A Tour through the Technology Temples of Europe
From the first automobile to the horse-drawn railway up to exceptional flying machines and submarines: Europe’s museums lure with a variety of technological achievements. We have compiled the most exciting technology temples for you.
Technical Museum in Vienna. Photo: Technisches Museum Wien
Denmark
Danmarks Tekniske Museum – Helsingor
Danmarks Tekniske Museum in Helsingor. Photo: Danmarks Tekniske Museum
This museum of technology in Helsingor offers visitors collections of the first technical inventions, including several large exhibits from the 1888 Industrial Exhibition in Copenhagen and the old polytechnic college.
Highlights: Andreas Mogensen’s space capsule, a 1950s Air France Caravelle
Admission: Adults: 90 DKK, Kids (0-18): Free
Vikingeskibsmuseet – Roskilde
Port of Roskilde overlooking Viking Museum. Photo: Fotolia – Dan Race
The Viking Museum is a Danish museum dedicated to ships, seafaring and boatbuilding culture, as well as medieval maritime craft. The museum exhibits five world-famous Viking ships and also operates its own boatyard.
Highlights: Visits to the five Viking ships, a Nordic Viking kitchen, film shows on the big screen
Kids will love: Boat trips, workshops on wooden sign painting, and silver coin minting
Admission: Adults: from 110 DKK, Kids (0-17): Free
Germany
Deutsches Technikmuseum – Berlin
German Museum of Technology in Berlin. Photo: Kirchner
The German Museum of Technology showcases technology old and new in the areas of aviation and shipping, rail and road transport as well as photography technology. An extensive library rounds out what’s on offer.
Highlights: Replica of the Leibniz calculator from 1695, more than 40 railway vehicles
Kids will love: Free play-along booklet, family workshops, children’s tours, printing press training for children 10 and above
Admission: Adults: 8 EUR, Kids: 4 EUR, free for children under 6, under-18s and those still enrolled in school education enter free from 3.00 p.m.
Deutsches Museum – Munich
German Museum in Munich. Photo: Deutsches Museum
Awaiting visitors is an extensive collection of natural history and technology. The German Museum has more than 100,000 artifacts, of which only around a quarter are on public display. Until 2020, some areas will remain closed due to renovations.
Highlights: first automobile from Carl Benz, the U1 submarine and the Z3 Computer by Konrad Zuse
Kids will love: Numerous experimental exhibits for tinkering and testing
Admission: Adults: 14 EUR, Kids (6–17): 4.50 EUR
Technik Museum – Sinsheim
Technical Museum in Sinsheim. Photo: Technik Museum Sinsheim
The Technical Museum in Sinsheim presents visitors key milestones in the history of technology, vintage cars, aircraft, locomotives, Formula 1 and motorsport installations, and much more.
Highlights: Supersonic jets Concorde and Tupolev TU-144, historic race cars, tractors and traction engines.
Kids will love: Museum quiz, drawing books, birthday parties
Admission: Adults: 16 EUR, Kids: 13 EUR, free for under-5s
www.sinsheim.technik-museum.de
Mercedes-Benz Museum – Stuttgart
Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. Photo: Daimler
The Mercedes-Benz Museum presents automotive and contemporary history since 1886 – from the world’s very first patented car to the hydrogen-powered vehicles of this millennium.
Highlights: Comprehensive presentation of 130 years of automotive history – globally unique virtual tour
Kids will love: Children’s tours for children over 4, weekend interactive exhibitions, free explorer book
Admission: Adults: 10 EUR, Kids: 5 EUR, Under-15s: Free
www.mercedes-benz.com/de/mercedes-benz/classic/museum/
France
Musée Européen de l’Aviation de Chasse – Montélimar
Musée Européen de l’Aviation de Chasse in Montélimar. Photo: GM MEAC
For over 30 years, milestones of modern aviation have been exhibited at the Musée Européen de l ‘Aviation de Chasse. Exhibits are predominantly in the military sector with a total of 66 exhibits.
Highlights: Combat aircraft of different eras, mainly jets
Kids will love: School tours
Admission: Adults: 7.50 EUR, Kids (7-12): 5 EUR, Kids (0-6): Free
Cité de l’Automobil – Mulhouse
Cité de l’Automobil Museum in Mulhouse. Photo: S. Lloyd
The Cité de l’Automobil Museum represents the largest automobile museum in the world. Various vintage cars can be driven or ridden on the racetrack from April to October.
