Museum this summer!
Daily except Mondays | 23 July - 31 August 2025
Free
National Maritime Museum
photo of a hand made pocket with embroidery
Workshops

Historical pocket making workshop

Create a timeless tie-on pocket as part of this project providing community workshops accessible for people with memory loss, Alzheimer’s and dementia
Tuesday 5 August, 4 November and 2 December | 11am-1pm
Free, drop-in
National Maritime Museum
Image of many people standing around within a photography gallery with astrophotography images on the walls
Talks and tours | Royal Observatory 350th anniversary

Evening of Astrophotography

Come along to a panel discussion to learn more about astrophotography, and enjoy a private viewing of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 exhibition
Friday 8 August 2025 | 6pm-8pm
Adults: £12 | Students and Under 25s: £8.50
National Maritime Museum
A Black man wearing green sunglasses and a geometric patterned top stands contemplatively by the River Thames
Events and festivals | Ocean Court

International Slavery Remembrance Day

Explore the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade and its abolition at the National Maritime Museum
Saturday 23 August 2025 | 11am-5pm
Free
National Maritime Museum
A drawing of a Royal Naval Auxiliary tanker seen in starboard-quarter view, turning in the River Thames off Greenwich. In the background is the Old Royal Naval College. There is a black smoke coming out of the top of the boat
Conferences | Maritime history

Britain, Conflict, and the Sea conference

This conference seeks to explore the ways in which modern Britain has been shaped by ideas and practices of maritime war
Friday 12 September 2025 9am-5.45pm | Saturday 13 September 9am-3.30pm
Adult £50 | Postgraduate Researcher/Student £25 | Members £45
National Maritime Museum
Young people attach brightly coloured pieces of painted fabric to a suspended washing line
Workshops

Saturday Art Club

Register now for our weekly creative workshops for young people aged 13-16 during term time at the National Maritime Museum
Saturdays from October 2025 - April 2026 | 10am-1pm
Free
National Maritime Museum
Careers event students Cutty Sark rope making
Events and festivals

STEM careers event: from seas to stars

Free careers event for schools
Wednesday 4 March 2026
Free
National Maritime Museum