Musée de la Mer des Îles de la Madeleine

The Museum of the Sea originated in 1969 in the former parish hall of Havre-Aubert, thanks to the initiative of Father Frédéric Landry, a native of the Magdalen Islands who directed the museum for more than thirty consecutive years and helped establish it as an essential institution for preserving the collective memory of the archipelago. The inauguration of the new building on Cape Gridley in 1974, commanding a proud view over the heritage site of La Grave, marked a decisive milestone in the museum's development, further enhanced in 2011 by a major renovation that doubled its size to house the permanent exhibition Living on the Islands, Living the Islands, which opened the following year. The museum's ethno-historical mission is to safeguard the archipelago's heritage through research, conservation, and public engagement, with particular emphasis on the maritime and island heritage that profoundly shapes the lives of islanders. It explores the history of lobster fishing, the tales of lighthouse keepers, and the numerous shipwrecks that have occurred in these treacherous waters of the gulf. Since 2015, a second permanent exhibition features the complete skeleton of a young sperm whale that washed ashore in 2008 at Pointe-aux-Loups, offering a striking perspective on the exceptional marine life that frequents the waters surrounding the archipelago, while the museum's outdoor terrace provides a remarkable panorama of La Grave, Butte des Demoiselles, and Île d'Entrée in the distance.