Royal London Wax Museum
470 Belleville Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 1W9
250-388-4461 | Website
The Royal London Wax Museum in Victoria claims that a day spent inside its walls is worth a year at Oxford.
Category:
Visual Arts Location
What:
| Type | | Museum |
| Payment | | Interac, MasterCard, American Express, Visa |
Where:
| Neighbourhood | | Victoria |
| Getting There | | At the edge of downtown’s picturesque inner harbour |
| Cross Street | | Menzies Street |
When:
| Daily 9AM to 7:30PM |
Profile Last Updated: April 23, 2009
Seeing double?
The Royal London Wax Museum opened in 1961 with a mere 90 figures. Today it has over 300 wax replicas, each fashioned from a precise mix of beeswax and synthetics. All figures are fitted with medical-use glass eyes and every strand of human hair is individually applied to bring life to your favorite characters of fame, fiction, and ill repute. Scattered across depictions of forest floors and couches of cozy pioneer parlours are old copies of the Victoria Times-Colonist, with original reports on the events that resulted in the scenes before you. Interactive quizzes, audio narration, video clips, and multi-media components make each scene as realistic as possible.
From Horror to Hollywood
After you meet the monarchy, literary giants, inventors, athletes, and more politicians than you might care to know, red floodlights steer you through The Chamber of Horrors. Medieval torture methods, illustrations of famous fiction, and replicas of real-life horror await. Eventually a wooden oubliette door creaks open on a fable-filled fantasyland to calm your nerves. Skip past Snow White, the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, and Anne of Green Gables, all the way to Hollywood! John Wayne, Superman, and Marilyn Monroe are all ready for their close-ups! Flash photography is allowed when it comes to snapping Sophia Loren, Bob Hope, and the hot tin roof couple – Liz Taylor and a cigarette-smoking, whiskey-drinking Paul Newman!
God, Gandhi, and Buddha
After all the sin of stardom, it’s time for redemption. The Hall of Religious Figures is lined with the gods of a dozen faiths as you trek to the final stage in your whirlwind tour through the ages: The Frozen North, where a frosted, sparkling diorama shows the lost Franklin Expedition searching for the Northwest Passage. You’ll know you’re back in the present once you hit the candy and souvenir shop.
The Royal London Wax Museum opened in 1961 with a mere 90 figures. Today it has over 300 wax replicas, each fashioned from a precise mix of beeswax and synthetics. All figures are fitted with medical-use glass eyes and every strand of human hair is individually applied to bring life to your favorite characters of fame, fiction, and ill repute. Scattered across depictions of forest floors and couches of cozy pioneer parlours are old copies of the Victoria Times-Colonist, with original reports on the events that resulted in the scenes before you. Interactive quizzes, audio narration, video clips, and multi-media components make each scene as realistic as possible.
From Horror to Hollywood
After you meet the monarchy, literary giants, inventors, athletes, and more politicians than you might care to know, red floodlights steer you through The Chamber of Horrors. Medieval torture methods, illustrations of famous fiction, and replicas of real-life horror await. Eventually a wooden oubliette door creaks open on a fable-filled fantasyland to calm your nerves. Skip past Snow White, the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, and Anne of Green Gables, all the way to Hollywood! John Wayne, Superman, and Marilyn Monroe are all ready for their close-ups! Flash photography is allowed when it comes to snapping Sophia Loren, Bob Hope, and the hot tin roof couple – Liz Taylor and a cigarette-smoking, whiskey-drinking Paul Newman!
God, Gandhi, and Buddha
After all the sin of stardom, it’s time for redemption. The Hall of Religious Figures is lined with the gods of a dozen faiths as you trek to the final stage in your whirlwind tour through the ages: The Frozen North, where a frosted, sparkling diorama shows the lost Franklin Expedition searching for the Northwest Passage. You’ll know you’re back in the present once you hit the candy and souvenir shop.
Details
See and Buy: Souvenir and candy shop are museum extras.
Snap Away, But Hands Off: Flash photography is allowed. Touching the figures is not.
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
