Tannen’s Magic is a New York institution, taking the title of the city’s oldest operating magic shop dating back to 1925 when it was opened by Louis Tannen. Nearly every famous magician (including David Copperfield who bought a dancing cane from here at age 16 and David Blaine; before anyone knew who he was) has passed through their doors.

The shop itself is even an enigma with no branding from the street, you have to enter a non-descript office building and take a lift up to the sixth floor where you will uncover Tannen’s at the end of a small white corridor that feels like it’s still under construction. When you step inside you are greeted by cabinets overflowing with magic tricks, a whole library of magic literature, hundreds of drawers with intriguing labels, Houdini artifacts and a huge elephant prop from the 2012 play, Elephant Room.

The shop assistants, who are mostly practicing magicians themselves are more than happy to showcase a few close-up tricks, which will leave you completely mesmerised. Some of the card tricks are quite reasonable to purchase too and are the perfect source of entertainment at your next dinner party!

In addition to their regular opening hours, they also host ‘After Hours’ magic shows two nights a week with magician Noah Levine. These allow you to sneak into the magic shop after hours for an unbelievable close-up magic bonanza, where you will leave asking how what you have just witnessed is even possible. I don’t want to spoil too much of the show but I’m still asking how he managed to make a coin pass through the pocket of his trousers… The intimate show only seats around 20 people, so my two tips would be to book well in advance to avoid disappointment and also to arrive early so you can grab the front row seats!