Toutes les Machines du Monde
Latvia, Sweden, Czech Republic
Click on the photo for each museum to visit our photo page for that museum
Museums are arranged by rating
Riga Motor Museum, Riga, Latvia ★★★★★
This is a really nice four star museum with one absolutely stunning five star exhibit that makes any trip you have to make worth whatever effort it took to get there. The pictured 1938 Auto-Union Type C/D sixteen cylinder racing car is so special and so unique and just so drop dead gorgeous that you just have to find a way to go to Riga to see it. Whew! The rest of the museum is very interesting as well, with a lot of cars you won’t see in other museums, particularly a large exhibit of eastern bloc models. By itself it is well worth the visit; but the Auto-Union is the real draw. The cars are clean and appear to be well restored and maintained and information panels are plentiful and done in English as well as Latvian. The link will take you to the detailed history of this car and from there you can go on to the photo page. Enjoy.
This museum was closed for remodeling shortly after our visit in 2012. It reopened in 2016. In 2020 I’ve gone back and reworked all of our photos to take advantage of better software to improve the quality of the images.
MC Collection Motorcycle Museum, Sollentuna, Sweden ★★★★
I am unsure of the status of this museum. While it seems that some of the collection was auctioned off in 2019, the website indicates that the remainder has been relocated to a spot west of Stockholm and is still open. I sincerely hope that this is the case. Our visit was in 2012 and in 2020 I’ve gone back to rework all of my photos of this really interesting exhibit and as a result have more than doubled the number of pictures available for you to enjoy. I’ve left the photos and my description of the museum for your enjoyment and to honor a truly fine small motor museum.
"A small museum hidden away on the outskirts of Stockholm, this is a very nice spot and well worth a visit if you are in Sweden. About 120 machines, heavily weighted toward American bikes between 1905-1940 with lots of racing models in the mix. Upstairs is a small group of more modern bikes, but the reason for coming is the vintage collection. The bikes are beautifully restored and maintained, the lighting, special displays and the printed information are all very well done, and the whole experience is low key and enjoyable".
Tatra Technical Museum, Koprivnice, Czech Republic ★★★★
Tatra is a very interesting manufacturer and this is a most interesting museum. They made a firm and early commitment to air cooling, rear engine placement, independent suspension and a simple backbone frame structure and stuck to that formula for many decades. Even their heavy trucks were known for these features (all but the rear mounted engine) and their performance took them to multiple victories in their class at the Paris-Dakar Rally. They were also popular as team support trucks for that event and other long distance overland events. The museum features many technically oriented displays such as cutaway engines and bare chassis, and a terrific gift shop. This museum, together with the National Tech Museum in Prague, just below, makes at least two great reasons for a visit to the Czech Republic at your earliest opportunity! We visited in 2013, and in 2020 I’ve gone back and reworked all of our photos to take advantage of better software to improve the quality of the images.
National Technology Museum, Prague, Czech Republic ★★★★
This is an excellent technical museum, with exhibit rooms covering Architecture, Photography, Television, Astronomy and other areas. Naturally, our focus is the Transportation collection, which includes planes and trains in addition to automobiles and lots of motorcycles. It is a varied collection with an emphasis on Czech manufacturers such as Tatra, Skoda, CZ, and Jawa, but also including other manufacturers. Pride of place for me goes to the unrestored 1938-39 Mercedes-Benz W154 grand prix car that was driven in many races by three time European champion Rudolf Caracciola. He actually won the final pre-war German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in this car. In terms of consistent high quality of the exhibits, this museum is not quite up to the standards of the Auto & Technik Museum at Sinsheim but it is still a wonderful place to visit. There are many attractions in Prague, but if you’d like a break from the more touristy sights the Tech Museum makes a nice change of pace and you’ll find things here that won’t be seen in other museums. We visited in 2013, and in 2020 I’ve gone back and reworked all of our photos to take advantage of better software to improve the quality of the images. In doing so I’ve been able to nearly double the number of photos shown and also to add make and model information to many of the images.
Škoda Museum, Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic ★★
This is the official museum of the Czech Republic’s only surviving manufacturer, which is currently owned by Volkswagen. The museum is small but very nicely done, with excellent lighting and a spacious presentation. The primary shortcoming is an almost total lack of meaningful technical or historical information on the company or the vehicles displayed. Guided tours are given, but mostly in Czech and audio guides are not offered. The cars on display are attractive and an included section that represents a restoration work area is of particular interest. The museum as a whole is not really of great interest to the general automobile buff, but no doubt more intriguing to a Skoda aficionado. Both the Tatra and Prague museums shown above offer a much better experience. We visited Skoda in 2013 but I’ve redone the photos in 2020 using newer photo software to improve the images.
