Saint Petersburg, Russia

Freud's Dream Museum

Dark, eerie exhibits make for a surreal exploration of the subconscious.

This dimly lit museum coaxes visitors into a surreal exploration of the subconscious. Split between two rooms saturated with the sweet scent of incense, the strange exhibit delves into the mysterious world of dreams.

Freud’s Dream Museum is, as its name suggests, dedicated to examining dreams through the lens of Sigmund Freud’s theories. The dark, heavily scented rooms add a dreamy, otherworldly flair to the small sample of exhibits.

Freud himself didn’t have much of a connection with Saint Petersburg. Since he and the city lacked a tangible link, the Institute of Psychoanalysis chose to focus the museum on the thing at the very essence of his theories: dreams. As a result, the museum is a bizarre blend of science and art that will captivate anyone with an interest in psychoanalysis.

The first part of the museum focuses on Freud’s 12 stages of development. Texts, photography, and paintings inspired by the famous neurologist’s dreams and the dreams of his patients fill the space. The second section is modeled like a dreamscape and relies on an eerie, unsettling blend of images, lights, and sounds to trigger the visitor’s subconscious.