Madame Tussauds Amsterdam

Madame Tussauds Amsterdam is one of the premiere attractions in Amsterdam’s busy old town and is certainly worth the time. We visited in the middle of the day on a Sunday and had a great time. The Madame Tussauds brand produces incredibly realistic wax figures and displays them in fun, sometimes interactive environments in several cities around the world. If you’ve never been to a wax musum before, Madame Tussauds Amsterdam is a fantastic place to start.

After taking some fun souvenir photos (available in the gift shop at the end of your tour of course) visitors walk the red carpet and wind up in a Hollywood Oscars party, with guests like Ryan Gosling and Leonardo DiCaprio among the elites. Afterwards you travel through fun Hollywood moments where you can sit around with Shrek and Fiona, or find your skirt blowing up next to Marilyn Monroe. Beyond that you’ll enter the worlds of pop music superstars, fashion models, superheroes, famous Dutch djs, and famous sports figures. Before leaving the museum you can shake hands with Queen Elizabeth II and a few other notable historic figures, view a scene of Anne Frank in her attic hideaway, and marvel at the strangeness of Salvador Dali.

The entire experience takes about an hour but can be longer if you play around in the different environments or stop partway through the tour at the little Heineken bar on the top floor. Definitely bring your phone camera because there are dozens of photo ops throughout the museum. Flash photography is not allowed and the lighting is fairly low in some of the rooms. Commercial photography is not allowed either.

Midway through the museum there is a big window view looking out onto Dam Square.

My one wish is that there were more monsters or fantastical creatures. Anything can be sculpted out of wax but the museum plays it fairly safe, partially in an attempt to keep things family friendly. Personally I think it would make sense to make an alternate route through the museum and have that route include some monsters and scariness. Also a few of the wax figures were absent – on loan to other locations. Regardless this is a solid A-list attraction which I highly recommend, especially if you’re looking to pick up the pace after visiting some of the more traditional museums in Amsterdam.

The entrance price is average / reasonable, especially for an experience of such high quality. If you’re looking into other Amsterdam attractions there are tickets which bundle Madame Tussauds with other attractions. Purchase tickets online in advance to ensure entry at your preferred time and to get the best ticket price, but tickets are available at the door as well.

If you need handicapped access then booking your ticket in advance is an absolute must as only two wheelchairs are allowed in the attraction at a time, and your wheelchair must fit dimensionally into the museum. The website has the exact wheelchair specifications. If you require assistance to move through the attraction then your companion can come in free of charge but they still need to book in advance to get the time slot.

I hope you enjoy Madame Tussauds as much as we did – for fun and frolic in Amsterdam this is one of the best experiences you can find!