Description of the attraction
The Museum of Magic in Paris is a private establishment located in the vaulted basement of the house where the young Marquis de Sade once lived. A small (three halls) museum introduces visitors to the history of "magic", offering to admire the props of the illusionists: boxes with a secret, crooked mirrors, "magic wands", hats, glasses that allow you to see through clothes and other similar devices.
The props for the once famous tricks are exhibited - "soaring in the air" (the body of the magician's son seemed to float above the ground), "magic chair" (the assistant sat on it and disappeared), "sawing a woman" (the museum has props for the first such trick and for a later one, when parts of the sawn table were parted in different directions). Old posters advertising the performances of famous magicians are on display. There is a collection of optical deceptions - in particular, a system of mirrors that allows you to introduce a person's reflection as if inside an optical illusion. There is also a museum of automata - there you can see more than a hundred automata, which are a cross between a mechanical toy and a work of art.
Magic shows are held in the museum on certain days. There is also a magic school - courses where you can learn some psychological techniques for working with an audience and various tricks with cards, coins, rings, balls.
The museum is not for everybody, and, according to tourists, not everyone leaves there happy. Some people think that the ticket price does not correspond to the quality of services - the museum is not open every day, the room is stuffy, the exposition is small, the show is only in French, and not all vending machines work. On the other hand, young children are delighted with the show - they don't care what language it is in if the magician pulls a live rabbit out of his hat. An adult who has loved tricks and illusions since childhood can also have fun.
