MADAME TUSSAUDS

Madame Tussauds is the world’s greatest wax museum and the New York City location holds down a sprawling spot in the heart of Times Square.

What To Experience

This is the largest Madame Tussauds in the world and includes five floors of interactive A-List experiences. You’ll find internationally renowned musicians, major stars, sports legends, world leaders, and much more, all in uncanny likenesses. The attraction is in the midst of a multi-year, multimillion-dollar renovation and it really shows.

New York City is famous for its gala culture. Madame Tussauds immerses you in it at its new Glow Gala. Among the celebrities in the room are new wax figures of Rihanna and Ariana Grande. Many of the figures, including RuPaul, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry, are wearing illuminated, show-stopping looks inspired by New York’s legendary Met Gala. The exhibition comes to life with state-of-the-art projection technology and dramatic lighting, choreographed to a New York City soundtrack. Floral walls and neon art provide a perfect backdrop for souvenir shots.

If you’re not afraid of a few chills, make sure to check out the new Warner Bros. Icons of Horror. There are four fully immersive scenes here inspired by legendary films. Explore icons like Pennywise from It and Regan from The Exorcist in chillingly lifelike detail. If you dare.

Other experiences you won’t want to miss include getting in an empire state of mind while playing piano with Alicia Keys; appearing as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon; joining the Marvel superheroes in a 4D adventure; and immersing yourself in Broadway as you join the cast of Cats, sing with the Phantom of the Opera, and score songs on a giant floor piano with Andrew Lloyd Weber’s famous musicals.

Madame Tussauds’ unique direct access to A-List star is the key to creating the best wax figures in the world. Just in the past year, Madame Tussauds has been endorsed by some of the world’s biggest celebrities.

More in Times Square

Cristiano Ronaldo (on the cover), one of the greatest footballers of all time, revealed his wax figure with a “Times Square Takeover” just days ahead of the World Cup. Bad Bunny showed off his two new wax figures at Madame Tussauds New York, leaving media, fans, and friends seeing triple. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson surprised guests by sneaking in on their selfies. Anitta realized just how hot she is when her figure was revealed in a cut-off t-shirt showing off toned abs and a bejeweled G-string. Award-winning music icon Missy Elliott launched her new wax figure, inspired by her Iconology album, while surrounded by friends and family.

When people think of New York, it’s often of the action in Times Square. This “Crossroads of the World” gathers tens of thousands of pedestrians to marvel at the bright signs, glowing marquees, and the endless flow of people. Many of the city’s major theatres are here, as well as a new institution dedicated to them. The Museum of Broadway provides an interactive experience that leads guests through a visual history of city stages. More than 500 individual productions from the 1700s through the present are highlighted through costumes, props, photos, and videos. For a taste of Broadway with your meal, check out Ellen’s Stardust Diner. You’ll find great food and drink in addition to live performances from the famous singing wait-

HOW IT’S DONE

Celebrities are intimately involved in the figure-making process. They help choose the perfect pose and costume, working with Madame Tussauds artists to capture exact measurements, hair color, eye color, and skin tone. They even decide what kind of interactive experience the guest will have with their figure.

(Madame Tussauds has an incredible “herstory.” It begins more than 250 years ago with Marie Grosholtz–Madame Tussaud herself. She sculpted perfect waxworks of many notable figures of the time, including Benjamin Franklin. Her measurement and sculpting methods are still used by Madame Tussauds artists to create realistic figures today.)

It all starts with the sitting, where a Madame Tussauds artist meets with talent and takes up to 200 measurements and photographs from every angle. Next the sculpting begins. A clay mold is built up using meticulous details captured at the sitting. The head is worked on separately and can take between four to six weeks to sculpt and achieve an exact likeness. Then a plaster cast is created from the clay sculpture and melted wax is slowly poured. To finish, multiple layers of oil-based paints create realistic skin tones, ethically sourced real human hair is inserted, cut, and styled, and then the critiques begin. The final product takes 4 to 6 months, with the input of a team of 20 skilled artists!

staff, who continue a long line of Broadway actors who have made Ellen’s their launching pad. Awe-inspiring rock memorabilia lines the walls at the Hard Rock Cafe (left), where you can dine down on the likes of Legendary Steak Burgers, baby back ribs, and grilled chicken Caesar salads. For a touch of the tropics in the middle of the concrete jungle, Margaritaville New York is a great choice. Nearby Pelé Soccer is The World’s Greatest Soccer Store, from soccer legend Pelé. You can shop—and personalize—official jerseys and fan gear from 100+ teams and players around the world.

