Monet: The Immersive Experience Antwerp — Attraction in Antwerp

I expected it wouldn’t be high-class art, more of a business cashing in on a big name — but I didn’t expect such a mess :D the reception looks like the backroom of a strip club, but OK. Of course Monet’s name is everywhere, so you know they’ll be selling coasters with his name on them.

Tickets cost €17; given that, I expected at least an hour-long visit. On the first floor there’s a bit of information and a QR code for foreigners placed about 2 metres high — not very smart. The tour of that room can’t take more than 10 minutes for someone who speaks Dutch. Then there’s a smaller room with a few fake Monet paintings in a sloppily arranged space, with a couple of pieces of pseudo-period furniture to set the mood — which didn’t work. It ends with an artificial bridge with fake flowers and two umbrellas that were probably bought at the local supermarket. Time spent here: 5 minutes.

The “highlight”, the interactive hall on the top floor, consists of a few fabric deckchairs, lots of projectors and a very simple, rather boring projection with musical backing and no real historical context. It is definitely not an interactive walk through Monet’s art. This won’t impress an adult — maybe a child... who’s never seen a projector.

And that’s it, folks — downstairs there’s a ridiculous shop, more like a flea market, full of Monet-themed tat: magnets, keyrings, maybe towels :D all of the worst quality, of course. Not as expensive as I feared, but they’re already making plenty from the exhibition itself, which doesn’t look like it cost much to produce.

If you want a “real” experience, they offer a 10-minute VR in the lower area that, of course, costs an extra €5.

I rate this tour as the biggest rip-off and a joke, but it’s in the city centre by the train station, so it probably reaches its target audience.

I was genuinely entertained, and for that...

Excellent. Not getting a 5 because the disposition of the projectors in the projection room was not optimal causing the lights to reflect on every one’s eyes regardless of the place you sat down. Chairs could also improve. For the rest, the place itself is cool, the staff is very friendly. The quality of projections and cleanliness was great. It is always a pleasure to watch, look, recall Monet’s art and life. The virtual reality glasses had no assistance, so if you do not know how to operate those glasses you would not be able to watch anything. To me this is always the high light of these expos. As a...

The exhibition is absolutely disappointing and carries no real meaning. The first hall consists of at least 30 minutes of reading small-font text accompanied by tiny, low-quality images. The following rooms feature poorly made and rather childish decorations. There wasn’t a single real work by Monet on display. Later, there’s a room with a projector — it looked interesting, but on a very basic, child-oriented level. If you’re looking to entertain children, this might work, as many kids were running and jumping around. Unfortunately, there is nothing here for adults, but still i managed to get...