Australian National Maritime Museum
2 Murray Street, Darling Harbour
Open 9:30am-5:00pm daily
www.anmm.gov.au
Wheelchair accessible, courtesy wheelchairs available

Cost: AUS$10 for adults Sitablility Rating: Excellent Souvenir Shop: A Nautical Extravaganza

The Maritime Museum may not be a must-see attraction if you're only in Sydney for a short time, but if you're here for an extended stay and have already seen and done most of the other museums (or if you have a thing for big boats) then it's certainly worth a stop.

I went on a Monday afternoon and was told by the cashier at the admissions desk that a tour was about to start. I like tours. They keep you from having to read all of those plaques and labels with their tiny print. It sounded good to me, so I asked where to meet for it. The lady got up and took me over to a gentleman who was standing alone and told him I was ready to go.

I was the whole tour group.

So, for my $10 I got a one-hour, private guided tour of the museum. Not a bad deal at all. Even if you don't get your own personal guide I would recommend the tour. The guides tend to be grandfatherly types with plenty of anecdotes about the exhibits, as well as entertaining tales from their own seafaring days.

My guide was originally from the UK and came to Australia as a teenager to work on a submarine during WWII. Besides his war stories, he also had memories of traveling here and back on a luxury passenger ship, so his personal recollections of places and events added another dimension to the artifacts.

The museum is fairly new, just opened in 1991. The maritime theme is used throughout the building's construction, with metal railings and round windows, but not to the point that you'll get seasick or start spotting sea hags as you go from section to section.

With a guide, or on your own, you begin your tour with the original explorers who came to Australia in search of riches for trade. From there you move on to the first settlers, the first Australian naval fleets, and immigration to Australia during its Gold Rush inm the mid-1800's (featured in a section donated by the US highlighting the two countries' friendship).

Currently, there's also an exhibit called Watermarks featuring water sports and athletes who have conquered either the ocean or the swimming pool. Don't miss the baby picture of Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe in a little Speedo. So cute.

As for the museum's sitability, there are plenty of opportunities to take a load off. With several movie and interactive video screens, you don't just have to sit and stare at a wall either, you can actually keep yourself entertained. The exhibit on surfing includes a video screen where you can follow the sport's development from 1920 to the present. Rest your feet and watch clips of people trying out surf skis in the 30s, or of the Endless Summer team catching waves around Australia.

If the museum still doesn't sound like your kind of fun, but you have family coming to visit, this is a great place to send them. There's a play area for children, plenty of guns and machinery for dad, and items from great women navigators for mom.

Arg!