21. February 2025
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The National Wax Museum Plus (Dublin)

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

The National Wax Museum Plus Dublin

16.50 EUR
The National Wax Museum Plus Dublin
3.9

Rating

 3.9/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very nice horror maze
  • Stylish Enchanted Forest
  • Good History of Ireland
  • Reasonable price and great opening times

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Limited quality of celebrity wax figures

During my last business trip to Dublin, I took the time and visited the National Wax Museum Plus in the heart of the Irish capital. Especially due to its prolonged opening times, it felt like a nice distraction instead of working in the hotel room.

 

National Wax Museum Plus – Location & Admission

The National Wax Museum Plus is located close to Temple Bar district, right South of the River Liffey, at O’Connell Bridge. The next LUAS tram station is Westmoreland (Green Line) or Abbey Street (Red Line). The museum, which is located at 22-25 Westmoreland Street, has been opened in 1983, but had to move from its original location as a hotel was placed on that site.

The museum opens from 10:00 to 22:00 hrs. Adult Admission is 16.50 EUR if you enter between 10:00 and 17:00 hrs and 15:00 EUR thereafter. By pre-purchasing the ticket online, you can reduce the price by 10 per cent, i.e. 14.85 EUR / 13.50 EUR. There are also combo tickets with the Irish Rock’n’Roll Museum Experience.

 

National Wax Museum Plus – Science & Discovery

Right after the cashier desk, you head up the stairs. There are a couple of figures like Albert Einstein, but in general, this area is dedicated to the history of Irish science – not expected in a wax museum, but definitely interesting.

 

National Wax Museum Plus – Celebrities & Stars

After passing a mirror maze, you reach the area, in which celebrities and stars are in display. The setting is quite weird, though: in the first room, you meet rock stars as Tina Turner or Elvis Presley, but also figures from Star Wars and Game of Thrones. My favorite room is a cafe-like environment in one adjacent room, which hosts famous Irish writers like James Joyce. Why the first figure you meet there is Donald Trump is hard for me to understand, though. Overall, the figures do not have the quality you have at peers like Madame Tussauds.

In the next section, you meet TV celebrities like the Simpsons, Bob, the Builder, Superman or the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles. Again, two issues are the quality of the figures, but also the light, which is not as ideal as you have in comparable places.

 

National Wax Museum Plus – History of Ireland

I am not fully aware of what the real Plus in the name of the museum is, but to me the more interesting parts of my visit were on the lower floor. In the first section, you meet a lot of people representing the history of Ireland, starting with Prehistoric Ages and the Vikings and ending up after war with the presidents of the Republic of Ireland. Very well done, very educative, as there are a lot of displays and also audio recordings.

 

National Wax Museum Plus – Horror & Myths

In the final part of the museum, you have the chance to take the family-friendly visit and skip The Horror Hotel or go for the scary part as well. Regarding the figures, this part was maybe my favorite, the scary walk had a lot of atmosphere. A lot of characters you meet are inspired by horror movies or myths like Hannibal Lecter or Dracula. At the end of this horror detour, you may also invest 2 Euro to activate an electric chair execution – let’s say that I just did not have the appropriate coin with me.

When you leave the Horror Hotel again or took the family route, you finally step into a very different atmopshere. Colorful exhibits show myths and fairy tales including a classic Irish leprechaun – a nice finish if you visit the museum with your smaller ones.

 

National Wax Museum Plus – Services

The museum features WiFi more or less throughout the whole exhibition. In addition, you find the mandatory souvenir store right before you leave the National Wax Museum Plus. The signature souvenir is definitely a way copy of your hand, which you can also buy (during peak visiting times) in the middle of the museum.

 

National Wax Museum Plus – My View

The National Wax Museum Plus is a nice place, a good distraction during your Dublin visit. Unfortunately, neither the quality of the celebrity figures nor the light in the place is really ideal – therefore, the price is really balanced. The idea of having sections like The History of Ireland or the science exhibitions really adds value and makes it a place for everyone I personally enjoyed the horror place most. The listed weaknesses do not allow a top rating, but the National Wax Museum Plus is significantly above average.

 

 

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