Madame Tussauds Wien

You step off the tram into the magical world of the Prater in Vienna, where the giant Ferris wheel looms nearby, and you’re immediately drawn to a shimmering building at Riesenradplatz. As you walk inside, the red carpet seems to roll out just for you — welcome to Madame Tussauds Vienna, a place where wax comes to life. Once you enter, you realize this isn’t just a static gallery. Over 90 incredibly realistic wax figures stand before you, spread across more than ten themed areas. The air hums with excitement, because here, you don’t just look — you interact. In one room, you find yourself face-to-face with Austrian icons: Emperor Franz Joseph and his ever-elegant wife Sisi, Mozart with his thoughtful gaze, Gustav Klimt, Falco, Maria Theresa… their wax likenesses perfectly captured, down to the folds of their clothes. But the real magic begins in the Sisi Uncovered Experience, a 200 m² immersive area that feels less like a museum and more like stepping into a time machine. There, modern 3D projections bring Sisi to life: you can hear her voice, smell the perfume of her court, and even taste the world she inhabited. In her dressing room, she greets you, and in darker moments you discover her inner struggles — a side of the empress few ever see. Wandering further, you come to a stage-like space where you can conduct Johann Strauss, swaying gently to the “Blue Danube” waltz as if you were in an imperial ballroom. Nearby, a friendly Einstein challenges you to an intelligence test — can you beat his legendary mind? And just around the corner, in a sporty twist, you try to score a goal against Hans Krankl, the Austrian football legend. There’s also a wedding chapel — but not just any chapel: it’s a Las Vegas–style chapel, and Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley are your waxy officiants. You can don a veil, pose in front of the altar, and take a selfie that feels like a very glamorous, slightly surreal ceremony. History buffs will delight in the historical and political area: world leaders like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi stand in thoughtful silence, while you can imagine debating from a podium with famous politicians. There’s even a spot that remembers dark chapters of history, like war and conflict. And if you ever wondered how these lifelike figures come to be: making a single wax figure is a labor of love and precision. The artists take hundreds of measurements, hundreds of photos, and insert real hair strand by strand — sometimes 140 hours just to needle in the hair. Each figure can cost up to €200,000 to create. At Madame Tussauds Vienna, the past and present collide in wax. It’s not just a museum — it’s a celebration of fame, history, and imagination. Whether you want to dance with royalty, challenge a genius, or marry a superstar, here, your selfie dreams come true.