Above: The Legendary ‘The Beatles’

Last time, we visited lots of cultures through the artifacts of the Victoria and Albert Museum. This time, we will visit peoples – from different countries, background, and time periods! But only the famous ones, of course.

Presenting Madame Tussaud’s world famous wax museum.

#3 Madame Tussauds

Can anybody pull off bringing together all the famous personalities in the world under one roof? Marie Tussaud can.

Marie Tussaud (her real name is Marie Grosholtz) was born in Strasbourg, France in 1761. She learned her craft from Dr. Philippe Curtius, a physician who also happens to be very skilled in making wax models. Marie Grosholtz’ mother worked as a housekeeper for the kind doctor. Dr. Curtius was fond of little Marie and decided to teach her the intricate art of making wax models. The oldest wax work in Madame Tussauds is actually a work by Dr. Curtius himself – a wax work of Marie-Jeanne du Barry, a French courtesan who became the mistress of King Louis XV of France.

Tussaud’s first wax work was that of Voltaire – the famous French Enlightenment writer who supported social reform during his time and who frequently criticized the Catholic Church. Tussauds made this wax work in 1777. Also around that time, she was fond of political figures and did wax works like that of another Enlightenment mover in Jean-Jacques Rousseau. She also admired one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin, and made a wax work of him during that time.

One of her first set of wax works was made during the French Revolution - she made “death masks” of the victims of the violence during that time. Marie Tussaud would personally search through piles and piles of corpses just to find a decapitated head that she liked and then she would make a replica of that severed head. These “death masks” are now being displayed in one of the museum’s more famous attractions – the Chamber of Horrors. Aside from the masks, the gallery now also exhibits past and present murderers and criminals.

When the good doctor died in 1794, his entire collection was turned over to the care of Marie Tussaud. This is where the bulk of her first ever collection would come from.

Eight years later Marie Tussaud found herself in London, traveling to exhibit her wax works, together with those of the late doctor. And because of the Franco - English war (Napoleonic Wars), she was unable to return to her homeland France. Marie Tussaud then decided against her will to go through the cities of Great Britain and Ireland to exhibit her collection. And the rest, as they would say, was history.

She put up her first permanent exhibit on Baker Street in London. This was still way back in 1835, on a place called the Baker Street Bazaar. From then came another exhibit, and another, and another - until finally the name Madame Tussauds was already associated with wax works. She became so famous and her collection so large that it had to become a museum.

Madame Tussauds did not move to its current location until 1884. In 1925, a huge fire destroyed most of the wax works of the collection. Good thing the molds survived the disaster and all those destroyed were remade.

The wax museum is now one of the major tourist attractions of London. The success has been so overwhelming that Tussauds opened branches in other parts of the globe. There are now a total of seven Madame Tussauds. With the Madame Tussauds London being the primal and therefore the principal branch, six more Madame Tussauds are found in each of these cities: Amsterdam, Las Vegas, New York City, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Washington DC. In two months, the newest branch in Berlin is set to open. And next year, there will be another one in Hollywood. All of the other branches have their own exclusive wax works.

The London branch, as I said earlier, is one of the biggest attractions in the city – garnering nearly 3 million visitors per year.

Arguably the most popular gallery in the museum is the Garden Party exhibit – where visitors can have their pictures taken alongside almost real wax works of world famous actors and singers. Here are a couple of visitors enjoying a photo op with their favorite stars: Justin Timberlake and Samuel L. Jackson.

Below: Pop star Justin Timeberlake

Above: Well-known actor Samuel L . Jackson

Also there is the Grand Hall – where past and present world leaders gather together. One could only imagine having their picture taken with the entire royal family – Her Majesty the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince William and Prince Harry. And you can even pose with a quirky face!

Make sure you experience the Chamber of Horrors live. It’s like a horror leisure park attraction but with wax works and actors instead of goofy mannequins. Quite a scare! Warning: this is not suitable for children below 12, pregnant women, or anyone with any sort of heart condition. The actors will chase you out so be prepared to run!

Also there is the Spirit of London ride – be sure to check it out. You will be riding a traditional black London cab that goes through the different historical stages of the city, going through the Tudors, the Plague, the Great Fire, the Victorians, the war and straight into the Sixties. The ride is both educational and fun.

There are also other interactive solo wax works like playing golf with Tiger Woods, or air guitaring with rock legends.

The latest addition to the elite group of wax works is that of Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. The wax works are found in the Royal Zone. The Duchess herself personally selected the blue three piece designer suit. She also donated her own LK Bennett shoes and clutch bag to make the wax work a truly deserving replica. Look at the picture below: is that the real Prince Charles or just another wax work from Madame Tussauds? I couldn’t tell, really.

Above: Prince Charles

All the Madame Tussauds branches are owned by leisure company Merlin Entertainment, who had 100% ownership of The Tussauds Group since May of last year. Merlin Entertainment is considered as the biggest leisure company in all of Europe and is currently the second largest leisure company globally, next to Disney.

Madame Tussauds is found in Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5LR. You won’t get lost – it’s very easy to find! Just look for the dominant dome shaped building that used to the Planetarium and there you are. But just in case you do get lost, you can contact Madame Tussauds at 0 870 400 3000 for directions or other general info necessary for you visit. Also, you could book online (very much recommended) so as to avoid the hassle, and enormous time waste, that is getting in line.

The Madame Tussauds is open from 9.30 in the morning up until 5.50 in the afternoon – everyday except for Christmas Day (you can get inside for much cheaper of you go in at around 5.00 in the afternoon – but we find that utterly useless since most interactive attractions power off at 6pm). Although they say it would only take less than three hours to completely enjoy the Madame Tussauds, we suggest staying a wee bit longer. There are a lot of wax works to see, and not getting to see all in your visit is just purely disappointing and a total waste of hard earned cash. The works are to so real like that it would necessarily take longer to ogle at them! We also suggest getting in early (especially if you did not book online) so as to avoid time constraints and the long queue that loads up very quickly.

Madame Tussauds entry prices range from 9.00 pounds to 18.50 pounds for children and 12.50 pounds to 25.00 pounds for adults. You can also avail of a family ticket for only 72.00 pounds – the ticket acts like a combination of 2 adult tickets and 2 children tickets or 1 adult ticket and 3 children tickets.

Current promos include the combined Madame Tussauds/ London Eye ticket. The ticket is actually entry to Madame Tussauds – but it comes with a bonus London Eye ride that you can claim within a month from the date of purchase. Also there is an ongoing 2 for 1 promo that gives a free ticket for every adult ticket purchased. Just contact them ahead of time so as to inquire how to avail of this great discount!

As for payments, aside from cash and check, the museum also accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Switch and Delta. Unfortunately, they do not accept Solo and Electron credit card transactions.

If you are going to pay by check, make sure you make the check payable to Tussauds Group Ltd and not Merlin Entertainment.

You can get to Madame Tussauds through the London Underground. The nearest tube station to Madame Tussauds is Baker Street. You can get there by using Jubilee, Bakerloo, Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith and City lines.

Here is a detailed map on how to get there (especially if you are traveling by road):

The nearest car park is the one on Chiltern Street (you can contact this car park at 0 207 486 4509). It is located just off Marylebone Road and is approximately just 5 minutes away from Madame Tussauds.