Magic Museums
The Most Beautiful Magic Museums Around the World
Harry Houdini, David Copperfield, Dynamo, Penn Jillette, Teller, Criss Angel, Derren Brown, Lance Burton, Siegfried, Roy—the greatest magicians of all time also have their place in museums. Archives, straight jackets, handcuffs, saw-in-half boxes, photos, posters, live shows—all these world-class museums invite you to discover the secret world of magic up close.
From the Museum of Magic in Paris, Blois, and Sydney, to Wayne, New Jersey, here are the best to visit alone, as a couple, or with children.
1. Musée de la Magie – Paris
The Musée de la Magie (Museum of Magic) is a rather unknown but truly lovely museum to visit, especially with children. Unsurprisingly, this museum is full of everything related to the world of magic. It is a museum dedicated to the art of sleight of hand and magic. You will find all sorts of props, such as the saw-in-half girl box, machines to make bodies and objects disappear, secret boxes, and optical illusion games that you can try out as a visitor to this magic museum.
This magic museum in the heart of Paris also offers a real show in French, which is easy for children or non-French speakers to follow.
The Musée de la Magie is located in the 4th arrondissement, in the very pleasant Marais district. It is housed in the 16th-century cellars of the house of the famous Marquis de Sade.
Website: https://museedelamagie.com
2. Maison de la Magie Robert-Houdin — Blois, France
The Maison de la Magie Robert-Houdin is a museum built in the heart of the city of Blois, in the Loire Valley, France. This magic museum is ideally located right opposite the royal Château de Blois, making it an inevitable stop on your tourist itinerary.
This magic museum displays several unique and exclusive curiosities: an automaton representing a six-headed dragon, exhibitions on the history of magic, on the art of sleight of hand, a life-size kaleidoscope, and the mysterious checkerboard of optical illusions.
Website: https://www.maisondelamagie.fr
3. Houdini Revealed (formerly Houdini Museum of New York) — Wayne, New Jersey, USA
Houdini Revealed moved from New York to Wayne, New Jersey. Entirely dedicated to the escape artist Harry Houdini, this magic museum presents hundreds of incredibly impressive objects.
Of course, there are handcuffs and straightjackets, as well as spectacular items like the 1907 escape coffin, from which he emerged in 66 minutes after it had been sealed with six-inch nails (illustrations of this feat adorn the wooden coffin). Numerous framed photographs and posters line the walls, along with curiosities such as an X-ray of the bullet in his hand. A display case features some of the objects Houdini used in his career to debunk spiritualism, which he considered a deceptive use of magic. In one corner is his very last metamorphosis trunk, next to which is a plaster bust of the magician that once stood on his grave in Machpelah Cemetery in Queens.
The objects primarily come from the private collection of Roger Dreyer, CEO of Fantasma. Approximately two hundred objects are on display, with 1,500 in reserve, so exhibitions change regularly to feature different artifacts.
Website: https://www.houdinirevealed.com/
4. American Museum of Magic — Marshall, Michigan, USA
This is the largest magic museum in the USA. Founded in 1978, the American Museum of Magic has been in existence for over three decades and is located in a sumptuous Victorian building built in 1968 in Calhoun County, Michigan.
Spread over three floors, the American Museum of Magic is filled from floor to ceiling with props from the greatest magicians of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Half a million souvenirs are crammed inside the museum. Among these items are more than 10,000 books, 24,000 magazines, 46,000 photographs, letters, and over 2,000 leaflets. One of the centerpieces of this gigantic magic museum is an escape apparatus used by Harry Houdini: his famous Milk Can Escape.
What makes this collection particularly impressive is that it was almost entirely assembled by one man, Robert Lund. A Detroit-based writer, Lund was obsessed with magic, and rather than embarrassing himself as a failed magician, Lund decided to become the greatest museum curator of magic history.
Website: https://americanmuseumofmagic.com
5. La Casa Magica Xevi Collection—Santa Cristina d’Aro, Spain
La Casa Mágica is not only the first magic museum in Spain, but also the largest museum in the world dedicated to the art of illusionism. It is located in the municipality of Santa Cristina d'Aro, in an 1850 Catalan farmhouse, Casa Roca, where you will discover, through its various rooms, an important collection of objects related to magic, numerous curious items, antiques, automatons, paintings, photographs, souvenirs, and a large number of awards won by its founder, Xavier Sala i Costa, internationally known as the Magician "Xevi."
A visit to this magic museum will lead you through different rooms. The Tarot room, decorated with works by painter and poet Josep Albertí, houses an exhibition of objects related to black magic. The Roca Fak-Hongs room is dedicated to the illusionist Roca and presents objects used during his performances in the traveling theater of 1800, as well as those of his sons who played very unusual musical instruments and also performed as illusionists, under the name "Fak-Hongs."
La Casa Mágica also has a room dedicated to the painter and poet Josep Albertí, known as the magical painter of the Costa Brava. Another room is dedicated to the escape artist Harry Houdini, where posters and photos of his magic shows are displayed.
The visit ends with an audiovisual room, where you'll discover a small theater decorated with paintings by Josep Perpiñá, an original clock by Ricardo Fantasio, and various photos of the magician "Xevi" in his role as an actor in the 7 films in which he appears.
If you wish to visit La Casa Mágica, it is recommended to call in advance to book your visit.
Website: http://www.granmuseudelamagia.com/
6. Rossy Magic Museum — Fruska Gora, Serbia
The Rossy Magic Museum, located in Fruska Gora, in Serbia's national park, boasts the largest collection in the Balkans on the history of magical art. The collection includes 3,000 books on magic and magicians. Some of the museum's books date from the 18th century, notably the first book on magic, "Magician," printed in Serbian.
Website: https://magicmuseumrossy.com
7. Australian Museum of Magical Arts – Sydney, Australia
The Lecians Cabaret Theatre has long been very popular, especially for its dinner shows combining dance, song, and magic inspired by Parisian cabarets of yesteryear. But its owners also offer another activity for fortunate visitors: the mysterious Australian Museum of Magical Arts. Visits are only during the day. The discovery of this Magic Museum in Sydney is, of course, open and recommended to all fans of David Copperfield or Penn and Teller!
You will learn the mechanisms of some very well-known magic tricks… after signing a "magician's confidentiality oath"! Beyond the spectacular effects, it is the exhibitions detailing the history of this art (the plans, patents, costumes, and literature) that are most fascinating. They also reveal the enormous inventiveness and imagination that human beings display to create magic.
Website: https://www.facebook.com/AustralianMuseumofMagicalArts