You can laugh, scream, run, take selfies, and generally do the kinds of things they don’t allow in less fun destinations at the Museum of Illusions. You (or your prankster friend) can become a head on a platter, plus there’s an Anti-Gravity Room, an Infinity Room (a hall of mirrors for the 21st century), and a room where you’ll walk on walls. Nothing is as it seems, it’s all illusion.

The city’s newest cultural destination is The Museum of Broadway in Times Square. This interactive, experiential museum journeys from the birth of Broadway to the present day, including a sneak peek behind the curtain into the making of a Broadway show. Costumes, props, rare photos, and videos are all on display.

The historic boiler room of Chelsea Market is the home of immersive art space ARTECHOUSE. You’ve never seen art like this before, as room-sized digital projections merge with sound design to create a cinematic experience. You can also grab a drink at the XR Bar. On view now is MAGENTAVERSE, highlighted by an audiovisual exploration of Viva Magenta, Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2023. (Pantone selected the color for its evocations of fearlessness, exuberance, and optimism.) The experience draws inspiration from nature, NASA, and the James Webb Space Telescope.

Hall des Lumières also fills its historic interior with visions of the future. Destination Cosmos: The Immersive Space Experience takes visitors on a voyage across the universe. Starting at Cape Canaveral, the exhibition will have you diving into the heart of Jupiter, cruising across the rings of Saturn, gliding over Martian canyons alongside rovers, and exploring the immensity of the cosmos.

Nearby in Chelsea is the Rubin Museum of Art, dedicated to the art and culture of the Himalayas. You can get an overview of the Rubin’s collection in current exhibition Gateway to Himalayan Art, which introduces visitors to the main forms, concepts, meanings, and traditions of Himalayan art.

Further downtown you’ll encounter the only museum in the city dedicated to contemporary art, the New Museum, which was founded in 1977 to showcase the work of underrepresented artists. Currently on view is a full-building immersion in Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined, with painting, collage, drawing, sculpture, and film by the Kenyan-born American artist.

In the Financial District, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum features two core exhibitions at the foundation of the former World Trade Center complex downtown. A memorial exhibition—In Memoriam—pays tribute to the 2,983 men, women and children killed on 9/11 and in the 1993 WTC bombing. On the plaza outside you’ll encounter two reflecting pools, featuring North America’s largest man-made waterfalls.

The historic neighborhood of Gramercy hosts Fotografiska New York, a museum experience for the modern world. It’s known for world-class photography, eclectic programming, and surprising new perspectives. Visit now to catch Hip Hop: Conscious, Unconscious, with photos and ephemera celebrating a movement that began in the Bronx in 1973 and went on to sweep the globe.

Near Grand Central stands The Morgan Library & Museum, a showcase for both its holdings of rare books and manuscripts and its exquisite Italian Renaissance-style palazzo setting. The nearby AKC Museum of the Dog holds a treasure trove of canine art and artifacts, from watercolors and prints to bronzes and ceramics.

The Upper East Side is home to some of the most famous institutions in the world. The Frick Collection is known for its focus on European sculpture and decorative arts, as well as Old Master paintings. While its permanent location is closed for renovation, a selection can be seen at Frick Madison, where the holdings benefit from the fresh perspective provided by a very modernist, mid-1960s temporary home.

Also on uptown’s Museum Mile is The Jewish Museum, founded in 1904 to enhance appreciation of Jewish culture and history. On view now is The Sassoons, which follows four generations of the Jewish Sassoon family around the globe. More than 140 works collected from the early 19th century though World War II populate the exhibit, not only charting the history of the family but also the major issues of the times.

Further uptown is The Museum of the City of New York, which interprets, celebrates, and documents New York—past, present, and future. The latest show here is New York Now: Home, A Photography Triennial, with images on the concept of home representing perspectives as diverse as the city itself. Across town on the Upper West Side is the city’s oldest museum, the New-York Historical Society. Kara Walker: Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated), on view now, highlights the artist’s powerful silhouette-like imagery and prompts a reconsidering of American legacies.

JADAKISS,