The Novium Museum

The Novium Museum

The Novium Museum
4
Speciality MuseumsHistory Museums
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
Closed
About
Opened in 2012, The Novium Museum is Chichester District's award-winning museum. Built over the remains of a Roman bathhouse and with three floors of fantastic exhibitions, The Novium Museum tells the fascinating story of Chichester District and its rich heritage. It looks after 500,000 artefacts, both on display and in its store. The museum is free for people to visit, and is located in Tower Street, close to the cathedral and just opposite Chichester Library. The remains of the Roman baths fill much of the ground floor gallery, with an audio visual film showing you how they were built and used in Roman times. Throughout the year, residents and visitors can enjoy a wide variety of permanent, temporary and travelling exhibitions. The museum also hosts a rich programme of events, including the award winning annual Chichester Roman Week every May half term. For current exhibitions on show and a full events programme please see the museum's website.
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  • Frank S
    Bognor Regis, United Kingdom332 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Good Museum
    I had some time to kill & decided to have a look at the Novium. Many years since I last visited, and I was impressed. Particularly liked to space-craft decorated lift, and the Star Wars Toys exhibition was nicely done.
    Visited January 2024
    Travelled solo
    Written 29 February 2024
  • Joe S
    5 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great Museum, well worth a visit!
    This was my first and certainly won't be my last visit to The Novium Museum. It had something for everyone and all ages! My brother and I were there for over two hours and still didn't see everything. The theme in the lift was both imaginative and eye popping, well done to whoever thought that up! Go there, you won't be disappointed....
    Visited July 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 6 July 2024
  • Kirsty J
    12 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Dinosaur exhibition
    Really well thought out and informative exhibition about young dinosaurs that was interesting for our whole family. Many different dinosaurs and exhibits to see. Great for young ones who might be scared by larger dinosaurs. We spent about 90 minutes in the exhibition including doing a fantastic colouring activity to take away. The entry price was very reasonable. There was another floor of Roman and historical artefacts but the children just went straight for the dinosaurs. Downsides were numerous tiny placards just stating the obvious of each artefact. A shame as we're trying to encourage our youngest to read spontaneously and lost interest in these. A whole display of meaningless random broken bones was poorly explained .
    Visited June 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 30 July 2024
  • PfDjw
    Beckenham, United Kingdom25 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Little gem
    My partner and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting. So informative and relaxing with so much to see and read. We are amazed that we are fortunate enough to visit places like this for free. We really did truly enjoy it and even recommended to friends who visited the next day. Thank you all for a wonderful time at your museum.
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 28 August 2024
  • Falmike
    Falmouth, United Kingdom223 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Except For Exhibitions Free To Visit
    The lower gallery contains information on Roman Chichester including the excavations of a Roman bath. Plenty for youngsters to see, hear and interact with. The upper gallery is mainly Chichester history but I particularly liked the viewing window out over the roofs. Who knew about Fareham chimney pots.
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 2 September 2024
  • Susan S
    Malaga, Spain292 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great Museum..
    Great museum. Downstairs and small ante room upstairs are free to visit. I am not too sure however, that spending public money on ‘Drag Story time’ (3-8 year olds is the best use of funds.)
    Visited February 2025
    Travelled with friends
    Written 5 February 2025
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles527 reviews
Excellent
251
Very good
159
Average
56
Poor
37
Terrible
24

bromlea
Greater London, UK81 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2021 • Family
We have lived locally for 5 years now but never visited, that changed 2 weeks ago when we decided to take the kids on a history trail of Chi. The building is build on top of a Roman bath house with the ruins exposed on the ground floor, on the upper floors there are various exhibits that the children loved. Would recommend this, 30mins to an hour visit depending on how interested to read all of the tags you are.
Written 3 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Anthony M
Sidlesham, UK27 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2022 • Family
Love The Novium!

I recently took my three children (6, 3, 3) to The Novium as part of the museum’s 10th birthday celebrations, and we had a fantastic time!

We met various historic characters who were played by (I presume!) actors, and they were all brilliant! So we’ll acted and funny and also informative.

We have been to the museum several times over the years, it’s a great place for children and adults alike. And general admission is free! What’s not to like?!
Written 14 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sally G
Oxfordshire, UK48 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2020
The Novium Museum is a real gem, full of fascinating exhibits of local archeology, well laid out and clearly explained. The entry was free but you needed to book your tickets online, we booked only minutes before turning up. We spent a good 2 hours pouring over all the displays.

Well worth a visit!
Written 2 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Richard J
Chichester27 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021
A nice little museum. I bit hidden away behind the old Army and Navy store. Well worth a visit as its free.
COVID restriction still in place, booking is recommended , but not essential if they are quiet.
A lot of local history packed into a small space. We went to see the Bersted Man exhibition which is a short term one from the British Museum.
Written 6 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rob B
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022
I attended the exhibition with a tour group and received a thoroughly comprehensive guide through the history of the arts in Chichester. The physical space itself is clearly divided into various colour coded sections, each focusing on a different subject matter. The content on display is vibrant, exciting and engaging. The staff were incredibly accommodating and the facilities were exemplary. Fantastic experience overall!
Written 29 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

sunflower189
West Sussex, UK218 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Couples
The museum is free to enter and contains a great deal of information about the history of Chichester along with displays over several areas. on one of the upper floors there is a very good view of the city. In addition to its usual displays there is currently an exhibition called The Magic of Middle Earth which looks at the novels by J R R Tolkien. There are references to films with posters and models as well as a life size 'fire throwing' character. It is well worth the small fee paid to see it. The museum has lots of interactive activities both in this exhibition and the others.
Written 17 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sally Ann
Chichester, UK142 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023
Wonderful museum - well laid out exhibits and lots of knowledgeable staff. It's free but please give a donation as it would be so sad if this closed due to lack of funds. The exhibitions change regularly so there is always something new to see.
Written 31 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rachel P
Sheffield, UK3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2020 • Couples
The North Bersted Warrior exhibition is excellent, a fascinating find, well presented, beautifully and sensitively exhibited with enough information but not too much.
This is well worth visiting, go now before this exhibition closes in April 2021.
The museum have appropriate safety measures in place with prebooking, hand sanitiser stations and a one way system. We felt safe and thoroughly enjoyed our visit.
It's even free!
We made a suitable donation so that the museum can maintain this high standard.
Written 9 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rachel E
3 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022
We were delighted at a return of evening talks for grown ups at the Novium (as we don't have children, it is easy to think all things going on here are for families with children). The talk was linked to the current 'Art of Chichester' exhibition and we look forward to the rest of the talks - a great way to find out more about what goes on in the district, culturally. And the exhibition was fascinating too - a return visit is needed, there was so much in it!
Written 19 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TheRegni
Chichester, UK35 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Couples
The Magic of Middle Earth has indeed been sprinkled over the top floor exhibition space (there is a lift, with a space age surprise!). Wide range of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit related material - I'd never realised that the books had inspired so much art, film and music. Many of the items on display are rare and fascinating. Pull out drawers with activities for children and adults - plus the chance to dress up (my husband didn't need encouraging to be Gandalf, if briefly). Modest entrance fee to exhibition was well worth it.
Written 27 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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THE NOVIUM MUSEUM (2025) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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