Toutes les Machines du Monde
France, Spain, Portugal
Click on the photo for each museum to visit our photo page for that museum
Museums are arranged by rating
Cité de l’Automobile, The French National Auto Museum ★★★★★
Mulhouse, France
www.citedelautomobile.com/en/home
This is a large and extensive collection that includes the largest number of Bugatti cars in one location anywhere in the world. Located near the original Bugatti factory in Molsheim, it is considered to be the unofficial Bugatti museum. The cars are in good , though not outstanding condition and the display areas suffer some from low ceilings and poor lighting. Still, the collection is large, many of the displays are imaginatively done and the museum features a number of old black and white racing films being shown continuously. Well worth the visit.
Museu do Caramulo, Caramulo, Portugal ★★★★
www.museu-caramulo.net/uk/automoveis.shtml
High in the mountains of northern Portugal, we wound our way up a curving road to Caramulo where we had heard there was a nice museum. The auto collection is very nice and the display space is excellent. There are other museums in the complex as well and Caramulo itself is a lovely resort town. Each September a major classic auto event is hosted here, and in April the museum sponsors a large event in Lisbon as well.
Museé-Automobiles-Reims-Champagne, France ★★★
www.musee-automobile-reims-champagne.com/
This museum is located in downtowm Reims, a fifteen minute walk from the cathedral. I cannot fully recommend a visit unless you have a specific interest in French manufacturers as the collection is not particularly well restored or maintained. I would say that the cars are regularly dusted, but not much beyond that is done. The brochure states that the collection is changed from time to time to provide variety, but I would say that means the best cars are loaned to other museums when possible in order to gain some income. Several of the more interesting cars shown in the brochure were missing at the time of my visit. The museum is also rather pricey in relation to what is offered and no senior rate is available.
Museum of the 24 hours of Le Mans, Le Mans, France ★★★
Located at the Sarthe circuit in Le Mans this museum is disappointingly small and seems to be made up primarily of cars on loan, which means the collection will vary over time. While it does have some interesting displays, many of the cars on display at the time of my visit were touring cars rather than racing cars; also quite disappointing. There are some interesting race posters and historic photographs also on display. Not highly recommended and somewhat disappointing given the long and storied history of the race; still, interesting if you are in the area.
Museo Historia Automocion de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain ★★★
Salamanca is a lovely old city in western Spain; truly a not to be missed city with spectacular architecture. While there, we came across an auto museum that was fairly interesting, with a varied collection. The city itself is the reason for visiting Salamanca; it is really beautiful. While there, the auto museum is worthy of your time.
