Nautical Museum of Crete is located in the city of Chania near the Venetian fortress Firka in a small two-story building. The fortress itself is located at the entrance to the city's harbor and is a historical site, since December 1, 1913 there was raised the Greek flag as a sign of union of Crete and Greece.

Maritime Museum was founded in 1973 to promote the maritime traditions and history of the island. The permanent collection of the museum includes 2500 exhibits. The exposition is presented in chronological order and covers the period from the Bronze Age to the present day. The museum's collection includes models of ships, paintings on the theme of the sea, nautical instruments, navigation equipment, maps, photos, documents and more. Many of the museum exhibits were raised from the seabed and has an important historical value.

The first floor of the museum is dedicated to ancient times. Here are the models of ancient ships, as well as a model of a fortified town and port of the Kingdom of Candia (the official name of Crete, from the period of Venetian rule until the Ottoman period). On the second floor you can see the model of the modern Navy ships in Greece and an exhibition dedicated to the German invasion of Crete. The museum has a special exhibition showing the amazing beauty and diversity of the marine environment, with a rich collection of shells from all over the world.

Maritime Museum has its own library, conducts research programs and collaborates with the Institute of Ancient Shipbuilding and Technology (joint reconstruction of the ancient Minoan ship). The museum also conducts educational programs for people of all ages, including children and people with disabilities. Today, the Maritime Museum of Crete successfully compete with the European museums on the quality of the exhibits.