Naval Museum Mexico, Naval museum in central Veracruz, Mexico

Naval Museum Mexico occupies the building constructed in 1903 for the Heroica Escuela Naval Militar in Veracruz. Its 26 permanent exhibition rooms use interactive media and cover navigation, cartography, the Manila galleon, independence, the 1914 US occupation and the modern Mexican navy. Among the objects are shells fired by US warships in 1914, the flag of the light cruiser Anáhuac and 18th-century foundations of the city wall.

The Heroica Escuela Naval Militar was founded in Veracruz on 19 April 1897 under Porfirio Díaz, and its school building was constructed in 1903. The 1914 US occupation of Veracruz forced the school to close; it reopened in 1919 as the Academia Naval Militar. From 11 November 1952 the building housed the navy's training centre until 1993, and on 1 July 1997 President Ernesto Zedillo opened the naval museum here.

The 26 permanent rooms carry names like "Umbral", "360°" and "Valores", and trace navigation from pre-Hispanic times through the Nao de China to the modern fleet. Look for the flag of the light cruiser Anáhuac and the 18th-century foundations of the city wall inside the building.

The museum sits in the center of Veracruz and is easy to reach on foot from most downtown spots. The rooms follow a clear layout, so you can move through the collection without needing a guide or prior knowledge.

Parts of the building still show unrepaired marks from the 1914 shelling, left exposed rather than plastered over. This makes the walls themselves part of what you are looking at during the visit.