How to visit and what to see at the Madrid Wax Museum: schedules, prices

Time stops in the Madrid Wax Museum.

Hidden in the middle Plaza de Colón, in the Paseo de Recoletos, a journey through history, art, entertainment and sport awaits you through its 20 rooms and galleries.

With almost 50 years of life, receives about 300.000 annual visits to discover its, currently, 480 wax figures.

You can take all the photos you want, but don't forget that the characters cannot touch each other.

The visit includes access to Terror Train, a 10-minute attraction for the most daring, and the museum also has a simulator and a multi-vision room, although they are currently closed due to the pandemic Covid-19.

Art and history at the Madrid Wax Museum

From ancient times, the classical world, to contemporary history, without forgetting all the sports stars and celluloid celebrities.

They are the most famous faces in the world and of all time, created with great detail in search of hyperrealism.

make you a Selfie with Ronaldo, Nadal, DiCaprio, George Clooney It is possible, and remember the triumph of la roja in that summer of 2010 too.

El Museo de Cera look back and immerse yourself in historical scenes, with paintings that come to life like the Execution of the Second of May, Las Meninas or the Holy Supper.

Origin and history of wax figures

Did you know that the first wax figures they're coming from Roman times? The patrician nobles made death masks to perpetuate themselves, a tradition that continued in the Middle Ages among the richest.

But it was during French RevolutionWhen Marie Tussaud He perfected the technique using characters who were victims of the guillotine as models.

The artist established her first exhibition of wax figures in London in 1835, currently becoming the most famous wax museum in the world.

Nowadays, most of the most important cities in the world have this type of hyperrealistic exhibitions.

The world of cinema realized the usefulness of figures to make films, because before silicone, wax was used to recreate damage and make doubles for actors.

A utility that also promoted the creation of the wax Museum de Madrid.

In Spain the museum was inaugurated on February 14, 1972, and the first figure made was that of the explorer Christopher Columbus, and the last one until our visit, that of the singer Taylor Swift.

What characters to see in the Madrid Wax Museum

Before your visit, you should know that the figures are grouped by environments and themes, of which we give you a preview below.

Historical figures in the wax museum 

This is an essential area to visit if you go with children, with characters that seem to come out of textbooks.

They are represented Julius Caesar y Cleopatra, the emperors Trajan y Adriano.

Also the world Al-Andalus, with Boabdil, the last Nasrid king, who sports a very successful replica of his sword. The spanish royalty of all times, Bourbons y Habsburgs, they also meet in the same room.

Politicians in the wax museum 

The story continues in the second room dedicated to politics with honorary hosts.

We are received by Royal family current, accompanied by the emeritus kings.

Together with them, the President of the goverment on duty, now it's up to Pedro Sánchez, a figure that changes according to current events.

During election season, the museum exhibits all the candidates to better reflect the moment we live in.

From here everything excites you and makes you feel like "look...", because the museum is full of surprise characters out of their environment.

This is the case of Antonio Banderas, Elizabeth Presley with Mario Vargas Llosa: Alaska, strategically placed characters that blend into the crowd, seem like just another visitor in the period rooms observing their own wax companions. You just have to find them.

Scientists at the wax museum

In the gallery dedicated to scientists busts await us severo ochoa, Marconi, Edison o Isaac Peral to get a little closer to their discoveries.

Each one is set in their studios, with newspapers and papers from the time recreated in great detail.

Don't stop seeing the horror gallery, which occupies a priority place in the museum, with classic monsters like the werewolf, Dracula o Frankenstein. A regular space for the museum's press conferences.

Artists in the Wax Museum

But it's the artists room one of the ones that generates the most admiration.

Celebrities national and international, singers and actors share the stage. Brad Pitt, The Rock o by Tom Cruise are the most photographed, along with Elvis, Julio Iglesias y Woody Allen.

Singer Taylor Swift It is the latest acquisition and is among the museum's most successful.

Historical personalities in the Wax Museum

Impressive the room of historical personalities.

One of the most spectacular scenes recreated in the museum is that of the reception given by the Catholic kings a Christopher Columbus upon returning from his first American trip.

As we have commented, precisely that of the conqueror was the first figure to be placed in the wax museum in 1972.

Something I didn't expect to find in the wax Museum It was little less than a summit of the G20 or NATO.

In the Presidents' Hall International leaders of all time come together, from former American presidents Obama, Trump or the very Abraham Lincoln, to Angela Merkel, Yasser Arafat o Emmanuel Macron.

