Maine Maritime Museum recently took the top spot for Best Maritime Museum in the USA TODAY 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards, a national honor recognizing outstanding travel and cultural destinations across the United States. This top accolade comes alongside a seventh ranking spot for Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in the Best Botanical Garden category. At a time when many cultural organizations are struggling under rising costs and lower attendance, these two Midcoast assets continue to embody the state motto—Dirigo, I lead. 

Bucking nationwide trends, Maine Maritime Museum increased visitation by an astonishing 40% in 2025, achieving the biggest gain in attendance since the museum’s founding in 1962. Maine Maritime Museum is also accepting the 2026 Growth and Leadership Award at the Maine Tourism Conference this April.  

“Winning best in the country means a great deal to us, and we are so thankful for the support of our community to shine this light on Bath,” states Amanda Pleau, marketing and communications manager. “Looking ahead to the summer season, visitors can expect expanded hours at Flight Deck Pizza & Beer Garden, the continuation of “Upon That Isle in Maine: The Story & Works of Chris Van Dusen,” and exciting updates to the Percy & Small Shipyard exhibit.” 

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens continued to grow their attendance for a fifth straight year, surpassing 2024’s summer attendance by 10%. According to MaineBiz, the Gardens ranks as the third-most-visited tourist attraction in Maine, welcoming more than 300,000 guests each year. 

“We are so proud of being included in the top 10 for the third year in a row,” Gretchen Ostherr, president and CEO of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens shares. “While we rank alongside giant 100+ year old organizations, we have only been around for 19 years, and we’ve got big plans for the future! We are grateful to our community, our members and all the visitors for supporting us and shining a light on the world-class work we are doing in the Midcoast.” 

The other top ten maritime museums include National Museum of the Great Lakes, Mystic Seaport Museum, Independence Seaport Museum, Battleship New Jersey Museum & Memorial, Dossin Great Lakes Museum, Columbia River Maritime Museum, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, South Street Seaport Museum, and Lightship Overfalls.  

In the best botanical garden category, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Longwood Gardens, Lauritzen Gardens, Missouri Botanical Garden, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, Botanica, The Wichita Gardens, Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, Cheekwood Estate & Gardens, and Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens also placed in the top 10. 

For the 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards lists, USA Today travel experts select 20 nominees in topics from food to lodging, destinations to things to do. Then the publication asks readers to cast votes to determine the top 10.