Ripley's Believe It or Not, Piccadilly
A London attraction that's not just for tourists.
Review
Looking from the outside, you would never guess that the Ripley's
Believe It or Not building was home to such an eclectic and bizarre
selection of things. Nestled in between nightclubs and cinemas at Piccadilly Circus,
it just looks like another big building with flashy lights competing
for your attention. But venture inside and you'll discover five floors
of... well, ridiculous stuff.
From a tuxedo made out of gaffa tape by a girl for her prom date to a collection of chastity belts, Ripley's contains over 800 artefacts. Itchy wandered around surveying the four-metre long model of Tower Bridge made out of matchsticks, an animated T-Rex, a piece of mars meteorite and a Mini Cooper encrusted with 1,000,000 Swarovski crystals. We were impressed.
There are videos interspersed throughout the exhibit trail, giving facts and context to the items you are viewing. This is useful and informative, but overwhelmingly, well... American. For a museum in London, England, there's an odd USA emphasis. This might be down to the fact that Mr Ripley himself was an American traveller.
Robert Leroy Ripley became an overnight sensation after creating the original "Believe It or Not!" cartoon, printed in The New York Globe in 1913. An eccentric man, Ripley was terrified of using the telephone, fearing it would electrocute him and owned more than 100 cars even though he never learnt to drive. He went on to create a "Believe It or Not!" book, radio show and finally television show (one of the first weekly television series ever) before his death in 1949.
A spookily realistic hologram of Ripley himself welcomes visitors into the museum, after a quick ride in the “disco lift” up to the fifth floor.
We saw calves with six legs! A man with no legs, just a torso! Marilyn Monroe’s swimsuit! A huge rocking chair! A portrait of the Queen made of 1p coins! A portrait of Princess Di made of lint! We really could have done with a little sit-down by this point.
Where appropriate, Itchy was pleased to see that the exhibits had an element of interactivity, whether it was having our photo taken with a waxwork of the world’s tallest man (8’11’’, by the way), or walking through a spinning vortex tunnel. (We’re not ashamed to say that we fell over. A few times.)
But onwards we went to the Mirror Maze and LazeRace. Adding even more interactivity, these little challenges were a real treat. The Mirror Maze could have been more difficult (despite giving visitors gloves, some mirrors were slightly smudged, making it easy to see where they were) but still felt like a little adventure, complete with epic soundtrack blasting through the speakers. The LazeRace also makes you feel like you’re taking part in an action film – allowing you to negotiate a laser alarm system, just like Bond (or the St Trinians girls).
All in all, Ripley’s Believe It or Not was a fabulously mind-boggling evening out (it’s open till midnight) and Itchy would recommend it to anybody with a curiosity for the world. Our only bugbear is the price, which can be up to £27. Itchy hears there are vouchers and offers (including an online reduction of 15%) that are well worth exploring if you fancy visiting. It's not just for tourists. Bring friends, visitors, godchildren, nieces and nephews. Just remember to dress for action – you don’t want your outfit to stop you from winning the LazeRace, now, do you?
Images by Alice Gardner
From a tuxedo made out of gaffa tape by a girl for her prom date to a collection of chastity belts, Ripley's contains over 800 artefacts. Itchy wandered around surveying the four-metre long model of Tower Bridge made out of matchsticks, an animated T-Rex, a piece of mars meteorite and a Mini Cooper encrusted with 1,000,000 Swarovski crystals. We were impressed.
There are videos interspersed throughout the exhibit trail, giving facts and context to the items you are viewing. This is useful and informative, but overwhelmingly, well... American. For a museum in London, England, there's an odd USA emphasis. This might be down to the fact that Mr Ripley himself was an American traveller.
Robert Leroy Ripley became an overnight sensation after creating the original "Believe It or Not!" cartoon, printed in The New York Globe in 1913. An eccentric man, Ripley was terrified of using the telephone, fearing it would electrocute him and owned more than 100 cars even though he never learnt to drive. He went on to create a "Believe It or Not!" book, radio show and finally television show (one of the first weekly television series ever) before his death in 1949.
A spookily realistic hologram of Ripley himself welcomes visitors into the museum, after a quick ride in the “disco lift” up to the fifth floor.
We saw calves with six legs! A man with no legs, just a torso! Marilyn Monroe’s swimsuit! A huge rocking chair! A portrait of the Queen made of 1p coins! A portrait of Princess Di made of lint! We really could have done with a little sit-down by this point.
Where appropriate, Itchy was pleased to see that the exhibits had an element of interactivity, whether it was having our photo taken with a waxwork of the world’s tallest man (8’11’’, by the way), or walking through a spinning vortex tunnel. (We’re not ashamed to say that we fell over. A few times.)
But onwards we went to the Mirror Maze and LazeRace. Adding even more interactivity, these little challenges were a real treat. The Mirror Maze could have been more difficult (despite giving visitors gloves, some mirrors were slightly smudged, making it easy to see where they were) but still felt like a little adventure, complete with epic soundtrack blasting through the speakers. The LazeRace also makes you feel like you’re taking part in an action film – allowing you to negotiate a laser alarm system, just like Bond (or the St Trinians girls).
All in all, Ripley’s Believe It or Not was a fabulously mind-boggling evening out (it’s open till midnight) and Itchy would recommend it to anybody with a curiosity for the world. Our only bugbear is the price, which can be up to £27. Itchy hears there are vouchers and offers (including an online reduction of 15%) that are well worth exploring if you fancy visiting. It's not just for tourists. Bring friends, visitors, godchildren, nieces and nephews. Just remember to dress for action – you don’t want your outfit to stop you from winning the LazeRace, now, do you?
Images by Alice Gardner
Tags
exhibition |
classic |
antique |
adventure |
action |
alien |
alternative |
London |
to do |
ticket |
unusual |
cult |
