Visiting The Louvre or Disney was one of the biggest dreams for most people before the pandemic. The pandemic changed everything as we knew it though, and going to the museum is not an option for most people anymore. The chance to visit the park, the zoo or your favourite museum without leaving your house is one of the biggest gifts anyone could ask for during the pandemic. Most museums moved online when they could no longer admit visitors physically and the experience has been proven to be way better than physical visits for some. These are the 10 dream virtual tours you can go to without having to travel or struggle with the crowds.
The Louvre
The partnership between Google Arts and The Louvre was probably the best thing the museum has ever done since its creation. It brought the world’s largest art museum to its biggest fans during the pandemic. It is way cheaper and even more interesting as you can do the virtual tour from the gardens to the interior from the comfort of your home even with family.
Avoiding crowds at The Louvre was almost impossible before the pandemic and that always spoiled the experience. Everyone would do anything for a chance to see the Mona Lisa up close, but even being there physically didn’t assure you the chance to see it. With the museum’s virtual tour now available on its website, you can have a look at its over 480,000 works of art from the Mona Lisa to the Code of Hammurabi making even this virtual museum the biggest museum in the world!
The Vatican Museums
Visiting the cradle of the Roman Catholic Church from the comfort of your home is a dream tour for any family even if you are not religious. The Vatican Museums including Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, the profane museum and Raphael’s rooms are must-see tours for everyone. The Vatican introduced virtual tours of all their artefacts during the pandemic with a 360-degree view of all of their important museums. The tour is available online for free which definitely beats the need to travel and struggle with the crowds as it was before the pandemic.
The British National Museum
Exploring over 2 million years of human history is a welcome break during the pandemic which is why online searches for “Virtual Tours Of The British National Museum,” Increased over 1000 times during the pandemic. The museum has almost everything important about human history from the Rosetta Stone to Egyptian Mummies.
The museum also has one of the largest collections of animal skeletons from Blue Whales to Long-tusked elephants from Kenya. The museum had over 6 million visitors a year before the pandemic, which is why a virtual visit was a welcome option for most of these visitors. There is always the option of doing it alone through virtual tours on Google Arts or get a guide through the museum podcast.
The Metropolitan Museum Of Arts
The Met as many call it is the largest art museum in the US with more than 2 million works of art to explore. It took its entire collection online during the pandemic to allow visitors from all over the world to enjoy the collection through the help of webcams. As many say, if it is not in The Met, then it never happened, the museum houses a vast collection of art and fashion items through 5,000 years of human history. The collection is hard to exhaust and it will keep you occupied for the whole day.
Disney
Who knew you could go to Disney without actually going there! The Walt Disney museum remains one of the dream destinations for people around the world which is why their virtual tours are so popular. The introduction of the Disney Virtual tours was one of the best things that happened during the pandemic. The visits started in 2019 for students and school groups only, but Disney expanded it to accommodate all other visitors during the pandemic. You can now visit the entire magic world including Cinderella’s castle without making the trip.
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
This is the Met of Paris with a collection of artwork from 1848 to 1914 covering all the important aspects of art, culture and fashion that shaped Europe over the period. It has the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art in the whole world from the best of the best including Monet, Van Gogh and Gaugin.
The Virtual tours begins in the former railway station which is the entrance before taking you through the two floors of the museum giving you a look at each of the collections. It feels like a walk through history as each piece of art is shown in 360-degree detail giving you the experience of a lifetime.
The Georgia Aquarium
Feel like being an ocean voyager at least for a day? The Georgia aquarium will give you the experience you need. The Georgia Aquarium’s Ocean Voyager tours are the largest marine life exhibits in the whole world. The experience is lively, made to feel like you are making the dive physically. You can enjoy the unlimited view of marine life including fish, sharks, whales and lots of other sea creatures you would expect in any aquarium for free.
National Gallery London
The National Gallery in London is one of the richest museums in Europe with a collection of over 2,300 masterpieces that are just breathtaking to look at. The entire collection was taken online during the pandemic just like other museums in the UK. The gallery is free to view and houses all the best works of Monet and other great artists from the Water Lilly pond to Monet’s London and Venice.
The San Diego Zoo
If you enjoy going on a Safari but the pandemic won’t allow it, the San Diego Zoo still allows you to go on the trip from the comfort of your home. The experience may not be as real as seeing tigers and baboons from the other side of the glass, but it is still awesome. The cameras take you inside each animal’s closet allowing you to interact with the hippos, tigers, baboons and many more. The live cams are available online for anyone willing to enjoy the view for free.
The Guggenheim Museum
The Guggenheim’s spiral staircase tour became one of the most admired virtual tours of the pandemic. From Rene Magritte’s Empire of Light to Vincent Van Gogh’s Landscape With Snow, viewing the Guggenheim’s collection, whether physically or virtually is an opportunity to interact with greatness. The museum has one of the world’s largest collections of impressionist and contemporary art and Google arts street view made it possible to bring most of these home at no cost.