Highlights: Insights into the engine development and restoration of vintage cars, collection of hood ornaments, collection of extraordinary sports cars
Kids will love: Kart track, hands-on repair shop
Admission: Adults: 14 EUR, Youth (7-25): 10 EUR, Kids (0-6): Free
Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie – Paris
Cité des Sciences et de l’industrie in Paris. Photo: Ph Levy
This science museum features exhibits on the topics of robotics, high-speed trains, the human body and sport, as well as technical exhibits on energy and satellite technology.
Highlights: Time travel through the development of technology with interactive exhibits, planetarium, cinema
Kids will love: Cité des Enfants for kids between 2-7 and 5-12, in which they explore and experiment in the museum themselves.
Admission: Adults: 12 EUR, Kids 9 EUR
Musée des Arts et Métiers – Paris
Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris. Photo: Musée des Arts et Métiers
The most significant innovations from the world of technology are exhibited in an impressive manner. A showcase of technical innovations that revolutionized the world.
Highlights: Blériot XI aircraft von 1909, Arsenius’ Astrolabe from 1569, Marie Antoinette’s Tympanon music box from 1784
Kids will love: Quizzes and family workshops
Admission: Adults: 8 EUR, Kids (0-17): 4 EUR, free admission on the first Sunday each month
Cité de l’Espace – Toulouse
Cité de l’espace in Toulouse. Photo: Cite de l’espace
In the park-like museum of the Cité de l’Espace, visitors learn all there is to know about space travel. This includes various attractions such as a planetarium and replicas of rockets and satellites.
Highlights: Ariane 5 rocket, accurate replica of MIR Space Station, Soyuz Capsule, planetarium
Kids will love: Astronaut corner with children’s space station
Admission: Adults: 21 EUR, Kids (5-18): 15.50 EUR, Kids (0-5): Free
Great Britain
Riverside Museum – Glasgow
Riverside Museum in Glasgow. Photo: Fotolia – Gordon
The Riverside Museum exhibits various modes of transport and movement. More than 3,000 objects are on show, from skateboards to locomotives, paintings, strollers and cars to Stormtroopers!
Highlights: An original “Spitfire” fighter plane from 1947, various old locomotives, historic omnibuses, old double-decker trams
Kids will love: Skate park, outdoor wildlife trail
Admission: Free
www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/venues/riverside-museum
Science Museum – London
Science Museum in London. Photo: Science Museum Group
The Science Museum in London provides world-class collections of scientific, technological and medical advances from around the globe.
Highlights: More than 250,000 exhibits, Leo, the world’s first business computer from 1951, wireless telegraph, Iron Lung by Philip Drinker
Admission: Free
Science and Industry Museum – Manchester
Science and Industry Museum in Manchester. Photo: Fotolia – coward lion
This museum allows visitors to get up close and personal with the history of the birthplace of the industrial revolution with more than 20,000 articles in diverse collections from across the industrial revolution. The museum also provides a tribute to the history of the textiles industry.
Highlights: Stephenson’s Rocket – the 1829 steam locomotive (on display until September 2019), first steam-powered spinning machine from 1775, numerous rare artifacts from the weaving and spinning industries
Kids will love: Interactive shows and workshops
Admission: Free
www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk
Italy
Museo Galileo – Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza – Florence
Museo Galileo in Florence. Photo: Sabina Bernacchini
The exhibitions in the Museo Galileo deal mainly with the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei, anatomy, machines and nature. There is also a section on the history of the bicycle.
Highlights: Connected library with about 170,000 works on the history of science
Kids will love: various workshops and guided tours for school classes
Admission: Adults: 10 EUR, Kids: (6-18): 6 EUR, Kids (0-5): Free
Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile – Turin
Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile in Turin. Photo: Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile
This museum provides a tour through Italian automobile history with an exhibition of around 200 vehicles from 80 brands. The museum’s Documentation Center is considered one of the most valuable in Europe.
Highlights: Reconstruction of the self-propelled car of Leonardo da Vinci, Carozza di Bordino steam-powered vehicle from 1854, Benz Victoria of 1893
Admission: Adults: 12 EUR, Kids (6-18): 5 EUR, Kids (0-5): Free
Netherlands
NEMO Science Museum – Amsterdam
The NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam. Photo: NEMO Digi Daan
Welcome to the Netherlands’ world of technology and science. On show is a historic technology collection of approximately 17,000 artifacts. Main collection: lighting, electrical engineering, energy and home technologies.
