The concept of Madame Tussauds is straightforward and a bit odd all at the same time – famous people in wax. Madame Tussauds has a 200 year history of creating figures out of wax, each year getting more and more sophisticated.
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Madame Tussauds is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. The queues can be horrendous, and if you’re not in to this sort of thing, then look away now. Go to nearby London Zoo instead. However, if you love your celebs, royals, sports stars, and historic figures mixed with good old’ cheesiness, then Madame Tussauds is ace.
Kate Winslet. In wax. |
Russell Brand. If you want to lick his face (not officially permitted), you might need a step. Not that I’d know. |
Emma Watson. A recent addition. The Harry Potter loving 8-year old was very excited. |
There are photo ‘opportunities’ in pretty much every section, where there is an official Tussauds photographer. The photos are £10 each, or you can take your own. These included ET………..
In the sports room, we saw an excellent model of Tom Daley
Shrek. He’s ma-hoo-sive |
Justin Bieber. The ignorant little popsicle. Not. A. Word. |
The Beatles |
SCREAM! is recommended for 12 years and over only and not for pregnant women. We haven’t reviewed this section. I’m a big wuss at the best of times, and the children with us were too young anyway (phew!). This is a chamber of horrors where the exhibits are not all made of wax. You can bypass this bit.
The next room is very interesting. It’s a small exhibition that shows you how the wax models are made, including their eyes and hair.
The penultimate attraction is the Spirit of London ride, where you sit in a carriage and get a tour around the history of London (in wax) with scenes depicting the great fire of 1666, the rebuilding of St Pauls, World War II, and the swinging sixties. We didn’t queue for this as the ride moves continuously and the staff are very good at getting people on and off quickly.
The Hulk. This one needed a lot of wax. |
……and relax!
Exit down stairs through the very crowded gift shop, there is a coffee shop at the exit, but lots of places to eat nearby on Baker Street itself.
Information:-
Tickets are £30 per adult with reductions for children and for advance online bookings. Under 4s are free. You can buy a combination ticket which includes The London Eye and the London Aquarium and gives a reduction on all three attractions. You can also get cheaper tickets if you go in the evening (after 5pm) but it doesn’t stay open long so it might not leave you enough time to look around all of it. You can pick up all sorts of deals such as two-for-one vouchers from cereal packets, or national newspapers. They are part of the Merlin group, and you can visit for free if you have a Merlin pass. You can also get tickets through Tesco Rewards. If you pay full price to get in, you are mad – if only because there are so many deals available if you look for them.