Madame Tussauds Blackpool

About this place

Wax figures have stood on this stretch of Blackpool's Promenade since 1929, but for most of that time the sign said Louis Tussaud's, after a great-grandson of the original waxworker, and the town's waxwork habit goes back further still, to 1900, when it began in the basement of the Hippodrome theatre. The famous name arrived only in 2011, when Merlin took over and refurbished the building, and since August 2025 the attraction has been run by a company owned by Blackpool Council, leasing the Madame Tussauds brand under franchise. The practical upshot of all that history: this is a seaside waxworks of local scale that borrows London's glamour without matching it. Inside, fourteen zones hold a little over seventy-five figures, set out as open photo scenes rather than roped-off exhibits: Marvel heroes, a music zone, an A-list party set and sporting names. Know before you go that a large share of the cast is British television, from the Coronation Street pub to Strictly Come Dancing, and to a visitor from the Gulf or the Levant many of those faces will simply be strangers grinning at you. Children, on the other hand, find the Marvel corner within minutes and are content. The whole thing takes an hour to ninety minutes, which makes it a fair answer to a wet Blackpool afternoon, not a rare event even in August. An adult ticket starts at around £15 booked online, more at the door, and anyone also planning the Blackpool Tower viewing deck does better with a two-attraction bundle at roughly £24, valid for ninety days from the first visit. Some ticket tiers bundle a drink in a replica of the soap-opera pub for about £18.50; that is easily skipped. The add-on children actually remember is the wax hand, a cast of your own palm for an extra fee, open to ages seven and over. It sits on the Promenade a few minutes' walk from the Tower, with tram stops practically outside and Blackpool North station about fifteen minutes on foot. Doors usually open at 11:00 and shut at 16:00, running a little later on peak summer days, so do not leave it for late afternoon. The plain verdict: if you have already done Madame Tussauds in London, do not repeat it here; if you are in Blackpool for a few days with children and the sky turns grey, it is an enjoyable hour at a reasonable price inside the bundle.