With theatres, cinemas and galleries closed for the next few weeks, you’re probably itching to get your culture fix somehow. But, there is some light at the end of the tunnel, because the art and cultural world can be still found at the end of your fingertips.
Enter the virtual museum tour, an online tour of your favourite exhibitions and museums from the comfort of your sofa. From London classics to international treasures, here are our favourite virtual museum tours that’ll help you get your cultural fix until things return to ‘normal’.
The Brunel Museum, London
If you’re missing out on your Sunday strolls around London’s finest galleries and museums, let The Brunel Museum’s new virtual tours guide you round its historic sites virtually. From the comfort of your sofa, you can explore a virtual model of the famed museum at different points in time and uncover its history and secrets.
For those of you who have a VR headset or a smartphone and Google cardboard, you can see these scenes and look around in VR. It’s super cool and a fun way to learn about the historic building.
Website: www.thebrunelmuseum.com
Tate Modern, London
The Tate Modern has won the hearts of many a contemporary art lover, tourist and hardened Londoner, and so why not rekindle your love for London’s iconic art museum from the comfort of your home. Available via street view, you’ll be able to navigate your way around the different collections and installations ranging from the 1900s through to the present day from the touch of a button.
Website: www.artsandculture.google.com
The British Museum, London
While their doors may be closed temporarily, you can still peruse London’s most prestigious museum devoted to the history of humanity, art and culture. The British Museum’s virtual tour feels almost rather futuristic in its display, spanning from artifacts from 2000 AD to Roman Britain. Expect one hell of a history lesson.
Website: www.britishmuseum.withgoogle.com
The National Gallery, London
Despite having had to sadly close their doors to the public until May, you can still enjoy the best of The National Gallery and delve deeper into the history of art while you’re self isolating at home. Reignite your love of art as you wander virtually around London’s famed art gallery and watch world admired pieces come to life quite literally in your home. I mean, it’ll be almost as if you’ve got a J.M.W Turner painting your wall, even if just for a few moments…
Website: www.nationalgallery.org.uk
The Louvre, Paris
See ya later Eurostar, we’re headed to Paris virtually! The landmark that’s arguably as famous as the capital of France’s Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame Cathedral, The Louvre is home to some of the world’s most famous art pieces, including the iconic Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. Watch the Egyptian antiquities collection come to life on your home screen before strolling (or, should I say scrolling) virtually over to The Galerie d’Apollon which has since been restored after the great fire in 1661.
Website: www.louvre.fr
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Fun fact: this famous Parisian museum was initially built as a train station, bringing eager travellers to the 1900 World’s Fair. Nowadays Musée d’Orsay sees people travelling far and wide to gaze at the magnificent works of art displayed upon the walls. Catch a glimpse from afar as you scroll through rooms on your laptop and uncover pieces of art you may have never seen before, including works by James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Vincent Van Gogh.
Website: www.artsandculture.google.com
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Vincent Van Gogh. It’s a name we’ve grown up knowing since our first day in art class, and you can see all of the famous paintings you tried to half heartedly recreate in school come to life at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. While everything’s a little confused and strange at the moment out in the world, catch Van Gogh’s iconic portraits and speckled paintings come to life from the comfort of your settee. It might even inspire you pick up the paintbrush yourself while you’re self isolating and waiting for all of this to blow over.
Website: www.artsandculture.google.com
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
If your holiday plans have been cancelled due to COVID 19 and you’re still on the hunt to get your culture fix to make up for it, sit back and relax because you’re about to embark on a virtual journey to Washington DC. Momentarily let your mind drift into thoughts other than coronavirus as you head on a virtual tour of Washington DC’s National Gallery of Art, uncovering sensational exhibits and collections of some of the world’s most famed artists.
Website: www.artsandculture.google.com
MoMA The Museum of Modern Art, New York
We might have waved hello to an impressive body of Van Gogh’s work over in Amsterdam, but now we’re journeying to MoMA The Museum of Modern Art in New York to explore his magical Starry Night scene come to life, on your computer screen.
Founded back in 1929, MoMA was the first museum of its kind, and has since become renowned for its diverse mix of contemporary art, spanning the likes of Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman and even Claude Monet’s Water Lilies.
Website: www.artsandculture.google.com
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
While we’re circulating New York, why not jump on the virtual subway over to the Guggenheim Museum and explore the best of modern art. Bedded inside one of NYC’s oddest buildings (there’s plenty to go around, let’s face it), the museum explores the early artistic style of impressionism and delves into early modern art.
Website: www.artsandculture.google.com
American Museum of Natural History, New York
If you’ve wandered aimlessly around London’s Natural History Museum on one too many occasions, explore the American take on the natural world with a virtual exploration around the American Museum of Natural History. Expect a whole lot of medieval action, prehistoric dinos roaming your iPad screen and even a blue whale making a splash.
Website: www.artsandculture.google.com
