Cite de la Mer
A museum in the terminal where Titanic's last passengers boarded, built around a decommissioned nuclear submarine.
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The museum occupies the Gare Maritime Transatlantique, an Art Deco terminal of 1933, and it stands on the quay where Titanic made her last stop on 10 April 1912, taking on two hundred and seventy-four passengers before heading west; an exhibition covers the emigration traffic through Cherbourg and the ship's call here. The centrepiece is Le Redoutable, France's first ballistic missile submarine, decommissioned and brought inside the building, the largest submarine open to the public anywhere; visitors walk its full length through the compartments. An aquarium with a deep tank and a bathyscaphe complete the site.
What you actually see
- Le Redoutable - the largest submarine open to visitors, walked end to end.
- The Titanic quay - the terminal where her last passengers boarded.
- The Art Deco hall - the 1933 transatlantic terminal building.
- The deep aquarium - a tall tank with an abyssal display.
When to go
Year-round; the museum is indoors and suits Cherbourg's weather. It closes for a maintenance period in winter. School holidays are busy and the submarine queues.
Honest expectations
The submarine has narrow passages and steep ladders, unsuitable for limited mobility or claustrophobia. Queues for it build. Cherbourg is a long trip from Paris.
Nearby
La Hague lies west; Barfleur is east.
What to pack for Cite de la Mer
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.