We’ve been to a few different arcades that feel part arcade and part museum, but we always go to the Musee Mecanique, which is a personal collection of more than 300 different items. They have coin operated pianos, pinball machines, slot machines, little peep shows, puppets, love tests and so much more. Many of them are very old machines, some of which you can only find at the venue.
Like many personal collections, the Musee Mecanique is full of character and clear interest from the person who started it all. Many of the machines take pennies and there are a few cash points dotted around, so you can have a go at them! My personal favorite machines are the puppet ones, where you can watch a show begin or some sort of musical play. There are plenty of skill based games as well, which are some of my favorite types of games, but I am not very good at the ones at this location as they aren’t ones I have previously seen or tried.
That’s the biggest draw for me to Musee Mecanique. Each year that I have visited, there have been new (antique) machines to find and something hidden around another corner. Some have been repaired over time, where you can sort of see some of the new items, and others are just as they were the day they were made. They have a few little signs and information, like the one explaining the Oldest Machine within the venue and it’s history, which is a projection-based animation.
Musee Mecanique is quite a packed place, with little walks throughout. It’s one that you can explore in under an hour, but it’s a neat thing that’s well worth the walk down Pier 39. Over time, they have started to slot machines in covering up a bunch of the signs that explained the change of the pier and of games in the area, which is a bit of a shame, but it does play into the personal collection feel of the place. I also saw a ton of penny presses when I last went, which to me, felt like a bit too many! I cannot wait to see what we find next time we visit.
You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!