Nantucket Whaling Museum

The building went up in 1846, was acquired in 1929, and expanded in 2005 into the Nantucket Historical Association's flagship exhibition center. What it holds is the argument for going: thousands of paintings, scrimshaw, whaling tools, and the complete skeleton of a 47-foot sperm whale. The NHA holds the highest accreditation level the American Association of Museums bestows — an honor shared by roughly 1,000 institutions among 33,000 nationwide. Start here before you go anywhere else on the island.