The Museum of Illusions, a photo-op art museum in the heart of Hollywood Boulevard, has been on my to-do list since it first opened its doors in January of this year. The Museum’s Facebook Page boasts 30+ optical Illusions where photography is encouraged and participation is pretty much inevitable if you want to truly enjoy what the museum has to offer. However, the question here is, is the Museum of Illusions really worth the $25 entrance fee and the headache of dealing with finding good, cheap parking in Hollywood?

What initially drew my attention to this particular museum was all the photo opportunities. I’m such a sucker for a good backdrop and some props so why not give this place a whirl. After reading mixed reviews online from people who truly loved it to people that thought it was a waste of time and money, I finally caved and bought my tickets. After all, I had to form an opinion for my own and to be honest, who doesn’t need any more insta-worthy pictures amirite?

If you’re wondering if you should spend your hard-earned cash on this art exhibit, below I’m sharing my experience, thoughts and some of my favorite images we took that day.  

Where do I park?

Let’s start with the whole parking situation. A lot of people complained that they paid $20 to park near the museum and it wasn’t worth it on top of the ticket price. To be honest, I don’t recommend making a trip out to Hollywood specifically for this venue, instead make a day out it and paying for flat-rate parking won’t seem so bad. I was lucky enough to find parking at a nearby school off Cherokee and Selma for only $10 and it was open until 2 am. Granted, I had to walk a few blocks but it was well worth experiencing the touristy mess that is Hollywood Boulevard on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

So let’s talk Museum of Illusions

When we arrived, there was a line around the corner with people waiting to get in. The line itself wasn’t too bad of a wait, it actually went by faster than I would have imagined. The weird thing was, I had bought my tickets in advance and still had to wait in line with people who were buying tickets on the spot. Despite our tickets initially saying our tour started at 3 pm, we got there an hour late so it looks like you can pretty much go anytime during the day in which you bought the tickets for.

To be completely honest, the museum itself was not what I expected. For some reason I imagined it to be a little more polished like other museums, for lack of a better word. It was still clean and full of color nonetheless. As soon as you walk into the museum, you are hit with colorful paintings on the walls inside where you can instantly begin to take pictures. What’s cool about this exhibit is that it’s a self-guided tour so you can take as long or as little as you want to try to take the perfect picture. Since we went on a Saturday, the museum was a little on the busier side so I will forewarn you, there was a little bit of a line waiting to take pictures with some of the cooler-looking illusions but they weren’t bad. Those lines consisted of mostly two or three people ahead of us taking pictures, nothing too bad.

Is it worth it?

The length of the tour is entirely up to you. You can breeze on by and take 20 minutes or take your sweet time taking picture after picture like I did. Overall, the experience itself is truly what you make of it. So the real question here is, is the Museum of Illusions worth it? Well, for me it was. I grabbed a few drinks beforehand, I went in with an open mind, I took some fun pictures, I made the best of the $25 I spent and had a blast acting like a kid taking silly pictures.

If you’re interested in checking out the Museum of Illusions you can find tickets here. The museum is opened daily from 10am – 12am with the last entry being 11pm. Be sure to  also check out their Instagram and Facebook pages for some great  ideas on how to take your pictures.

Have you ever been to the Museum of Illusions? Let me know what you thought about the colorful exhibit.