Maritime Museum of San Diego

The Maritime Museum of San Diego is a floating museum at 1492 N Harbor Dr on the Embarcadero in downtown San Diego, California. Its fleet of historic vessels is led by the Star of India, an iron-hulled sailing ship launched in 1863 that is among the oldest active sailing ships in the world and still sails on occasion. Alongside it, visitors can board the steam ferry Berkeley, which houses much of the museum's exhibits and a ship model collection, and the Soviet-era submarine B-39, whose cramped interior shows the conditions of Cold War crews. Other vessels in the collection add variety, and visitors usually walk the decks, descend into the holds and passageways, and read displays about the ships' voyages and the region's seafaring history. Admission is paid and covers the vessels on a single ticket, with current prices at sdmaritime.org. A typical visit lasts between one and a half and two hours. Weekday mornings are quietest, and the decks are most pleasant when the marine layer has burned off, while weekends and school holidays draw more families. The best photo angles are from the Embarcadero promenade, where the Star of India's masts rise against the skyline, and from the deck, which looks across the harbor to Coronado. The museum is a short walk from America Plaza on the MTS Trolley, about ten minutes along the waterfront. Visitors should wear shoes with grip for steep ladders and narrow stairways, particularly in the submarine. Nearby, the USS Midway Museum, the Embarcadero's parks and harbor cruises offer easy additions to the day.