As ancient wax Rome began to burn, wax Emperor Nero clutched his lyre and began to strum; the flames were melting his fingers into flexible music-makers. Be equally entertained by wax with today's Groupon: for $12, you get a ticket to Madame Tussauds (up to a $25 value), the world-renowned, interactive wax-figure museum. Your ticket is good for adult, child, senior, or student entry. For more than 200 years, Madame Tussaud and her museums have delighted the masses with impressively detailed and meticulously maintained wax renditions of celebrities, musicians, action figures, and sports stars.

Madame Tussaud began crafting wax figures at the tender age of 17 after learning the art from a skilled wax sculptor who hired her mother as a housekeeper. During the French Revolution, she furthered her craft by keeping an eye out for the freshest decapitated heads, which she used to make beautifully detailed death masks. When her mentor died, Madame Tussaud inherited his vast collection of wax figures and opened a London museum in 1835. Today, the Madame Tussaud wax-figure experience is interactive—you can hug them and high-five them—so bring a 20-megapixel digital camera and make a poster of yourself challenging Jackie Chan to a staring contest.

Madame Tussauds Hollywood, located next to the Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, has a number of stars and characters from the silver screen, including Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Salma Hayek, Clark Gable, and Marlene Dietrich. Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, and Alfred Hitchcock are there too, directing the action. And if you're thinking about making it a family outing, there are plenty of kid-oriented figures, including Tony Hawk, Lance Armstrong, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, and Snoop Dogg.

Reviews

Reuters featured the opening of Madame Tussauds in Hollywood, and Entertainment Tonight was there for the latest unveiling:

• The $55 million complex, featuring more than 100 celebrity waxworks spread across three floors, is the biggest attraction to join the teeming thoroughfare in years. It also represents the latest attempt to restore some glamour to the faded area, whose 10 million annual visitors make it one of the world's busiest tourist attractions. – Reuters

Yelpers and the insiders on Insider Pages are enthralled by Madame Tussauds in Hollywood and New York, giving it five and three stars, respectively:

• My favorites: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie with Jennifer Aniston staring at them across the room. (That's just plain wrong... but funny) – Jolene M., Yelp
• So, you have family in town and decide to be a tourist for a day... go here! Bring a camera, and get ready for your 15 minutes of fame. I could not believe how cool it is inside. I actually was able to race against Lance Armstrong. – mali572, Insider Pages