Madame Tussauds London

In the music area, wax versions of icons like Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, and Bob Marley meet modern stars like Rihanna and Taylor Swift. In sports, you can see snapshots of Muhammad Ali or Cristiano Ronaldo. The film area is shared by cult directors like Steven Spielberg, fictional characters like the Terminator, and acting legends like Audrey Hepburn - and what would the British wax figure collection be without all the actors who played James Bond? Of course, the original Madame Tussauds in London also has to have a section for the royal family - in 2022 Queen Camilla was added.

Madame Tussauds London is no longer a dusty figure exhibition. Interactive spectacles are now just as much a part of the attraction as the wax figures, with the experiences changing regularly. Some of the mainstays include the ride Spirit of London, which allows you to travel through London's history inside a taxi, or the Marvel Superheroes 4D Experience, which features the popular comic book characters in an interactive film with wind and movement. Many attractions also cater to fans of horror, such as the Chamber of Horrors, with figures of notorious London criminals, or the Alien Escape Experience, which brings the chilling locations from the Alien horror movies to life.

Born in Straßburg, France in 1761, Marie Tussaud moved in with a doctor named Philippe Curtius and her mother after the death of her father. Curtius had established a business for manufacturing wax models. From him, Marie finally learned the necessary craft and as early as 1780 she began to recreate celebrities such as Benjamin Franklin and Voltaire in wax. However, because she had worked for the royal family, she was imprisoned during the French Reign of Terror (La Grande Terreur) and was only able to save herself from execution by making death masks of the executed.

Marie Tussaud first came to London in 1802 to exhibit some of her pieces. Due to the Napoleonic Wars, she couldn't return to France. After a trip through Great Britain, she settled down with her son in London and founded, in the vicinity of where the current museum now stands, the first wax figure cabinet under her name. After her death in 1850, her son took over the craft and the museum remained in family ownership until the 1930s. Today, the company comprises numerous locations worldwide, with each location offering its own collection of wax figures. The originals made by Madame Tussaud are still owned by Madame Tussauds London, but are rarely shown to the public.