Track down the smallest museum in a capital city
It rained the first time, which felt right, because the barge smelled like wet rope and everything inside was built for water. The Houseboat Museum is one boat, 1914, with a kitchen you're told firmly not to touch and a logbook you're handed instead, pen included. You're through in twenty to thirty minutes and out about five dollars lighter, which still buys less than an afternoon anywhere else in this city. Capitals hoard these — a shed in one city, a converted tram in another, all competing for the title of smallest — but this was the first, and the only one where the floor genuinely moved under your feet.
Practical
- Cost
- $4–5
- Best time
- Spring to autumn, when canal walking is pleasant
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time it takes
- 20–30 minutes
- What people get wrong
- People treat it as a quick photo stop and miss the logbook, which is the actual point; others expect a proper museum shop or café and are surprised there's neither. Opening hours are irregular and seasonal, so check before crossing the city for it.
- With
- Alone