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The navy museum
Get ready to sail on a voyage of discovery
A trip to the National Maritime Museum is an absolute must for any yachtsman - it's so close to your moorings! The location is pretty special in itself - at the gate of the naval dockyards. The content is interesting and varied and does not only talk about the French Navy. The exhibits focus on Toulon as a city, with all its maritime activities, both the civil and merchant navy as well the military fleets.
Toulon's museum is linked to the main Paris-based National Maritime Museum. It is smaller, but is much more rooted in local life. 
After visiting the exhibitions, you will have a new perspective on the city, the bay and the boats that work from here.
The story starts in 1796, three years after Napoleon had reconquered the city from the European coalition. Life started to return to Toulon after the political and military situation quietened down. A master sculptor from the Naval Dockyard, Felix Brun, then decided to gather together all the wooden sculptures and boat models he could find in the ropemaking workshops. Only at the end of Napoleon's reign did the collection become a genuine museum and heritage site, alongside an art school headed up by sculptor Pierre Puget.
After the Second World War, the various collections were gathered and listed and the Naval Museum reopened in 1962. It joined forces with the bigger Paris-based National Maritime Museum in 1981, becoming the Toulon branch of a network that includes outposts in Rochefort, Port Louis and Brest. This has enabled high-quality temporary exhibitions to be hosted.
There are two educational trails, one looking at the galleys and prison colonies, and the other at boats and their developments. Sea travel is always the link between the different subjects covered, whether they be shipbuilding, naval carpentry, navigation, life on board, prison ships or fishing. The museum curators do a great job of presenting the items on display in a lively way for children.
This has made the museum a much more 'interactive' and 'participative' experience. Without transforming it into a Disneyland, means would be welcome in order to bring to life the items on display and the stories they tell.
Take the time to visit this part of the dock; you will be swept away on a voyage of discovery.
