Munich opens optical illusion museum as Euro fans flock to city

Great beers, Bavarian comfort food and warm weather: football fans in town for the 2024 European Championships will have a hard time escaping Munich’s world-famous beer gardens this summer.

But just as Germany hits its stride, Munich is opening its latest and perhaps most Instagram-friendly tourist attraction – a museum of optical illusions.

With incredibly real spaces that play tricks on height and distance, mirrors that distort reality and a kaleidoscope that conveys the sensation of infinity, Wow Museum Munich – Space for Illusions will open on Saturday, June 29th.

Centrally located in the city’s medieval landmark, Isartor, the museum covers around 500 square meters, divided into 15 optical illusion experience rooms.

“Everyone can – and even should – participate,” says museum director Sophie-Charlotte Bombeck, pointing out how many of the illusions are designed for participation.

Based on an original Zurich concept but not a copy, Munich’s Wow Museum is one of a growing number of social media-friendly museums dedicated to optical illusions in cities around the world.

The museum takes a so-called edutainment approach and finds a playful way to teach visitors how the brain tricks the eyes.

“It’s an experience for young and old,” says the owner of both museums, Vanessa Kammermann, who highlights how much places like these can teach us about our understanding of the concept of truth.

“In the era of coronavirus, people argued a lot about right and wrong,” said the founder. With optical illusions, however, there is no right or wrong. “Everyone sees things differently and perceives illusions differently.”

The opening comes after Munich welcomed fans from Germany, Scotland, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia, Ukraine and Denmark for Euro matches, and as Dutch and Romanian fans head to the city for a round of 16 clash, before the city hosts a semi-final.

Anyone who enjoys the museum of illusions should probably consider the Deutsches Museum, a world-renowned science and technology museum located on an island in the Isar River. There, 20 thousand square meters of exhibition await you, so plan a little more time to appreciate it all.