The Musée de la Marine in Brest is one of the five national maritime museums in France, housed in the towers of the Château de Brest. The collection focuses on the history of the French navy and seafaring from the 17th century to the present, with particular strength in the Atlantic and Pacific exploration voyages of the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Among the highlights is a remarkable collection of ship models — detailed scale models made by the navy itself for planning purposes, which are both historically precise and visually extraordinary. The exhibits on the convict transportation history of Brest (the city housed one of France's major bagnes, or prison hulk facilities, until the mid-19th century) are among the most historically interesting in the museum.