Boggle your mind and subvert your senses at the new Visual Museum!

What you see isn’t always what you get – especially at the visual museum in Innsbruck! The museum is basically a big area with different installations, and a lot of doors that lead you in diverse, surprising spaces… Like the 3D room, the mini-disco room, and the infinity room.

It is amazing how easily our minds can be tricked, which the museum demonstrates with a variety of paintings, optical illusions and a short film. Great fun for everyone, whether you’re bringing the kids or a bunch of your student mates or work colleagues!

The museum is housed in the B1 complex in Innsbruck, which is a hub of all sorts of fun things to do, including go-karting, mini golf, and laser tag! The  museum is just the latest of a bunch of new additions, but it already has everyone buzzing. ‘Cos let’s face it, optical illusions are fun, and tricking your brain into experiencing the unexpected and unbelievable is always worth it!

I truly enjoyed making funny faces in the giant kaleidoscope.

Trick your senses at Innsbruck’s new Visual Museum

Have you ever seen the ‘floating monk’ street performer in the old town and wonder how he floats? Well, wonder no more!

Finally you get to hover above the ground and find out what’s behind that trick.

This is one of the optical illusions explained at the museum, and you can even try it out yourself! I won’t spill the beans and spoil it for you now, but you get given audioguides at reception, so as you go around the museum you can choose to listen to details about all the different stations.

I know what you’re thinking – it’s like explaining a magic trick, it takes the wonder out of it – but I don’t agree. I love to know how things work, and I thought it was amazing to walk through and not only trick my senses, but also to have everyting explained!

Fun for all ages

The Visual Museum is great fun for everyone whether you’re there with family or friends, young or old, it is something that everyone can enjoy! It doesn’t cost an arm and a leg either: adults get in for €12 while kids can marvel at the museum for only €8 (free under 4 years).

Don’t leave your camera at home, either – it’s that much more fun to go with friends and take absurd pictures. For example, in the upside down room, or one of the other many visual wonders in this museum.

These stickers show you the perfect angle to get great photos.

The Visual Museum is even open on Sundays!

If there’s one thing that catches out many of us international ex-pats in Innsbruck, it’s the the Austrian habit of everything shutting up shop on Sundays – but not the Visual Museum!

Take your time in the visual museum and make sure you enter every room!

Just note, it’s closed on Mondays instead! They told me that the average visitor stays for around 45-60mins, but there’s no time limit – you can stay as long as you want, and you could easily spend hours there with all the different illusions. Me, personally, I took my time… And also took lots of ridiculous photos!

Topsy Turvy Illusions– What did I see??

The museum is filled with all sorts of different optical illusions in different rooms, designed to twist and trick your senses of scale and perception.

One of my favorites was the upside down room. It just feels so totally absurd to defy gravity and stand in aroom where everything is upside down! Jumping around it kind of makes you addicted to trying all sorts of poses to try and get the craziest photo possible.

In case you always wanted to be the bigger person, thats your room.

The museum is definitely worth the trip (get it?), to confuse the mind and fully immerse yourself in these weird and wonderful optical illusions!

Useful Facts about Innsbruck’s Visual Museum:

• Location:  Valiergasse 15, 6020 Innsbruck
• Opening Times: Tues-Thurs 2-10pm; Fri-Sat 12-11pm; Sun 12-9pm
• Entrance Fee: Adults €12; Children €8, Under 4s free entry

All Photos: @Edith Hamberger