Doloris Meta Maze is a labyrinthine, immersive art experience where you clamber, squeeze and crawl through a maze of surreal, tactile rooms.
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What is Doloris Meta Maze?
Doloris Meta Maze is a unique immersive art maze in Tilburg. You enter the experience alone, and move from room to room via ladders, crawlways, staircases and hidden doors, passing through a huge variety of surreal and beautiful spaces.
Doloris don’t publish many pictures of the actual maze interior, which ensures that the experience is mysterious and fresh when you visit in person.
One moment you find yourself in a room made of pianos, the next in a subterranean temple, the next in a cozy log cabin in the mountains. Some of the more interesting spaces require a little bit of clambering, crawling, or patient exploration to discover… but doing so is always worth the effort.
There is no story to the experience, and no particular goal other than to explore and to experience the maze. There are a few very light puzzles in some areas, but for the most part you don’t need to engage your brain – only to joyfully and freely explore.
Though you enter the maze alone (even if you came with a group), there are dozens of other people in there at the same time as you. There is a bar attached where you can have a drink before or after exploring the maze.
Doloris Meta Maze is the first of two attractions of this kind by Doloris. The second is Doloris Anoma Maze in Utrecht. The two are very similar, but you can certainly tell that Doloris Meta Maze was the first. There are fewer interactive elements, and the maze as a whole is a little bit more cramped and simple. I’d heartily recommend visiting both, but if you only have time for one, opt for Doloris Anoma Maze in Utrecht.
The Good Stuff
➕ The maze is incredible. It’s an amazing space full of wonder and artistry – all the more impressive for being contained within a couple of floors of what seems like a perfectly ordinary office building.
➕ You can just enjoy the experience. There’s no goal to Doloris Meta Maze other than to enjoy and explore (and perhaps to find the exit when you’re ready to leave). The hours you spend in the maze are hours of child-like exploration and wonder. It is an immense amount of fun.
➕ Phone use is discouraged. You’re asked not to take your phone into the maze itself… and most visitors comply with this request. You can lose yourself in the maze without being constantly photographed or surrounded by people who are posing for pictures for Instagram.
Doloris has also made sure that there are very few pictures of the interior of the maze available online, making entering the maze a real step into the unknown. It really does feel like a bit of an adventure!
➕ It’s not a skill- or knowledge-dependent experience. To explore and enjoy the maze you require nothing other than a curious mind and a certain level of mobility. You can enjoy Doloris Meta Maze even if you don’t speak Dutch or English… and you’ll never find yourself locked out of a particular area by a puzzle you cannot solve.
The Bad Stuff
➖ Doloris Meta Maze is physically demanding and comprised entirely of small spaces. It may not be right for everyone. If you are claustrophobic or of a generally anxious disposition you may not enjoy being lost inside the maze.
Of course, for many people who visit, getting lost inside the maze is the whole point of the experience!
Practical Information
You can bring bags and coats with you to the venue and store them in lockers before you enter the maze. You are asked to store all of your stuff and take nothing into the maze – especially not a phone. This is good advice: you’ll be doing a lot of movement in the maze, and may well lose important items if you keep them in your pockets.
There is a bar that you can visit before and after your experience. You are invited to have a drink beforehand, and your group will enter the maze one by one over the course of several minutes. While being separated from the people you came with can be daunting, don’t worry: you’ll eventually find one another inside the maze (and besides, solo exploration is fun and exciting).
You don’t need to speak Dutch to enjoy this immersive experience.
This experience involves a lot of climbing, crawling and physical exertion. You should wear light clothing, and leave behind everything except your base layer so that you don’t get too hot. This experience may not be suitable for you if you have claustrophobia or limitations to your mobility.
The length of this experience is up to you. You can stay in the maze as long as you please. We’d recommend at least two hours to explore it thoroughly. You can leave as soon as you find the exit, or sooner if you need to through one of many emergency exits around the experience. You can make use of these exits without triggering an emergency alarm. Once you leave the maze you cannot re-enter it without buying another entry ticket.
You should plan to book several days in advance to ensure you get the time slot you want. Bookings can be made via the Doloris website.