An admission ticket for the Museum of Illusions Zagreb offers access to 70 interactive exhibits. Along with the Mirror Maze and the Zero Gravity Room—where water flows uphill—highlights include numerous forced-perspective scenes, optical illusions, and holograms, as well as a playroom filled with puzzles and educational games. Bring your camera and amuse yourself taking photos of friends and family as they grow or shrink right in front of you; serve up your own head on a dinner plate; or sit in a gigantic chair.
The museum can be visited in under an hour, but you might want to spend longer in order to take photos and fully appreciate the exhibitions.
Instructions for the interactive exhibits are provided in Croatian, German, English, and Italian.
The museum has a shop filled with quirky gifts, puzzles, and illusion-themed items.
Visit with at least one or two others to make the most of the interactive exhibits.
The museum is located in Zagreb’s Lower Town, along the central Ilica boulevard. It’s about a 10-minute walk from Ban Jelačić Square, and a number of trams stop nearby—get off at Frankopanska or Britanski trg.
The museum is open daily all year round. The small galleries can fill up quickly, especially on weekend afternoons, meaning you’ll have to wait your turn to try out the interactive exhibits and take photos. A morning visit offers the best chance of avoiding the crowds, while evenings—the museum stays open until 10pm—tend to draw an older crowd, with fewer children.
Zagreb’s many museums include a number of more unusual offerings. Not far from the Museum of Illusions Zagreb, the Museum of Broken Relationships is a nostalgic ode to lost love. The Museum of Torture is filled with medieval torture devices, and the Museum of Mushrooms showcases some 1,500 different varieties of fungus. The Technical Museum Nikola Tesla has some great interactive science exhibitions, and the Dražen Petrović Museum is devoted to the Croatian-born NBA basketball player.
