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Handpicked experience · Berlin

Madame Tussauds Ticket in Berlin

Berlin, Germany

BerlinLocationShow Mobile Voucher or PrintedConfirmationJoin-in GroupTypeEnglishGuide

What you do

The founder was jailed in the Terror and made to cast the heads of people she knew — and a modern figure still takes four months and 250 measurements.

Highlights

  1. 01

    Enter the world of Madame Tussauds Berlin where you'll find lifelike replicas of the world's most famous faces.

  2. 02

    Various themes and definitely there is a theme that's perfect for you.

  3. 03

    A variety of famous figures are displayed for you to see and pose with them.

  4. 04

    Party together and capture all the precious memories with your family and friends!

  5. 05

    Visit zones that represent different aspects of global pop culture.

  6. 06

    Over a hundred and twenty figures, local and international

  7. 07

    House of Berlin Colors, a set built around the city's own culture

  8. 08

    VIP Party, an immersive scene made for photographs

  9. 09

    A self-guided route with backdrops throughout

Stops · 2

Madame Tussauds BerlinOn the route
BerlinOn the route

Overview

An admission ticket to Madame Tussauds on Unter den Linden, with more than a hundred and twenty figures, the Berlin-themed rooms and the party set. You go round at your own speed and photograph whatever you like, with one exception noted below.

What to expect

You enter at your own convenience, follow the route through the themed rooms and stay as long as you want. There is no guide and no fixed timing. Most visitors take about ninety minutes; anyone photographing seriously takes longer.

Madame Tussaud was a real person

Marie Grosholtz was born in Strasbourg in 1761 and learned wax modelling in Paris as a child. She was good enough that she was invited to Versailles to teach art to the king's sister, and she lived there for nine years. Then the revolution came, and she was arrested and had her head shaved in preparation for the guillotine before being released.

She made death masks to stay alive

To prove her loyalty to the new regime she was made to take casts of severed heads, working from the corpses of people she had known personally — the king, the queen, and later Robespierre, who had sent her to prison. Those masks became the foundation of her collection. She took the whole exhibition to Britain in 1802, toured it for thirty-three years, and only settled it permanently in London in 1835.

Four months and two hundred and fifty measurements

A modern figure begins with a sitting: hundreds of measurements, hundreds of photographs, and colour matching for eyes, skin and hair. The head is sculpted in clay, moulded, and cast in a beeswax blend. Hair is inserted one strand at a time and takes about five weeks on its own. Start to finish, a figure takes roughly four months.

They are made slightly smaller than life

Wax under bright light reads larger than flesh, so figures are modelled a couple of per cent below the subject's real dimensions. The correction is invisible until you stand next to one and find the scale unexpectedly right rather than unexpectedly odd.

The one figure you cannot photograph

The Berlin branch opened in 2008 with a waxwork of Hitler seated at a desk in a bunker setting, deliberately unglamorous and behind a barrier. Days after opening, a visitor tore its head off. It was repaired and put back, and the house rule since then is that no photographs are taken in that room. It is a small, sober corner of an otherwise cheerful building.

Practicalities

The route is indoors, step-free and works in any weather, which makes it a reliable option on a wet Berlin afternoon. Bags go into lockers at the entrance. Cancellation is free up to a day ahead.

Choose your option

Open it to pick a date and work out the price.

Options are being loaded — the desk can quote you directly in the meantime.

What's included

What the fare covers, and what to budget for separately.

IncludedIn the fare
  • ✓Admission to Madame Tussauds Berlin
  • ✓Access to the public galleries and the featured immersive sets
Not IncludedBudget separately
  • —Transport to and from the attraction
  • —Food, drink and personal purchases inside
  • —Guided tours, gratuities and optional extras

Good to know

The practical detail, and the answers people actually ask for.

Practical

  • PickupNo Pickup
  • TypeJoin-in Group
  • GuideEnglish
  • VoucherShow Mobile Voucher or Printed
  • CancellationFree cancellation up to 24 Hours before

Frequently asked

How long does a visit take?

About ninety minutes at a normal pace. There is no guide and no timed route, so anyone photographing carefully will want longer.

Was there a real Madame Tussaud?

Yes. Marie Grosholtz, born in Strasbourg in 1761, learned wax modelling as a child, spent nine years at Versailles teaching art to the king's sister, and was later arrested and prepared for the guillotine before being released.

How did she start the collection?

By being made to cast the severed heads of the guillotined to prove her loyalty — including the king, the queen and eventually Robespierre. Those death masks became the basis of the exhibition she toured Britain with for thirty-three years.

How is a wax figure made?

From a sitting with hundreds of measurements and photographs, a clay sculpt, a mould, and a cast in a beeswax blend. Hair goes in one strand at a time over about five weeks, and the whole process runs to roughly four months.

Why do the figures look so convincing in scale?

Because they are modelled a couple of per cent smaller than the real person. Wax under bright light reads larger than skin, so slightly undersizing it makes the proportions look right.

Is there anywhere photography is not allowed?

One room. The Berlin branch has a deliberately unglamorous Hitler figure in a bunker setting; a visitor tore its head off days after the 2008 opening, and photographs are not taken there.

Is it suitable in bad weather?

Entirely — the route is indoors and step-free, which makes it a dependable choice on a wet afternoon.

From · per personOn request