Museums and iconic locations across the globe have thrown their digital doors open to welcome viewers to enjoy their collections from the comfort of their sofas.
USA
Guggenheim Museum, New York
Google’s Street View feature lets visitors tour the Guggenheim’s famous spiral staircase without ever leaving home. From there, you can discover incredible works of art from the Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary eras.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
This famous American art museum features two online exhibits through Google. The first is an exhibit of American fashion from 1740 to 1895, including many renderings of clothes from the colonial and Revolutionary eras. The second is a collection of works from Dutch Baroque painter Johannes Vermeer.
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
European artworks from as far back as the 8th Century can be found in this California art museum. Take a Street View tour to discover a huge collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, manuscripts, and photographs.
Virtual Tour – NASA
NASA is ready to entertain and educate you. The aerospace experts are pulling out all the stops to help everyone pass the time home socially distancing. That includes releasing some seriously cool virtual tours and highlighting a few of its coolest places. Check out a selection of seven tours available from NASA below
The Met, NYC
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially “the Met“, is the largest art museum in the United States. It is the fourth most visited art museum in the world. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments.
The Holocaust Museum, Washington
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States’ official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history. It is dedicated to helping leaders and citizens of the world confront hatred, prevent genocide, promote human dignity, and strengthen democracy.[2]
Women’s History Museum online exhibits
For the last twenty years, the National Women’s History Museum has served as the largest online cultural institution dedicated to US women’s history. The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote. This museum was created to experience, understand, and amplify the pivotal role women play throughout history.
Continental Europe
Louvre, Paris
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Louvre served as the royal palace for French kings. It became an art museum when the French king Louis XVI moved his residence to Versailles. During the French Revolution, the Louvre became a public museum. … The most famous painting in the Louvre is Leonardo da Vinci’s, Mona Lisa.
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
You can virtually walk through this popular gallery that houses dozens of famous works from French artists who worked and lived between 1848 and 1914. Get a peek at artworks from Monet, Cézanne, and Gauguin, among others.
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Anyone who is a fan of this tragic, ingenious painter can see his works up close (or, almost up close) by virtually visiting this museum – the largest collection of artworks by Vincent van Gogh, including over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and over 750 personal letters.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Explore the masterworks from the Dutch Golden Age, including works from Vermeer and Rembrandt. Google offers a Street View tour of this iconic museum, so you can feel as if you’re actually wandering its halls.
Virtual tour of Musei Vaticani
The Vatican Museums are a complex of different collections, all extraordinarily important. Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek and Roman, Christian, and epigraphic, paintings of several centuries and the great Renaissance of Raphael and Michelangelo in the “Rooms” and the Sistine Chapel. And then there are the decorative arts, the ethnological collections, the historical collections, the carriages and the papal berlins, up to modern and contemporary art.
A dynamic museum where tradition and innovation find a perfect synthesis, able to render concrete what the Roman Church has pursued for centuries in her cultural institutions.
Uffizi Gallery, Florence
The Uffizi Gallery is a prominent art museum is of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of the largest and best known in the world and holds a collection of priceless works, particularly from the period of the Italian Renaissance.
After the ruling house of Medici died out, their art collections were gifted to the city of Florence under the famous Patto di famiglia negotiated by Anna Maria Luisa, the last Medici heiress. The Uffizi is one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, and in 1765 it was officially opened to the public, formally becoming a museum in 1865.
Today, the Uffizi is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Florence and one of the most visited art museums in the world.
Pergamon Museum, Berlin
As one of Germany’s largest museums, Pergamon has a lot to offer – even if you can’t physically be there. This historical museum is home to plenty of ancient artifacts including the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and, of course, the Pergamon Altar.
Asia
Tour the Great Wall of China
As China’s most famous attraction, the Great Wall of China is an essential stop on all China tours. Commonly considered a wonder of the world, the Great Wall boasts a history of over 2,000 years and stretches more than 3,000 miles across several provinces of northern China, making it one of the most impressive ancient structures on the planet.
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul
One of Korea’s popular museums can be accessed from anywhere around the world. Google’s virtual tour takes you through six floors of Contemporary art from Korea and all over the globe.
South America
MASP, São Paulo
The Museu de Arte de São Paulo is a non-profit and Brazil’s first modern museum. Artworks placed on clear perspex frames make it seem like the artwork is hovering in midair. Take a virtual tour to experience the wondrous display for yourself.
National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City
Built in 1964, this museum is dedicated to the archaeology and history of Mexico’s pre-Hispanic heritage. There are 23 exhibit rooms filled with ancient artefacts, including some from the Mayan civilization.
Explore the United Kingdom
British Museum, London
This iconic museum located in the heart of London allows virtual visitors to tour the Great Court and discover the ancient Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies. You can also find hundreds of artefacts on the museum’s virtual tour.
National Museum of Natural History Tour
Uncover the history of life on Earth, from the smallest insects to the largest mammals. The museum is particularly famous for its exhibition of dinosaur skeletons and ornate architecture—sometimes dubbed a cathedral of nature—both exemplified by the large Diplodocus cast that dominated the vaulted central hall before it was replaced in 2017 with the skeleton of a blue whale hanging from the ceiling.
Science Museum
Striving to be the best place in the world for people to enjoy science, the Science Museum’s world-class collection forms an enduring record of scientific, technological and medical achievements from across the globe. We aim to inspire visitors with award-winning exhibitions, iconic objects and stories of incredible scientific achievement.
Windsor Castle
A Royal home and fortress for over 900 years, Winsdor Castle, the largest occupied castle in the world, remains a working palace today. The Queen uses the Castle both as a private home, where she usually spends the weekend, and as an official Royal residence at which she undertakes certain formal duties from Investitures to State Visits.
London Zoo
Discover London’s virtual zoo today! From behind London Zoo’s gates they are bringing the Zoo to you!
Remember to come back often – they are regularly updating so there’s always something new to enjoy.
- Webcams and live streams
- Animal antics
- Zookeeper videos
- Behind-the-scenes updates
From the comfort of your own dens, burrows and nests you’ll get the best of London Zoo.
World of Harry Potter
Discover the Filmmaking Magic. Walk virtually in the footsteps of Harry Potter and explore the wonders of the Wizarding World. View the Great Hall at Hogwarts, explore the Harry Potter Film Sets, including the infamous Diagon Alley.
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace is the London residence and administrative headquarters of the monarchy of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focal point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and mourning.
The Google Art Project
Explore even more museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more!
