The Binnenvaartmuseum is the only museum in the Netherlands devoted to the country's inland shipping, and fittingly it is housed not in a building but on a 1898 iron barge moored permanently at the Maartensgat. The exhibits inside the holds and crew quarters tell the story of life on Dutch inland waterways: the navigation, the locks, the family life of skipper-owners, the long evolution from sail to steam to diesel.
For a country defined by its rivers, surprisingly few museums take its waterborne life seriously, and this one fills the gap with affection rather than grandeur. The ship itself is the most interesting object on board — you climb down into the wheelhouse, the engine room and the tiny family cabin. Run mostly by volunteer ex-skippers, it is open most afternoons and the entrance is by donation.