Book your Museum of Illusion Tickets Here
What is the Museum of Illusions officially?
The Museum of Illusions Tenerife (officially known as Museo de Las Ilusiones Tenerife) is in Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife. The museum is a space where you can immerse yourself in a world of visual and sensory experiences designed to challenge your perceptions.
More than just a fun day out for families, couples, and friends, the museum also aims to be an educational hub. It invites you to explore the fascinating science behind its illusions, offering a deeper understanding of how our minds perceive reality.
Marketing itself as an innovative blend of art, science, and entertainment, the Museum of Illusions Tenerife promises an experience that's as thought-provoking as it is bewildering for all ages. But does it truly deliver on these promises?
What is the Museum of Illusions really?
The Museum of Illusions Tenerife is one of the island’s newer attractions, and even though it's housed in an old tobacco factory, it comes across as clean, modern, and fun.
It's pretty tricky to find if you're not familiar with the streets of Santa Cruz, but that doesn't seem to make it any less popular. Thankfully, you can book your tickets and reserve your slot online so you don't have to worry about being turned away.
To make your experience even better, there are guides dotted throughout the museum. These friendly team members provide you with useful info about each exhibit and are happy to take photos and videos of you for no extra charge.
The exhibits are cleverly designed to challenge your mind, with a strong emphasis on optical illusions that blur the lines of reality. Unlike traditional museums, where you’re stuck just looking at things, here you're invited to get hands-on.
Ian's Museum of Illusions review
Negatives first. The cashier should be wearing a mask and a stripey jumper. €30 for a couple for just an hour felt steep, especially for what I initially assumed would be a quick visit to a small museum. Honestly, I was reluctant to pay that amount upfront when booking our Museum of Illusions Tenerife tickets online.
However, my reservations quickly faded once we stepped inside. The first exhibit caught my attention immediately, leaving me puzzled and asking, "How can this be?" Fortunately, a staff member who spoke better English than I do noticed my confusion.
With simple explanations, she broke down the science behind the illusion in a way that even I could understand. This sparked a chain reaction of curiosity—from the "how" to the "why" and finally to the "who thinks up these things?" To which my wife, Nicky, simply replied, "Who cares!"
The museum’s staff deserves a special mention. Each section is staffed by a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide, who also doubles as a photographer. Their energy and expertise added to the experience, possibly because they, too, rotate through the different sections, keeping their enthusiasm fresh.
If you’ve been to a Museum of Illusions before, you might expect the usual setups where you stand in front of giant paintings pretending to be chased by a shark or hit by a train.
While those are fun, the Museum of Illusions Tenerife operates on a completely different level of sophistication, making the experience truly unique among family-friendly attractions in Tenerife.
Overall rating: â…˜ (Brilliant attraction, but slightly overpriced)
Nicky's Museum of Illusions review
"Museum" is the totally wrong word to describe this place! When we visited, I did expect it to be one of those attractions that's essentially a collection of photo opportunities. But the Museo de Ilusiones Tenerife is so much better than that!
Yes, you can have your picture taken looking like a giant or like you're falling from the ceiling (this totally didn't work in our case!) but there's so much more to the place. It covers optical illusions across the decades, from zoetropes from the 1800s to video stories that work their way around the museum.
There's a fantastic variety of exhibitions that makes this place ideal for people of all ages. There are fun house-style mirrors for little ones, obscure optical illusions for people who have seen it all, and plenty of interactive displays for people who just want to have a good time.
On a side note, the building is absolutely stunning. It looks absolutely giant from the outside and is full of beautiful carvings and details on the inside. You wouldn't think it would make much of a difference, but it's much more fun to wander around somewhere spacious and pretty.
The Museo de Ilusiones Tenerife can be a little bit tricky to find because it's in the middle of Santa Cruz's crazy streets. But there are a few paid car parks nearby where a couple of hours parking will only set you back €1-2.
I loved this place so much that I'd say it's worth travelling all the way from the south of Tenerife to Santa Cruz just for the Museum of Illusions Tenerife. The Mercado de Nuestra Señora de Africa is just a short walk away, so you can make a day of it!
Overall rating: 5/5
Insider tips for the Museum of Illusions
Book your Museum of Illusions Tenerife ticket early
The best way to make sure you get the time slot you want is to book your Museum of Illusions Tenerife tickets online as early as possible. The earlier you book, the more choice you'll have.
Save money with a family ticket
You can buy a money-saving family ticket for two adults and two children. This works out at €49 for non-residents and €43 for Canarian residents. That's an €11 saving!
Get your Canarian resident discount
To get your resident discount, change the language to Spanish on the ticket page. You'll see a tick box next to "Residente Canario" and a Canarian flag. Tick it and you'll see the ticket prices change.
Don't be shy!
The staff are more than happy to show you how to get the most out of each of the exhibitions and take your photo. Don't be shy - take them up on their offers whenever possible!
Some of our pictures turned out a bit...not quite how they should. But that was our fault - not theirs. (Do you know how difficult it is to look like you're falling from a ceiling in a maxi dress?!)
Important info about the Museum of Illusions
It costs €17 for adults to visit the Museum of Illusions Tenerife. It's €13 for students and seniors, €5 for children aged 3-6, and free for infants. You can get a family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) for €49.
Canarian residents get discounts, too. The prices drop to €15, €12, €4, and €43, respectively.
The Museum of Illusion is open Monday-Friday 10am-7pm and Saturday-Sunday 10am-8pm. The last admission is 1 hour before closing time.
You need 1-2 hours to visit the Museum of Illusions Tenerife. This is enough time to check out all the exhibitions and play with the interactive ones.
No, all children under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult when visiting the Museum of Illusions in Tenerife.
Have you been here? What did you make of it?