Things to do in London: Madame Tussauds London

This month, Madame Tussauds welcomed me to their wax figure cabinet in London. I spent about 90 minutes at the location near Baker Street Station, where I had been to before, at a very young age. I got free admission as I had planned to cover the London attraction on my blog. However, my article displays my own opinion on my visit. So how was it to again (3rd visit in total at Madame Tussauds) spend some time between wax figures and in a horror maze?

The Royal Family at Madame Tussauds London.

I was able to enter Madame Tussauds London via the line for annual pass holders, so there was no waiting line for me. I visited during the week at about 10 a.m., as I was hoping for the attraction to be less crowded… It was super crowded! The first room (Party and Bollywood) displayed a lot of people I have never heard of, as I am usually not very much interested in so called VIP. You can take pictures sitting next to George Clooney (whom I once married at Madame Tussauds Las Vegas!), taking a selfie with Kim Kardashian (I have absolutely no idea who this woman is…) or standing between Brangelina. There was a wax figure of Kate Winslet, but I did not recognize it was her, even though I really like her. Emma Watson’s figure was missing – or I was too blind to find it. There were also Nicole Kidman, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, and Morgan Freeman standing around, waiting to take a picture with you. Colin Firth looks freakishly realistic, which scared me for a second…

George Clooney and Colin Firth at Madame Tussauds London.

Up next was the film room. You can take pictures with Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator), Marilyn Monroe, Steven Spielberg, Whoppie Goldberg (Sister Act), Bruce Willis (Die Hard), Shrek, Steven Spielberg, Robin Williams, and (my personal highlight) Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen – The Hunger Games). As the new James Bond movie Spectre premiers in London in October 2015, you can also get closer to Daniel Craig or Judi Dench (M). I was not very much interested in the next room, as I am not very much interested in sports, unless I’m doing sports myself. Again: there were a few people I was able to recognize (mainly Ronaldo…). To see the Queen and her family in the room of the Royals was actually pretty cool, especially since I was not able to spot the Queen at her Garden Party in Edinburgh in July. Of course, Princess Diana was available for pictures, too!

Whoppie Goldberg and Daniel Craig at Madame Tussauds London.

The room I liked best was the culture room! Besides Charles Dickens, one of my favorite authors William Shakespeare, Vincent Van Gogh, and Albert Einstein, you could take a picture with Stephen Hawking here. Awesome! This room leads you directly to music, and the first figure I saw was Elvis Presley. Well, at least the sign in the back said it should be Elvis. As a huge Elvis fan, I have to say, that the figure did not very much look like him… Too bad! Music fans are able to take a selfie with Madonna, Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse, Rihanna, The Beatles, Miley Cirus (sitting on a huge tongue), Lady Gaga, and many other stars. If you are interested in celebrities, you will enjoy this room!

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen at Madame Tussauds London.

Are you ready for the world leaders? They were up next after the musicians. Sit next to Barack Obama in his oval office. Hug Nelson Mandela, greet Pope Benedict XVI or Ghandi, or take a closer look at a very, very feminine version of Angela Merkel. Even John F. Kennedy is there waiting for you. If you are ready to scream, follow the way to the Chamber of Horrors. I very much liked these rooms – especially the live action horror maze! Wax heads made from the death masks of victims of the French Revolution including Robespierre, and Marie Antoinette, who were modeled by Marie Tussaud in person are featured there. During your walk through the Chamber of Horrors, you can see different ways people had been killed a long time ago, and you also can see a wax figure short-drop hanging about every minute. There were historical wax figures like the one of Vlad the Impaler (commonly known as Dracula, at whose fake grave I was standing later that month visiting an underground maze in Budapest, Hungary).

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis at Madame Tussauds London.

The maze at Madame Tussauds London is awesome, but way too short! No cameras, no touching. You walk through a dark maze with real actors, who would not touch you, but who are trying to scare you. I was laughing so hard, that none of those actors was interested in me, but the more you scream, the more they will hunt you! (This was the reason I was laughing so hard…) Make sure you are able to deal with the darkness and people shouting at you. They sometimes appear from the dark, so you would not see them coming! You are able to walk through the maze but use an alternative route (which you will have to take at the moment, as the maze is closed for the rest of 2015).

Dracula (Vlad the Impaler) at Madame Tussauds London.

Back from the darkness you will be able to get an insight: take a look behind the scenes and learn about the life of Marie Tussaud, the history of Madame Tussauds, and how wax figures are created. Marie Tussaud opened her first museum in 1835 in London. After that, hop into London’s black cabs, lean back, and enjoy your ride. You are about to learn a lot about the city’s history – and you can choose one of several languages.

Stephen Hawking and William Shakespeare at Madame Tussauds London.

When you get off the ride, you can now hug your favorite Marvel super hero, like Iron Man or the hand of Hulk. As Batman is the only super hero I like, this was not that much fun for me, too. However, I liked the Spiderman figure very much, where you can squat down next to him, which means you could be hanging from the ceiling next to him – well, at least, if you turn your picture upside down… To get even closer to the super heroes, you can grab 3D glasses and watch a 4D super hero movie, which takes place in London. The last room is the Star Wars room. I have never seen a part of any Star Wars movie. Never! I don’t like science fiction movies at all. However, it was pretty cool to see all the Star Wars figures. Star Wars fans will love this part of Madame Tussauds!

Angela Merkel and Barack Obama at Madame Tussauds London.

My personal highlights were: Colin Firth, George Clooney, Jennifer Lawrence, Stephen Hawking, Catherine Middleton, Spiderman, the whole behind the scenes section, and the maze. I loved the historic rooms in the dark after the scream sign. That part was very interesting! It would have been cool to see Emma Watson, Liam Neeson, Robert DeNiro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Howard Hughes, and Denzel Washington, who you can find at other Madame Tussaud locations around the world. The person who I was accompanied by was missing Harry Potter and was hoping for characters from The Walking Dead in the future…

Spiderman at Madame Tussauds London.

I did not as much enjoy this third visit at Madame Tussauds, like I enjoyed the ones before. A reason might be that I lost interest in TV and music celebrities over the years, so that I did not get this “Wow, how cool” feeling very often. However, I got reminded of that feeling by the person who joined me, so I can tell that people, who are interested in famous people, really should go and visit Madame Tussauds! If you are not interested in taking pictures with celebrities at a wax museum, you should think about how much you want to see historical figures and read historical information. Depending on your choice, you might want to spend your money elsewhere. If you have never been to Madame Tussauds, I would recommend a visit, because it is pretty cool and one should honour the incredible work that’s done there. I’m glad I visited, and still had a great time! Madame Tussauds: thank you so much for having me!

Yoda, Darth Maul and Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn at Madame Tussauds London.

Best wishes,
Claire