The best museums Saint-Helier

Opened in 1992, this museum is located in a former warehouse from the 18th century. It has won many awards and traces the island's past, its traditions and its industries. All presented in an interactive and lively way. A family visit and above all a must when you come to Jersey.

On the first floor, you can learn more about the history and geography of Jersey and you can regularly enjoy temporary exhibitions on various themes but often related to the culture of the island.

On the second floor, the political organization of Jersey, its history and its geological formation are explained. Then the showcases present, through a series of objects (from vacuum cleaners to tennis rackets) and wax mannequins, the daily life of Jersey. Also on display are Redcoat and police costumes.

On the second floor, the art gallery gives a glimpse of Jersey's landscapes through the centuries and presents, with the help of some portraits, the island's personalities.

On the third and fourth floors, we are immersed in 9, Pier Road. We then enter the interior of a merchant's house, The Merchant's House Lobby, dating from the Victorian era, around 1860. We discover the difficulties of a family of the time. It's beautiful and very playful and is definitely the highlight of the exhibit. When the evening falls, the lighting is not electric, but gas! Not to be missed.

The Jersey Maritime Museum is absolutely brilliant. Don't miss it under any circumstances! For once, the public is allowed to touch the exhibits and you can have a great time. It's very playful, very amusing and there are explanations in French. The museum presents absolutely all the facets of the maritime life of the island, without forgetting any: the phenomena of the tides, the currents and the winds; the tools of the marine carpenter; the flora and the fauna; models of boats and one of the rorqual whale, a miniature replica of the one that ran aground on the coasts in 1910, an illustration of the various marine knots, the inevitable sailors' songs and so on. On certain days, you will also be able to see craftsmen making wooden models. Children will also be able to sail model ships in basins where a small fan inflates the sails as the wind would. On the deck of the Orient Star, where there is a giant earth mobile, you will smell the dried fish, gunpowder and heavy steam of the ships of the time and even listen to the song of the whales... Don't hesitate to press all the buttons and open the doors of the small wall cabinets. Here, it is really possible to touch everything! Also not to be missed, just next door is the Occupation Tapestry Gallery with beautiful, richly decorated panels woven for the 50th anniversary of the Liberation.

The transition from the Maritime Museum to this gallery offers a striking contrast! We leave a playful atmosphere to enter a very solemn one. This tapestry originally had 12 panels, made by the 12 parishes of the island on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation, and which told the story of Jersey under the German occupation. A 13th, woven by local artist Wayne Audrain, was added for the 70th anniversary.