Highlights: Willem Smit’s direct current dynamo from 1896, AEG electrical oven and stovetop from 1930, Edison lightbulb from 1883 (see right)
Kids will love: Test laboratories for chemistry experiments, an adventure through the universe
Admission: Adults: 17.50 EUR, Free for Kids under 4
Louwman Museum – The Hague
The Louwman Museum in The Hague. Photo: Fotolia – JP website
The Louwman Museum is considered the world’s oldest private collection of passenger cars, assembled by two generations of the Louwman family. The museum now has more than 250 classic cars and numerous exhibits from the early history of the automobile.
Highlights: Benz motorcar from 1886, Mercedes SSK from 1929, cars of various celebrities including Elvis Presley, Winston Churchill and many others.
Admission: Adults: 16 EUR, Kids (5-12): 6 EUR, Kids (13-18): 8 EUR, Kids (0-4): Free
Marinemuseum – Den Helder
Naval Museum in Den Helder. Photo: Fotolia-Svensen
Here, at the museum of the Dutch Navy, the visitor learns everything about the history, ships and other vessels of the Dutch Navy, from the historic sailboat to the steamer.
Highlights: Accessible submarine in open-air section, interactive exhibits
Kids will love: Maritime hero trail, museum adventure, children’s loft
Admission: Adults 10 EUR, Kids (4-12): 6.50 EUR, Kids (0-3): Free
Norway
The Fram Museum – Oslo
The Fram Museum in Oslo. Photo: T. Storm Halvorsen
The Fram Museum is named after the famous polar expedition ship Fram. The ship is the crowning glory of this museum, which also illustrates the early polar expeditions and the lives of researchers with many interactive elements.
Highlights: Expedition ships Fram and Gjøa
Admission: Adults 120 NOK, Kids: 50 NOK
Norsk Teknisk Museum – Oslo
Norsk Teknisk Museum in Oslo. Photo: Fotolia BillionPhotos.com
The Oslo Technical Museum offers a variety of contemporary exhibits ranging from musical instruments to oil exploration, medicine and automobiles.
Highlights: Planetarium, interactive space travel, historic vehicles, locomotives
Admission: Adults 150 NOK, Kids (4-17): 100 NOK
Austria
Technisches Museum – Vienna
Technical Museum in Wien. Photo: Technisches Museum Wien
Embark on a journey through time through Man’s technological advancement with interesting links to modern life. One of the oldest technical museums in the world, this museum exhibits items from daily life, showing progress in terms of technical achievements.
Highlights: Horse-drawn railway, astronomical clock
For children: Special tours and workshops
Admission: Adults: 14 EUR, free for Under-19s
Sweden
Nobel Prize Museum – Stockholm
The Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm. Photo: Hans Nilsson
All public activities around the Nobel Prize are documented and collected at the Museum in Stockholm. Interesting facts about Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prize winners from 1901 to today are found here, ready to be absorbed!
Highlights: Special exhibitions on the current Nobel Prize winners
Kids will love: Bubble Chamber (all about Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prize topics for children from 3 to 11 years)
Admission: Adults: 120 SEK, Kids (0-18): Free
Spain
Museu de la Ciéncia i de la Técnica de Catalunya – Barcelona
Museu de la Ciéncia i de la Técnica de Catalunya –in Barcelona. Photo: mNACTEC
This museum exhibits everyday innovations that have led to societal change in Catalonia. Receive insights into the topic of industrialization, and its dramatic impact on what was once a very rural region.
Highlights: Everyday items such as gramophones (see left), flying machines, industrial culture
Kids will love: Excursions through an old textile factory from 1909
Admission: Adults: 4.50 EUR, Kids: 3.50 EUR, free for Under-8s
Russia
Museum of Cosmonautics – Moscow
Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow. Photo: Fotolia – lexaarts
This museum is a tribute to the heroes of space travel – both those of the former Soviet space program and modern-day cosmonauts.
Highlights: Original spacesuits, satellites, explorable training simulator of a space station, astronaut food and rocket technology
Kids will love: Visits to the Flight Control Center
Admission: Adults: 250 RUB, Kids: Free
Train Stations Full of Superlatives and Curiosities
Train stations are not generally given a lot of attention, probably due to their purpose: People arriving there want to move on as quickly as possible. But it is often worth taking a closer look, because there are many unique and curious things about the buildings themselves.
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