Barcelona’s Museum of Illusions: photo opportunities with optical effects
Optical illustions create a warped view of reality. There’s a whole museum full of them in Barcelona, allowing you to enjoy the experience “live”! Feature in your own weird and wonderful scenes…
Museum of Illusions: the concept
The Museum of Illusions is a Russian invention, featuring a series of paintings in very realistic 3D. Following its huge success at home, the concept has been exported to Spain: Barcelona is home to the only European branch outside of Russia.
The idea is to have your photo taken in front of one of the scenes, then enjoy the visual effects created in the photo!
The Museum of Illusions, Barcelona
Opened in late 2015, the Barcelona Museum of Illusions is home to 70 fun scenes featuring animals, seascapes, fictional characters, celebrities, escalators, and even zombies.
The museum also pays homage to its host city, featuring a range of iconic Catalan scenes, including Sagrada Familia, the steps of Parc Güell and match day at Camp Nou. You can even feature in one of Salvador Dalí’s best-known works…
- In all honesty, we’re not 100% convinced it’s worth it: if you’re short on time, we recommend seeing Barcelona’s main attractions in the flesh and taking your photos there instead!
To create the best illusions, the photographer needs to follow the floor markings, and the subject needs to pose in the position indicated on the wall.
Top tips:
- The Museum of Illusions gets very busy at the weekend. Better to go early, or on a weekday.
- It’s more suitable for children than for adults.
The Museum of Illusions: is it worth it?
Frankly, we’re not 100% convinced.
- Some of the paintings don’t produce particularly convincing effects, which is a shame.
- The idea behind the museum is to take photos, which may feel a bit repetitive. A good alternative is the fun 4D animation on offer at the Gaudí Experiencia.
- We weren’t blown away by the attraction – where possible, we recommend taking your photos in front of the real Sagrada Familia or Parc Güell! In our opinion, the reality is better than any special effects… but we’ll leave you to choose for yourselves.
The price of entry to the gallery of illusions seems a little excessive, but here you have our top tip:
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It costs €10 in the ticket office and €9 online by clicking on the link below.
Museum of Illusions: useful information
- Don’t forget your camera – otherwise, there’s very little point in visiting.
- The museum is accessible to wheelchair users.