Madame Tussauds, London

Madam Tussaud (born Anna Maria Grosholtz) created her first wax figure, of Voltaire, in 1777. Other famous people she modelled at that time include Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Benjamin Franklin. During the French Revolution she modelled many prominent victims. In her memoirs she claims that she searched through corpses to find the decapitated heads of executed citizens, from which she would make death masks. Her death masks were held up as revolutionary flags and paraded through the streets of Paris. On her father's death she inherited his collection of wax works, with which she toured Europe before settling down in London.

Madame Tussauds is a museum that contains wax models of famous people. There are numerous galleries such as Pirates of the Caribbean, World leaders, Warhol's women The Royal Family, Sports Stars, the Culture zone and the History of London.


There are interactive tasks such as entering the Big Brother diary room, umpiring an Andy Murray tennis match or taking a penalty alongside David Beckham.

You can have your picture taken alongside A - list celebrities like Drew Barrymore, Orlando Bloom, Nicole Kidman and Leonardo DiCaprio.

For something a little scarier try visiting the Chamber gallery where serial killers lurk. The music zone represents legends of pop from Bob Maley through to current chart toppers Kylie and Justin Timberlake. Visitors are encouraged to try out their own dance moves to see if they can win an award. Or choose a track to perform, and listen to expert feedback on your talent from The X Factor judges.

Altrenatively, in the Stardome you can watch a film made by Aardman animations (Wallace and Gromit) which tries to explain to aliens the nature and status of celebrity culture.