Cite de la Mer museum in Cherbourg

Cherbourg – Cite de la Mer

One of the few things that are worth a visit in Cherbourg, or even doing a detour to visit, is the Cite de le Mer museum. The museum is quite recent, it opened its doors in the year 2002. But the building is not new. It is the former transatlantic terminal building from the glory days of steamships crossing the Atlantic.

The terminal building was heavily used between 1930 and 1960 although the building itself dates back to 1858. Many of the luxury steamships and later cruise ships arrived to the mainland Europe at Cherbourg, including the ill-fated Titanic.

 

When you arrive at the museum, just in front of the building, you will see a “souvenir” of the WWII;

WWII Bunker in front of the Cite de la Mer museum in Cherbourg
WWII Bunker in front of the Cite de la Mer museum in Cherbourg

…a bunker made by the Germans. The bunker can not be visited.

Fishermen monument in front of the Cite de la Mer museum in Cherbourg
Fishermen monument in front of the Cite de la Mer museum in Cherbourg

Close to the main entrance of the museum, alongside the seawall, you will find this monument dedicated to the fishermen who lost their lives at sea.

Entering the main doors of the museum, but before you have to pay your entrance you are already surprised with the displays there (these are free, you don’t have to pay yet).

Entrance before ticket office of the Cite de la Mer museum in Cherbourg
Entrance before ticket office of the Cite de la Mer museum in Cherbourg

There are several exploration submarines on display here. These are the submarines used by scientists to explore the depths of the oceans. The submarine in the photo above on the right is the Archimede, capable of diving up to 11,000 meters (36,000 feet) depth.

Exploration submarine on display before ticket office of the Cite de la Mer museum in Cherbourg
Exploration submarine on display before ticket office of the Cite de la Mer museum in Cherbourg

Several of these submarines are on display. Then after paying your admission, you are confronted with this submarine:

The Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg
The Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg

It is the decommissioned Redoutable, a French navy nuclear submarine built in 1971. It was actually built here in Cherbourg.

Part of the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg
Part of the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg

The submarine was decommissioned in 1991 and starting in the year 2000, it took 2 years to transform this enormous submarine into the museum exhibit (and central piece).

This submarine is the biggest submarine accessible to the public in the world. It is also the only nearly-complete (the nuclear part has been removed) ballistic missile submarine hull open to the public.

Part of the engine room the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg
Part of the engine room the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg

Entrance to the sub is via the engine room. Initially it doesn’t look that big, but when you walk through the very narrow and low hallways, you get to see that the engines are enormous.

Part of the engine room the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg
Part of the engine room the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg

The engine takes up a very large portion of the submarine.

Hallway in the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg
Hallway in the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg

The hallways are all very narrow and low. My 1M94 height had problems moving around and I needed to pay attention to not banging my head. With my rucksack it was impossible to turn.

NOTE: I believe there is a separate visiting-circuit for wheelchairs, since I saw a door marked with the wheelchair symbol.

Sleeping room hallway of the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg
Sleeping room hallway of the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg

These are the officer sleeping quarters hallway, nicely done up in wood; the crew aren’t that lucky…

Combat station in the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg
Combat station in the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg

The combat station and operational parts are all dowsed in red light.

Steering station of the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg
Steering station of the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg

This is where they “steer” the sub, two seats with yokes controlling the direction of the vessel.

Captain's quarters and bed in the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg
Captain’s quarters and bed in the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg

The crew on this submarine are obviously selected on their height. What you see here is not the broom closet but the Captain’s quarters and bed. The bed is about 1M70 – 1M80 long (about 6 feet long). Not at all as you can often see in the movies where there is room for several officers to discuss things with the Captain. Here there is only room for one person..

Some of the officer’s bedroom were the same size except they have a bunk bed (2 to the same room – yikes!).

Officers "leisure" room in the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg
Officers “leisure” room in the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg

The officer leisure room, where they spend their non-active hours looked cozy. But the crew did not have such a place. Instead they can stay in…

Galley in the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg
Galley in the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg

… the eating area. In total the Redoutable carried 15 officers and 120 sailors.

Crew beds in the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg
Crew beds in the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg

The sailors slept on triple bunk beds located alongside the hallways. No privacy for them (there are curtains).

Torpedo room in the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg
Torpedo room in the Redoutable, nuclear submarine of the French navy at the Cite de la Mer in Cherbourg

At the front of the 128 meters (420 feet) long ship you will find the torpedo room.

There’s also a large display section inside the building explaining submarines and their history.

But that’s not all there’s to see. Apart from water-based virtual reality activities building and aquarium, there is also a large portion dedicated to the Titanic.

Baggage check-in of the Titanic at the Cite de la Mer museum of Cherbourg
Baggage check-in of the Titanic at the Cite de la Mer museum of Cherbourg

This for example was the room to be used for the Titanic for passenger arriving with their baggage (a kind-of checkin facility). If I understand correctly, it was recently used for the Queen Mary II.

Mockup of the 3rd class cabin of the Titanic at the Cite de la Mer museum of Cherbourg
Mockup of the 3rd class cabin of the Titanic at the Cite de la Mer museum of Cherbourg

Above is a replica of the 3rd class cabin onboard of the Titanic. It was considered one of the most luxurious 3rd class cabins of those days.

Mockup of the 1st class cabin of the Titanic at the Cite de la Mer museum of Cherbourg
Mockup of the 1st class cabin of the Titanic at the Cite de la Mer museum of Cherbourg

And this is the First class cabin. Not that shabby.

You can easily spend a whole day in this museum, there is a lot to see.

Conclusion

This is a museum both young & old will enjoy. How often do you have the chance of being inside a nuclear submarine?

TIP: Arrive early if you want to see the sub, since the queue quickly grows.

Click here to access the Cite de la Mer web site.

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