Perhaps your travel plans were foiled. Maybe you’re planning and preparing for an overseas adventure down the track. Or you could just be travel lovers like us, looking to curb your wanderlust from the confines of your living room. These virtual tours of bucket-list destinations are ideal if you’re feeling trapped at home or want to know what to expect when you visit the real thing. All you need is the internet and your imagination.
Unable to visit Europe as planned this year, instead, Kirsty Russell’s family tested virtual tours of the best galleries and museums. Here are her top picks.
Vatican Museums
Look up at Michelangelo’s most famous masterpiece on a virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel. The available virtual tours are organised by location; click your way through various halls and galleries including the Raphael Room.
Louvre
This Parisian icon offers different curated, themed virtual tours. The whole family will love discovering the Egyptian Antiquities online (not just the mummies!) and budding history buffs will enjoy exploring the remains of the medieval moat.
Acropolis
Ancient architecture meets modern technology with 360-degree virtual panoramas of key spots in this Greek site. You can also follow a drone video tour!
Tower Of London
From the Normans to the Tudors, you can navigate different pinpointed locations on the virtual tour of this famous site on the River Thames.
More Awesome Virtual Tours
- Take a walking tour through Jerusalem, complete with voiceovers and labelled highlights including the Western Wall and Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre.
- You usually have to compete for sunrise views of Angkor Wat. Have the temple complex to yourself with these 360-degree panoramas in a breathtaking virtual tour.
- Japan’s National Tourism Organisation has released a virtual 360-degree film showcasing travel highlights such as bamboo forests and sushi-making demos.
- Download the free Chile 360 App for images and footage of the South American nation’s top icons, from the Atacama Desert to Easter Island.
- In what can only be described as an art-lover’s heaven, Google has collected top art museums in its Google Arts Collection. Van Gogh Museum, Tate Britain, MoMA and Uffizi Gallery are just some of the heavyweights featured, with images and information on their best-known pieces.
- Google Earth has awesome 3D virtual tours, including 30 major World Heritage sites (think Stonehenge, Taj Mahal and Great Pyramids) and 31 US National Parks (including Yellowstone, Yosemite and Grand Canyon).
- Trawl the travel channels of Youtube and you’re sure to find plenty of virtual tours. Virtual Travel is one such channel, with tours of Petra and Kruger National Park (among others) that place you in the driver’s seat.
These recommendations first appeared in Travel Without Limits magazine. Get more when you subscribe here!
