What is a memory palace?

A memory palace is a place you already know by heart, walked in a fixed order. Each thing you pass is a stop, and each stop holds one scene. Recall is just walking the route again and reading off what you left there.

Order comes from the room, not from you

Pick a walk you could do with your eyes closed — your flat from the front door, your commute, a shop you visit weekly. Then fix the order of what you pass: door, mirror, window, lamp. That sequence never changes.

Sequence is the hard part of memorizing a deck or a long number, and a familiar route hands it to you for free. You are only ever asked to remember what is at each stop, never what comes next.

At three cards per stop, 18 stops holds a full deck. With a 00–99 PAO system, three images make six digits per stop, so 17 stops holds 100 digits. Most people find that one floor of a home they have lived in.

How three cards become one scene →
ground floor · 4 of 18 stopsroute
A ground-floor plan with a route through four numbered stops: door, mirror, window, lamp
01 door
3♣ 8♥ K♦
02 mirror
2♦ 5♠ J♥
03 window
A♠ 9♣ 4♥
04 lamp
7♦ Q♣ 6♠

Four rules that keep a palace reliable

Use a place you know cold

If you have to work out what comes after the kitchen, the palace is costing you the thing it was meant to give you. Familiarity beats grandeur.

Keep stops far apart

Two stops on the same shelf will bleed into each other. Pick things you would pass at walking pace, one every metre or two.

Walk it the same way every time

Always the same direction, always the same door. A route walked backwards on recall is the most common way a good run falls apart.

Walk it empty first

Before your first drill, say the stops out loud in order with nothing on them. Any hesitation now is a mistake you would otherwise make mid-run.

How to build a memory palace

  1. 1
    Pick a place you know by heart

    Your home, your school, a walk to the shop. Somewhere you could picture with your eyes closed and never get lost.

  2. 2
    Fix a route through it

    Decide where you start and which way you turn, and always walk it in that order. Front door first, then clockwise through each room.

  3. 3
    Choose your stops

    Pick distinct things along the route: the door, a mirror, the sofa, the fridge. Number them. Ten to twenty is plenty for a first palace.

  4. 4
    Walk it empty

    Say the stops in order out loud, then backwards, until there is no pause anywhere. Fix any stop you stumble on now.

  5. 5
    Place one vivid scene at each stop

    Turn what you want to remember into a picture and make it interact with the stop: big, moving, a little absurd. One scene per stop.

  6. 6
    Walk it again to recall

    Start at the first stop and read off each scene in turn. Review it once later that day and again the next, and it sticks.

The memory palace technique on a shopping list

Milk, eggs, bread, batteries. Four items, four stops in your hallway and living room. Walk in through the front door and leave each one where you can't miss it:

01 front door · milkMilk is pouring out of the letterbox and flooding the doormat.
02 mirror · eggsYour reflection is juggling eggs, and one cracks on the glass.
03 sofa · breadThe cushions have turned into giant slices of toast, still warm.
04 fridge · batteriesThe fridge door sparks and buzzes, held shut by a stack of batteries.

In the shop, walk the route in your head: the flooded doormat, the juggling reflection, the toast sofa, the sparking fridge. Cards work the same way, with three cards turned into one scene at each stop.

Memory palace FAQ

Does the memory palace technique actually work?
Yes. It is the method of loci, used since ancient Greece, and it is what nearly every memory competitor uses to memorize decks of cards and long numbers. It works because people remember places and vivid pictures far better than lists.
How many stops should a memory palace have?
As many as the thing you are memorizing needs. A shopping list fits in ten. At three cards per stop, a full deck needs 18. Start small and add rooms when you run out.
Can I reuse a memory palace?
Yes. Old scenes fade within a day or two, so a palace can be reused for drills. Keep a separate palace for anything you want to remember long term.
Does it have to be a real place?
A real place is easiest because the route is already in your memory. Imagined places work too, but you have to learn the route first.
How to memorize a deck of cards →Turn numbers into words with the Major system →

Build yours, then walk it

You don't have to hold the route in your head to get started. Use the Palace Builder to lay out stops and save the route to your account — then drill a shuffled deck or a string of digits and see how it holds up.

Build a Memory Palace
Drill numbers →