Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum
4.5
Military MuseumsSpeciality MuseumsHistory Museums
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Ironclad displays. Giant wooden ship models. Military weaponry & artifacts. Portsmouth’s navy yard is the nation’s oldest, dating back to Colonial times. Our exhibits tell the story of the huge role it played in building the U.S. Navy, then bringing it into the nuclear age – and so much more!
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles52 reviews
Excellent
31
Very good
15
Average
4
Poor
1
Terrible
1

cheryl h
Durham, NC57,564 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019
This could have been a great museum but the bright lights inside made it almost impossible to get good pictures of anything behind glass. I finally just gave up trying. If the reflections had not been so bad in the glass (it was very distracting) I would have given the museum 5 stars.

The museum covers 350 years of history and they suggest you give a $3 donation. If you aren't bothered by reflections, you will probably enjoy this museum
Written May 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

williamskdn
Pontypridd, UK994 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Couples
This is such a great place to visit as there is so much to see and do. It also give you chance to go on many ships and see how things were. The staff were friendly and helpful and very informative.

The best part was seeing the remnants of henry’s ship and seeing artefacts still intact.

Didn’t have time to see it all but ticket is for 12 months so can return, so we will be returning to see the rest of the site as so vast.
Written January 21, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rosemarybh910
Sinking Spring, PA38 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2015 • Friends
Weather was just right for walking around the naval Shipyard to view the ships and understand the history behind the ships. Free fairy service to Norfolk to see the ships there too was a nice side adventure.
Written May 31, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

pdxtony
Washougal, WA20 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2019
A wonderful place to visit to see and read about the history of the US Navy Dockyard and the role it has played in the history of the US. The wonderful ferry ride from the Norfolk Waterside sets the stage perfectly for a visit to the museum. Located a short distance from the ferry, where you are close up to the present day dockyard, this is a wonderful museum to visit and enjoy and learn the rich history of this important dockyard. Staff are very helpfu too.
Written November 11, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Colliam7
Kents Store, VA58 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2019
We took the ferry from Waterside over to the Portsmouth side of the river, just for the boat ride on a pleasant Fall afternoon, and happened to notice the Museum near the landing. What a delightful experience! I grew up in Norfolk, and was 'aware' of the shipyard, but had NO idea of its history until we visited the museum. The staff were very helpful, the museum provides the visitor with an enormous amount of information about the history of the yard, of the city of Portsmouth, of the Revolutionary War. We spent ~ 2 hours there and left with a desire to do more research on the history of the area. There is no admission charge which is nice (although we would have paid a fee if there was one).
Written October 14, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

lopeztim
Saint Paul, KS21 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2016 • Couples
This was a very informative museum about naval vessels. We chose the free tour. It was plenty long and informative. There is the tour of the USS Wisconsin which is a pay tour, there were plenty of folks taking that tour. It's well worth the stop.
Written August 7, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Memblake
18 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2019
I recently visited Portsmouth Historic Dockyard with my family and found it a very pleasant surprise.
As well as of the obvious attractions of HMS Victory and HMS Warrior there were tons of activities aimed at young children, most of which was included in the ticket,
There are different levels of ticket from a day ticket to an annual pass which cover a very wide area and include free boat transfer via ferry to other sites.
The site is huge so there is a lot of walking with limited seating outside of the attractions areas but, all in all we all thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would certainly recommend Portsmouth Historic Dockyard to all.
Written April 15, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

David D
Southampton, UK73 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2019 • Family
If you're going to the Naval Shipyards I'd put a lot of other attractions there ahead of this if you're going with kids. It was disappointing and not all that the TV publicity would lead you to believe. It's a lot of money for parents and grandparents to accompany their children through what is a big disappointment given what devotees of Horrible Histories might expect.
Written April 11, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sue00do
North West England, UK638 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2016 • Couples
Be prepared to spend a full day here! We parked in the multi storey carpark, just a short walk from the Museum. We had to queue for about 30 mins to pay to get into the museum grounds but the weather was fine so no problem. The HMS Victory is a must, an incredble ship with so much history. We also visited The HMS Warrior, another intriguing ship, this time an armoured frigate. In contrast to these "complete" vessels is the huge exhibition space designed specifically to and display the remains of Henry VIII's warship, The Mary Rose. The ""wreck" is obviously the centre piece with viewing galleries on different levels, also on display are many artifacts, the crew's belongings, including skeletons rescued from the ocean floor. Such a thought provoking and well planned presentation, including detailed explanations of the archaeology and conservation of this amazing discovery.
There are a number of cafes, souvenir shops, boat cruises and other naval exhibitions to take in. We purchased an all inclusive ticket so could pick and choose what we saw. Great value for money.
Written September 20, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ravena72
Maryland18 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2016 • Family
We visited the Shipyard museum. This was awesome if you have a child that loves ships or interested in WWII artifacts. We also took a 2-hour boat tour showing us the harbor and it was narrated the entire boat trip.
Written August 11, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Frequently Asked Questions about Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum is open:
  • Wed - Thu 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
  • Fri - Fri 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
  • Sat - Sun 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM