L'Arche Museum
L'Arche Musée et Archives
The archipelago’s main history museum, telling the story of fishing, the bootlegging era, and the Anglo-French rivalry over the islands through real artifacts.
L’Arche Musée et Archives is located south of the town of Saint-Pierre and serves as both the archipelago’s museum and its archive. The permanent exhibition traces the story from ancient Inuit and Indigenous remains through 16th-century Basque and Breton fishermen, the repeated changes of control between England and France, and the rise and fall of the cod industry. The most famous gallery covers the Prohibition era in the United States (1920–1933), when the islands served as a transit point for smuggled alcohol. The museum also displays the only guillotine ever actually used in North America. Guided tours in English and walking tours are available in summer. Admission costs a few euros. Winter opening hours are shorter. It is about a 10-minute walk from the harbor.
Opening hours
Open daily in summer; closed Mondays in other seasons (check official website)
Nearby sights
- Musée Héritage
- Saint-Pierre Town & Harbour
- Saint-Pierre Cathedral
- Zazpiak Bat Fronton
- Pointe aux Canons Lighthouse
- Galantry Lighthouse
- Île aux Marins
- Cap à l'Aigle