15 Of The World’s Weirdest Museums
Much as we all love to visit a classic Egyptian mummy or a tank from World War 2, for those looking to explore something a little different, there are some truly weird and wonderful museums dotted around the globe.
Images The Museum of Broken Relationships, Index Digital
From a Kyiv museum of live jellyfish to a Californian collection of bunny memorabilia, there’s a museum out there for everyone, no matter what you’re interested in. In fact, there’s even a museum perfect for dog lovers – the Dog Collar museum in Leeds, UK. Your Overseas Home have revealed 11 of the weirdest museums from around the world, while we here at Index Digital have also have added a selection of our top suggestions for weird and wonderful museums to visit.
1. The Museum of Broken Relationships, Zagreb, Croatia
Fittingly run by former lovers, the Museum of Broken Relationships has an assortment of objects from all over the world to commemorate when love has run its course. Here, you’ll find an axe from Berlin, belly button lint from Montreal and a three-volume edition of Proust from London. Items are sent in anonymously with a little description about the story behind them.
2. The Bunny Museum, California, USA
The antidote to the Museum of Broken Relationships, the Bunny Museum grew from the daily gift-giving of bunny-themed presents between couple-curators, Candace Frazee and Steve Lubanski. They ended up with enough to fill a museum, and so, they opened one. Hop around bunny-themed cookie jars, lunch boxes, chocolates, slot machines and even real-life bunnies.
3. Sulabh Museum of Toilets, New Delhi, India
Ever wondered much about where you place your derrière? Perhaps, you’ll wonder the next time you’re perched on the ivory throne for a little too long. In New Delhi, you can read up on the history of toilets and see some memorable ones too, like a replica of the one used by French King Louis XIV. This museum is more than just the perfect place to rattle off your favourite bog jokes: it also highlights issues in India’s sanitation sector.
4. Marble Museum, Devon, England
A museum purely about, um, marbles – have you lost yours? The marble museum proves that the tiny, coloured balls can be interesting. Learn a little history, see extraordinary artistry and happily keep your marbles by waving the kids off to lose themselves in the marbles.
5. Kansas Barbed Wire Museum, Kansas, USA
Another museum dedicated to a single object, but this time, very much not that of child’s plaything. With an over 2,000-piece collection of patented and antique devil’s rope, visitors are often surprised by how instrumental barbed wire was in shaping America’s wild west.
6. Cup Noodles Museum, Osaka, Japan
We’ve all been there. Exhausted and in the mood for something salty that requires minimal effort to make. And so, they sit in our cupboards, always there. Cup Noodles. At their very own museum, you can make your own chicken ramen by hand (a little more effort than just switching on the kettle but it’s part of the novelty). Plus, enjoy some interactive theatre, in a venue the shape of Cup Noodles.
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7. Chez Galip Hair Museum, Avanos, Turkey
You may have saved a strand or two of your child’s baby hair. You may have pulled your first grey out and stared at it, burdened by its symbolism of life’s ticking clock. But Chez Galip has a collection of hair unparalleled to that of anyone else. In a cave below his pottery shop, Galip has amassed the hair, notes and addresses of more than 16,000 women.
8. Museum of Bread Culture, Ulm, Germany
Bread. One of those household staples that we too easily take for granted. But not father-and-son Willy Eiselen and Hermann Eiselen. In 1955, they started what would evolve into a collection of 16,000 artefacts of doughy paraphernalia and 6,000 pieces of writing on the crusty subject. The museum also offers food for thought on shortages around the world.
9. The Jellyfish Museum, Kyiv, Ukraine
More an aquarium than a museum, but weird enough to be featured on this list. Jellyfish are brainless, sometimes poisonous and sometimes even immortal, and as it happens, captivating to look at. Here, wander down darkened corridors of illuminated glass tanks that house these intriguing creatures.
10. The Dog Collar Museum, Leeds, England
Humans have plenty of exhibits showcasing their clothes, so it only makes sense that man’s best friend gets a museum for his singular item of clothing. Spanning a total of five centuries, you can see the chicest collars: from sturdy, spiky iron wears to decadent velvet pieces. Don’t tell your pup though, or they’ll suddenly feel down that they only got to pick the colour of their collar.
11. The Icelandic Phallological Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland
Taking a scientific angle (though smirking is permitted), from the hamster to the whale, the Phallological museum is home to 300 specimens from over 100 mammals, including 22 from creatures and Icelandic folklore. Yes. The museum claims to own the phalluses of elves and trolls. Plus, no visit is complete without a stop off at the gift shop and the bistro. Enjoy the craft beer choice: a Moby Dick Pale (Wh)Ale or a Dick Johnson.
Scarlett Murray, property writer at YourOverseasHome.com says: “These museums are a fantastic alternative bucket-list and certainly make for a fun story to tell. For many, visiting museums are a way to interact with historical moments or to educate yourself or your loved ones on something new. These museums however, have a slightly different offering to traditional history museums that you find in most major cities. As well as picking up some peculiar facts to bring out at dinner parties, you might gain a love of marbles or cup noodles. A world of weird knowledge awaits you!"
• The overseas property experts at Your Overseas Home have handpicked this pick of the world’s most unique museums.
Index Digital's Top Picks For Weird Museums
12. Vrolik, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Netherland’s Vrolik offers an eye-opening experience with its unique collection of anatomical abnormalities. Located in Amsterdam, this museum of the human body takes a look at our anatomy as well as that of the animals we live amongst. On a visit to Vrolik you will get the chance to see anything from “anatomical preparations and rare congenital defects to animal skeletons and wax models”. As well as glass slides and negatives there are heritage objects, instruments, human bones, skulls and skeletons.
13. Spy Museum, Washington, USA
Take up the chance to go undercover at the Spy Museum in Washington. Opened in 2002, this independent museum “documents the tradecraft, history, and contemporary role of espionage” and explores its successes, failures, challenges and controversies. Also on display until September this year is Bond in Motion, an exhibition of vehicles used on-screen by 007 and his many allies and adversaries in the iconic films. There are two floors of interactive exhibits to discover, plus there is also the option to take a one of their new public tours.
14. The True Crime Museum, Sussex, England
Right here in Sussex you will find The True Crime Museum on the seafront in Hastings, which offers a “chilling, yet fascinating insight into the world of serial killers, forensics, gangsters, prisoners, poisoners and more”. Not only does it have a real lethal injection deathbed, on a trip to this unusual museum you will have the chance to view the actual acid containers that John George Haigh used to dissolve his victims. If you are fascinated by true crime this is definitely a trip to put on your to-do list.
15. The Crypt (Ossuary), St Leonard's Church, Kent, England
Located in Hythe right here in Kent, St Leonard’s Church is home to the “largest and best preserved collection of ancient human skulls and bones in Britain”. Open until 30th September 2025, it was previously thought the collection in The Crypt represents the remains of more than 4,000 people, but the most recent estimate is up to 1,200 skulls and 2,000 individuals represented.
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