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Come and visit Plymouth’s award winning museum, gallery and archive. A place where heritage meets contemporary art. A Kitchen & Bar. A shop. A space for research. A place where everyone is welcome, and where there's always something new to discover.
The Box brings six outstanding collections of art, human history, natural history, film, photography and archival material together, showcased in a series of exciting gallery spaces. It also hosts an amazing programme of changing exhibitions, talks, family activities and special events throughout the year.
Standard opening hours are 10am-5pm Tuesday to Sunday and selected bank holidays. Admission is free and there’s no need to book.
For assistance during your visit, please head to our Welcome Desk, or for advance enquiries please phone on 01752 304774 or email TheBoxEnquiries@plymouth.gov.uk.
Do let us know about any access requirements when booking events or activities with us so that we can best accommodate your needs.
For visitors with physical disabilities or mobility issues
- Two lifts provide access for regular and flatbed wheelchairs between floors and across the gallery spaces.
- We have wheelchair accessible and disabled toilets.
- A Changing Places toilet is accessible with a radar key.
- Check our map on the Plan Your Visit page to find our accessible lifts and toilets.
- Some seating is available in our galleries and foldable stools can be borrowed from our Welcome Desk.
- Two wheelchairs and a motorised scooter are available to borrow for free on request. These are available from the main desk in the South Hall and can also be reserved in advance of your visit by e-mailing TheBoxEnquiries@plymouth.gov.uk.
- Mobility scooters should be used with care, especially in busy areas. They must be used on the slowest possible setting to ensure that walking pace is not exceeded. They should be turned off at any time the user is not seated on the scooter.
For visitors with hearing loss and deafness
- Audio loops are installed in the Simmons learning room, Cottonian Research Room and at our welcome desk.
- Projections and moving image displays in our galleries have subtitles.
- For visitors who are blind or partially sighted.
- Guide and assistance dogs are welcome in our building.
- Please let our Welcome Desk know if a guide or assistance dog is accompanying you.
- Large print label booklets are provided within each of our temporary exhibitions.
- Support can be given to people with vision impairment to get closer to the collections in our Cottonian Research Room. Please contact 01752 308880 or collections@plymouth.gov.uk.
- Handling collections can be specially requested to help people with sensory impairments get closer to our objects as part of their visit. Please contact us for information.
For visitors with epilepsy
We want all our visitors to have a great time at The Box. With so much to see and do, you may find the following information helpful in planning your visit. Our Port of Plymouth and Media Lab galleries are spaces with low light levels and large screen projections which may not be safe for some people with epilepsy. If you have any concerns before entering either of these spaces, please don't hesitate to speak to a member of staff.
For neurodivergent visitors
One of the first things visitors encounter when they arrive at The Box is our friendly team stationed at our Welcome Desk. They are on hand to provide you with advice and information so you can tailor your visit to suit your needs and interests. To get to our galleries you will pass under our large figureheads which are suspended from the ceiling, moving past the Kitchen & Bar and through our shop. The Kitchen & Bar can be busy and noisy at peak times. If you prefer a quieter experience you could choose to visit early in the morning or later in the afternoon.
We have lots of galleries for you to explore. Some of our permanent galleries will appear similar each time you visit (although do look closely – we often change the collections on display for conservation reasons!) Other spaces could look very different each time. Our changing programme may mean you encounter a large piece of contemporary art in our North Hall or in the spaces between our galleries.
Our main entrance area and Active Archives gallery are large spaces with lots of natural light.
Some of our galleries are darker. They include:
You’ll also find that we’ve used lots of film in many of these spaces to help bring our stories to life.
Plymouth is well served by buses with nearly all parts of the city linked directly to Royal Parade, which is approximately a 10-minute walk to our site. Some bus routes also stop on North Hill opposite The Box.
Park and Ride
Plymouth has a number of Park & Ride services available that provide a quick and direct service to Royal Parade, which is a 10-minute walk to The Box.
By Train
Plymouth is easy to visit by train and the railway station is just a 15-minute walk from The Box.
By Coach
The Box is a 10-minute walk from Plymouth Coach Station.
By Car
There are a number of car parks close to The Box, including the Regent Street car park (the nearest long stay car park) and Drake Circus car park. For more details on the individual car parks and locations please visit the carparks page.
Disabled parking is available in car parks across the city centre. There are also some spaces on Tavistock Place (accessed via Gibbon Lane), close to our main entrance. There are disabled drop-off points at the bottom of Tavistock Place.
Electric chargepoints are available across the city including the nearby Regent Street car park. For more information please visit the Plymouth City Council Website.
| Season (1 Jan 2024 - 31 Dec 2024) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Day | Times | |
| Monday - Sunday | 10:00 | - 17:00 |
© Open Britain 2024. All Rights Reserved
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