Very close we relive the Far West, a room where you can't miss the actor and director Clint Eastwood, a most successful replica, along with the Oscar-winning Leonardo DiCaprio set in his now legendary performance of “Django Unchained”.

The toughest cowboy, John Wayne, also awaits us with the rebel James Dean or the heartthrob from “Gone with the Wind”, Clark Gable.

Athletes in the wax museum

In the sports room The Red meets again.

They couldn't miss either Fernando Alonso, Rafa Nadal, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gasol o Marc Márquez. Everyone is waiting for you with their most emblematic equipment.

Mireia Belmonte gave up his own clothes to clothe his alter ego, whose nails are even groomed in his style and is one of the most successful busts in the museum.

Have a coffee with them literary characters of all times is a reality in the writers' gathering. being This unfortunatly , Lorca, Alberti o Gala some of the most notable.

In this topic they occupy a preferential place Miguel de Cervantes writing “Don Quixote” and William Shakespeare recreated in one of his most universal works, “Romeo and Juliet”.

Ceroplasty, how a wax figure is made

Before your visit, you will be curious to know how the wax figures you are going to see are made.

El figure creation process It is completely handmade, molding a figure can take more than 6 months, an expensive job that is carried out in the museum's workshops and in those of its collaborators.

La technique It has been perfected over time, and the evolution is noticeable if we look at the details of the face of some of the first creations compared to the most current ones.

The process begins by taking measurements in situ, if the protagonist can go to the museum, or from photos observing all angles.

The eyes and teeth are the most important thing to reflect the character essence.

Afterwards, a bust in clay, from which a silicone mold on which the hot wax is poured, in layers.

The heads are not solid, so you can work with them later. The painters and sculptors then paint the figure trying to give it the greatest realism.

Then all that remains is to add the hands.

For the rest of the body, a mannequin is usually used, which is more manageable, but always adapted to the real size of the character.

Set designers are also in charge of decorate the environment of some figures to recreate their environment. This is the case, for example, of the scenes of the Catholic kings, Royal family, Papas, Or the literary gatherings.

Curiosities and secrets of the Madrid Wax Museum

The new sculpture of the Queen Leticia dressed in evening dress and wearing a tiara that he gave her Don Felipe, is an exact reproduction commissioned in The Pariesien.

To make it, 600 stones were used, and for the head, up to 1750 grams of natural hair grafts of various shades were made, one by one.

The figures also have real hair. Ronaldo o Mireia Belmonte, something that is especially taken care of in the new figures to give them more authenticity.

By the way, every time Cristiano Ronaldo It changes its haircut, its own hairdressers come to the museum, a touch-up so that it doesn't lose relevance.

For the figure of the television presenter Cristina Pedroche placeholder image Almost his entire body had to be made with wax, a mannequin was not used, because a large part of it is exposed when wearing his well-known pink flower suit.

Antonio Banderas He is the first and only character who is scented, with cologne, of course from his own brand.

An exception was also made for the highest paid actor in Hollywood, Dwayne Johnson, "the rock"; His arms and torso were made at the same time as his face, since the actor's physique is as important as his head.

El dress of Cleopatra It has many admirers, it is a perfect replica of the one I wear Elisabeth taylor to the movies. Periodically, there are many collectors who intend to buy it.

Divorces also exist in the wax Museum.

famous couples as Brad Pitt y Angelina Jolie: Justin Bieber y Selena Gomez, they posed together when they were living their love, but the separation in their real life increased the distance in the museum room in which they shared space.

What is the duration of the visit to the Madrid Wax Museum?

In short, Visit to the Wax Museum lasts an hour and a half., and facing it.

Can you take photos at the Wax Museum?

You have to know that At the Madrid Wax Museum you can take all the photos you want along with your favorite characters, and they invite you to share them with the hashtag #soyunaestrella.

Where is the Wax Museum in Madrid

El wax Museum you find it in Recoletos walk 41, In the Plaza de Colón Madrid.

Visiting hours of the Wax Museum

The schedules to visit the wax museum They are every Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the year, with different hours depending on the time of year, and from Thursday to Monday in summer.

From June to September, the hours are from 11 a.m. to 20 p.m., and from October to May, from 11 a.m. to 19 p.m., always with last access one hour before closing.

Wax museum ticket prices

The ticket prices They are, adults, 18 euros; children from 4 to 12 years old, 14 euros; seniors+65, 14 euros; people with disabilities, 10 euros.