The royal ship models
Metres long, with every rope and gun.
Freepenguin — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jibi44 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · ZeusUpsistos — CC BY-SA 4.0
It occupies the wing facing the Musée de l'Homme in the **Palais de Chaillot** at Trocadéro, and reopened in **November 2023** after a six-year closure and a complete restoration that changed the museum from the ground up. Its collection is among the oldest and richest maritime collections in the world, and its jewel is the **royal ship models**: large, finely built miniatures made in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to train officers and present designs to the king — every rope, gun and window visible, some of them several metres long. It holds **Napoleon's ceremonial barge**, gilded and built in 1810, an unforgettable object. The recent restoration turned the display from rows of models behind glass into a modern account of **humanity's relationship with the sea**: exploration, trade, war and migration, and today's maritime questions from pollution to global shipping. ⚠ It shares its building with the Musée de l'Homme and the **Trocadéro terrace** with its famous Eiffel Tower view — so the site combines three things at one metro stop.
Metres long, with every rope and gun.
A gilded ceremonial boat from 1810.
Between the wings — the famous free Eiffel view.
17 Place du Trocadéro, 75116 Paris
Clearly yes, and that is one of the gains of the 2023 restoration. The old display was rows of models behind glass; the new one has **screens, interactive stations and simulations** and routes designed for younger visitors. The ship models themselves hold children by their size and detail — and Napoleon's gilded barge is unforgettable. Add that the building also holds the **Musée de l'Homme** with its skeletons in the facing wing, and the **Trocadéro terrace** to run on and look at the Eiffel Tower. This single site fills a whole family day at one metro stop.
There is no administrative link, and they differ in nature. This is a long-established **national museum** whose collection goes back to the eighteenth century, centred on the **royal ship models** and official French naval history — and it is in Paris. The **Musée Mer Marine** in Marseille is a recent private institution (2019), larger in floor area and newer in display, focused on the Mediterranean and on big temporary exhibitions. There is no real duplication, but if you will see only one and your time is in Paris, this is it.
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