Memory palace technique: how to build one step by step

A memory palace, also called the method of loci, is a technique for remembering information in order: you imagine walking through a place you know well and leave an image of each item at a stop along the way. To recall the list, you walk the route again in your mind and find the images in the same sequence.

It relies on something you already know by heart: the layout of your home, your route to school, or your campus building. You do not need to memorize the order of the stops, because you already know it. The work is in creating clear images and walking the route a few times until it feels effortless.

Dresler and colleagues (2017) compared memory champions with people who had no mnemonic experience. In a second phase, untrained participants practiced the method of loci for about six weeks and markedly improved their recall of word lists; part of that improvement was still present months later. The study also observed changes in brain connectivity linked to the training.

That result is about word lists and sustained daily practice, not about understanding a subject. Dunlosky and colleagues (2013) reviewed a different mnemonic, the keyword method, and rated it low utility, partly because it takes time to set up and its benefits did not always last. A memory palace does one job well: retrieving items in a fixed order.

Start with a short route and a small list. Expanding is easy once the first walk works; starting with fifty items usually ends in empty stops.

List: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, from closest to farthest from the Sun. Route: front door, coat rack, sofa, TV, table, fridge, sink and window. At the front door, a thermometer melts and drips liquid metal (Mercury). On the coat rack hangs a statue of the goddess Venus wearing a coat. On the sofa, a huge globe sits watching television (Earth).

The TV shows a dusty red desert (Mars). On the table sits a giant cake with stripes and a red spot (Jupiter). In the fridge, onion rings circle a ball (Saturn). In the sink, a blue-green ball spins on its side, like Uranus, which rotates almost sideways. At the window, Neptune taps the glass with his trident. The example is our own: your images will work better if they come from your own associations.

The method works with information that has an order and little meaning of its own: the steps of a procedure, the stages of a process, the points of a presentation, or the parts of an essay answer you need to write. It can also help you recall the headings of a topic before you explain it.

It does not replace understanding. Knowing that Jupiter comes after Mars does not explain why the outer planets are much larger than the inner ones. If your exam asks you to reason, apply or compare, you need to practice those tasks. Use the palace as an index to retrieve the items, and work on the explanation of each one separately.

If you find empty stops when you walk the route, the cause is almost always the image you chose or a lack of review. Check this list before blaming your memory.

In Lumia AI you can create a card that asks for the complete list, such as “Put the planets in order from the Sun,” and add an optional hint with the first stop of your route. When you rate it Again, Hard, Good or Easy, Lumia calculates when to show it again, so your review is spread over several days.

Lumia quizzes include a Put in Order question type, which asks you to arrange items in sequence; you can generate quizzes from your notes and review each question before you practice. The mental route is still yours: the app does not know your images, so walk the palace before you answer and use the quiz to check that the order holds.