Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer

Established in 1825, the Musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer, housed in the Château Comtal, offers a rich array of collections spanning ancient Egypt, Greek ceramics, Arctic cultures, and more, inviting visitors to explore diverse cultures.

Planning your visit

The Chateau-Musee at Boulogne-sur-Mer holds a collection whose range makes little sense until you know its origin: much of it came from Auguste Mariette, the Egyptologist born in Boulogne who founded the Egyptian Antiquities Service and the Cairo museum, and from local collectors of the colonial era.

The Egyptian holdings are the most significant in France outside Paris, including sarcophagi, mummies and funerary objects. Alongside them sit an outstanding collection of Greek vases, Alaskan and Arctic material — masks, tools and clothing collected in the nineteenth century — and pre-Columbian Peruvian objects.

The building is the medieval Chateau Comtal, the first castle in Europe built without a keep, with its thirteenth-century vaulted rooms forming part of the display.

Boulogne is a working fishing port on the Channel, and the local maritime and archaeological material completes the museum.

Bookable options include guided introductions to the Egyptian burial collections. Current availability is listed below.