A full size replica of a 17th century Spanish galleon will visit Plymouth this summer and be open to the people of Plymouth and visitors to the city to step onboard. El Galeón will be moored within the Cattewater with visitors being able to explore this ‘living museum’ during her stay.
The impressive tall ship is nearly 50m in length and will be impossible to miss when she arrives in Plymouth at the start of August. As a floating museum, members of the public will be able to go onboard and explore the ship’s six decks which offer a fascinating range of features, exhibits and displays. El Galeón’s live-in crew will also be on hand to talk to visitors and explain more about the ship and the history behind the Spanish galleon fleet which were used predominantly between the 16th and 18th centuries and took the lead role in many of the world’s trade and cultural routes that were the longest in length and duration than any other in the history of maritime navigation.
And, whilst these were the ships that comprised the Spanish Armada which in 1588 attempted, unsuccessfully, to defeat an English fleet led by Sir Francis Drake it was the galleons that brought the “two halves of the Earth” together, exchanging goods, people, cultures, ideas and aesthetics from several continents.
Built by the Nao Victoria Foundation at the Punta Umbria shipyard at Huelva in Spain, El Galeón was launched 2009 and has since covered more than 70,000 nautical miles around the world’s oceans, visited ports in four continents, participated in many cultural projects, and has been visited by thousands of visitors at over a hundred ports all over the world.
Tickets
Tickets are available now and can be booked online for El Galeón directly via the ship’s booking website or bought on the day at the entrance to the Barbican Landing Stage. Please note that tickets sold online are in Euros and a booking fee applies.
Where
El Galeón will be moored within the Cattewater and visitors will be able to step aboard via a chartered tender, operated by the Mount Batten Ferry team, with fees for the crossing payable on the day.
When
El Galeón will be here in Plymouth from Wednesday 2nd to Sunday 6th August and open to visit from 10am until 8pm each day (last admission 7pm).
