Lithuanian Sea Museum

About this place

The Lithuanian Sea Museum is a large maritime museum at Kopgalis, the northernmost point of the Curonian Spit, across the strait from Klaipėda. Covering some 33,000 square metres, it combines a 19th-century fort with pools for sea animals and displays on seafaring history. It opened in 1979 and drew about nine million visitors over its first two decades, becoming one of the country's most visited attractions. By the end of 2022 its collection held about 94,000 items, the largest group being preserved sea life such as shells, corals, fish and birds, alongside geology, archaeology and ship technology. The museum also runs educational programmes, and its live collection numbers hundreds of animals. You enter through the fort's earth ramparts and stone passages to a central yard, then visit open pools where seals and penguins swim. The indoor aquarium shows fish from the Baltic and warmer seas. The ramparts look out over the strait and the ships heading into port, which rounds off the visit nicely. The museum lies about 2.2 km from Theatre Square in Klaipėda and 20.2 km from the Hill of Witches in a straight line. You reach it by a short ferry from Klaipėda, then on foot or by local bus through Smiltynė. Allow at least two hours, and check closure days off-season. Animal shows have separate times and prices.