When you think of New Bedford museums you undoubtedly think of the Whaling Museum. It is one of the most visited sites in the city and tells the history of an industry that put our corner of the world on the international map.

Most of us have taken the token school field trip to the Whaling Museum or brought the kids on a rainy, summer day just to get out of the house, but it is not the only museum New Bedford has to offer.

Portuguese history, fishing history, firehouse history as well as some seriously beautiful art all have their own space in the Whaling City. In fact, we found five lesser-known (and most likely lesser-visited) museums throughout the city that are also absolutely worth the day trip.

If your summer goals include exploring your own backyard a bit more or the next time the weather turns rainy but you still want to get out of the house, there are some very interesting and very local places to go.

So close in fact that you might even be able to sneak a couple of museum visits into one day if you're feeling ambitious.

Keep scrolling to see the 'other' museums throughout the city that you may not even know exist.