Well, you won’t believe your eyes. Or rather, you will, but you really shouldn’t. The Museum of Illusions lives up to its name with a small collection of installations that deceive, astound, and bring a bemused smile to your face.
- Great for amusing photos & Instagram
- Obviously excellent for kids
- Very central location
- Book tickets online* for the museum
- See also:
Don’t trust your eyes
(Press photo courtesy of and © Museum of Illusions)
Given world events, I entered the Museum of Illusions filled with a new-found cynicism paired with my usual dose of grumpiness. All the more pleasing then to report that the experience put a smile of wonder back on my face.
Consider the “museum” a place of amusement and bemusement.
The fun comes mainly from the larger installations.
Some play with your senses, such as a solid, fixed gangway inside a rotating light display that has you clinging to the rails entirely unnecessarily.
(This way for optical magic)
Others play with perspective.
One room makes you look twice as big as your companion, for example. Another has you climbing a vertical wall. In one corner table, your head appears to be served on a plate. As such, this is heaven for instagrammers.
The bemusement (also laced with fun) comes mainly from smaller installations and posters. The kind where your eyes and brain combine to create images and interpretations that simply do not exist.
Some will stay with me a long time.
(Press photo courtesy of and © Museum of Illusions)
Like the printed poster where a grey face appears to slowly disappear before your eyes. What? How?
Or the rotating half sphere that’s not rotating at all. But it is! (No, it isn’t.) All a trick of the light and the eyes.
It’s like being on the front row of a magic show; you find yourself regularly furrowing your brow and going, “what the actual…?”
The museum is quite small; we were in and out in just 35 minutes, though you could stay longer to do all the little wooden and other puzzles that also dot the inside. But we thought it worth every cent.
(And my partner would happily have paid double to see my head served up to her on that plate).
(Press photo courtesy of and © Museum of Illusions)
Tickets & visitor tips
Tickets are available on site and online from various sources, of course.
(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)
The installations and illusions each come with a small information display in English, German, Italian and Spanish that typically includes an explanation of the deception.
A few other tips:
- Some of the larger illusions need two people in them to function, which makes taking a photo tricky if no third person is available. However, we went as a couple and a friendly member of staff stepped in each time we got near such an attraction to take a photo for us
- Talking photos: blue spots on the ground indicate the ideal points to stand and click for the best illusory outcome on your phone or camera. Use them
- Definitely a place to get to outside of peak times, so you don’t have to wait to get in or (once inside) for the photo opportunities
- If you enjoy the puzzles, note that the small shop has quite a few to buy
- Pause a moment to consider the surrounds. You’re actually in part of a wider palais that dates back to the late 17th century and belonged to the Esterházy family. The likes of Haydn may have performed within, since the Esterházys were great sponsors of music
For other entertaining attractions in Vienna that play with your perception and deceive your eyes, take a look at my curated list of VR & immersive experiences.
How to get to the museum
The Museum of Illusions sits in Vienna’s old town and within walking distance of many central landmarks.
One end of the street takes you to Kohlmarkt and the pedestrianised part of the city centre, close to the Michaelerplatz entrance to the Hofburg Imperial complex with all its attractions.
(Recover from all the confusion at the nearby Café Central, here pictured at Christmas)
The other end emerges at Café Central, where we had a remarkably good breakfast before our visit. (Reserve a table, though, as queues are common due to this coffee house’s fame and stunning interior décor.)
Subway: Herrengasse station (on the U3 line) practically counts as a neighbour.
Tram/bus: Trams don’t traverse the old town, but the first district buses stop nearby. For example, take the 1A or 2A to Herrengasse.
Address: Wallnerstraße 4, 1010 Vienna | Website