Double take: is the Museum of Illusions worth visiting?
When I posted on Instagram that we’d visited the Museum of Illusions in London one question kept coming up: was it worth it?
In this blog I’m going to share our experience and dive deeper into that value for money question for anyone weighing up the ticket price verses how much you’ll get out of it.
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Our visit to the London Museum of Illusions
I promised the girls a day trip to London before the end of the summer holidays and the Museum of Illusions was firmly at the top of their capital wish list.
They’d spotted it on YouTube and thought it looked fun. But, if you’re not being served the same content as my kids, what is it?
In short, the Museum of Illusions is a collection of 70 hands-on and walk-in exhibits that use science to mess with your mind.
The London museum is one of 70 around the world, so if you’ve seen somewhere similar during your travels, it was probably part of the same chain that originated in Croatia just over a decade ago.
If you’ve been to another one, you would notice a lot of the same displays. There are two London-specific illusions – a capital street scene and the outside of 10 Downing Street. All of the others work at any location.
What did we think?
The 11-year-old and I loved it. The exhibits are really clever with a lot more science than I expected. Everything is well-maintained with staff cleaning mirrors and helping take photos at the most popular illusions.
The 13-year-old was a bit less impressed, but mostly because of the bottle necks at some of the exhibits. She doesn’t relish the thought of crowds or haphazard queues. I’ve got a tip below to avoid toe-tapping teens and save the day.
Is the Museum of Illusions worth the money?
Here’s the info you came for. A family ticket (two adults and two children aged under 18) costs from £84 depending on the current discounts. Book in advance for the best price.
There’s no getting away from the fact that this is an expensive hour or so. We booked the Museum as part of the biggest treat day of our summer and combined it with free-to-see sights like Trafalgar Square, Chinatown, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. If we’d had longer we could have also looked around the free National Gallery, which is also walkable from Tottenham Court Road.
Once you’re in the museum there’s no time limit. We stayed two hours in the end and went around twice going back to our favourite illusions and trying ones that had queues the first time. I would say that if you are short on time – anything less than an hour – you’re not going to get your money’s worth, particularly if it’s busy.
How does it compare to other London attractions?
London ain’t cheap baby! Here’s how the entry charge stacks up against other big ticket London attractions (prices correct at time of publication):
- Madame Tussauds – £31 per adult and £28 per under 16 (£118 for a family of four) – we spent two hours here earlier in the year
- The London Eye – from £29 per adult and £26 per under 16 (£110 for a family of four) – for a 30 minute ride
- SEALife London – from £28 per adult and £25 per under 16 (£106 for a family of four) – for a walk through experience that takes most people 90 minutes.
The Museum of Illusions comes out cheaper than all these well-known attractions and, in the case of the London Eye, is a longer experience. So if you base value for money on cost and time, the Museum doesn’t come out too bad.
Is there anything similar to the Museum of Illusions? Yes. Paradox Museum opposite Harrods in Knightsbridge. We’ve not been, but a look on its website suggests it has similar kinds of exhibits, but fewer. The website says there are 50+ compared to the Museum of Illusions’ 70. It costs from £75 for a family of four, so not much cheaper but apparently less to see.
Ultimately, I believe value for money is a very personal thing. If you like science and Instagrammable moments then you’re going to feel you got more value from your visit than if these don’t float your boat. The museum is also nothing like a fairground fun house – you can see where the money has been spent.
One final thought: on Instagram I compared the entry price to the cost of our travel to London – £95.60 for off-peak return train tickets, with a rail card, for one adult and two children. Our journey took 55 minutes. Now, I would question the value of that!
Tips for visiting the Museum of Illusions in London
Here’s some handy things to know:
- Allow at least an hour to look around and more if you are visiting after lunch
- Book an arrival time in the morning for a quieter experience
- Some of the illusions are more popular than others. My top tip is to skip the queues and keep moving. Once you are in the museum you can go back around as many times as you want
- The whole museum is on one floor and there’s a lift to access it. There’s a disabled toilet
- Each interactive illusion has written or video instructions
- The museum doesn’t have a cafe but there’s lots of places to eat in the area. We opted for sushi from Sushinoya and donuts from Donutelier – both a short walk from the museum.
Tickets
Here’s a couple of places to compare ticket prices:
Where is the Museum?
You’ll find the Museum of Illusions on Tottenham Court Rd, London W1T 1BJ.
It’s walkable from Oxford Street, the National Gallery, The British Museum and Leicester Square, so you can easily combine it with several different London attractions.
The nearest tube station is Tottenham Court Road.
We booked a combined train and Travel Card for the London Underground. Trainline is my go-to booking platform so I can see all the options and split tickets to save money where available.
Where to stay
Want to stay close to the Museum of Illusions? You are in central London, so the sky is your limit in terms of prices.
But if you’re looking for something at the budget end I can recommend Z Hotel Tottenham Court Road. Z Hotels are clean and compact, but with everything you could need for an overnight stay in the capital.
Tip: become a Z Hotel member for the best price, discounts on food and drinks, and inclusive cheese and wine.
Want more ideas for family holidays and days out? Read my tips for smashing family travel and sign up for my newsletter.
Before you go, you might also like…
- How we spent a budget weekend in London when the kids were smaller (and less demanding)
- Our thoughts on the best UK city breaks
- Awesome family attractions around the UK
