art gallery virtual tour free

50 World Class Museums To Enjoy Virtually Online For Free

Scoping out some museums for art-inspired travel? Here’s my guide to the best virtual museums you can visit online at home from the comfort of your couch or computer.

Many world class museums have released some or all of their collections online. Or they’ve partnered with Google Arts & Culture to make collections accessible in high resolution.

Some museums have used the technology that powers Google Street View to let you zoom in to see floor plans or specific art works.

If you can’t travel for any reason, this is a splendid time to travel virtually to a museum of your choice. There’s an almost dizzying array of virtual options.

It’s not quite like walking through a museum. But it has its own strange pleasures.

World Class Museums With Online Collections and Virtual Tours For At Home Viewing

Here’s my list of virtual tours for 50 amazing museums:

1. Uffizi Gallery, Florence Italy

Art lovers are rushing to the Virtual Uffizi Gallery Facebook page. Launched in 2020, the page already has over 50,000 followers.

The Uffizi is one of Europe’s best museums, housing priceless treasures of Italian Renaissance art collected by the powerful Medici family. The Uffizi has the world’s best collection of Gothic and Renaissance art.

This is where you can admire Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus and Primavera , Laocoön and his Sons , and Raphael’s Portrait of Pope Leo X with Two Cardinals .

Install the Google Arts & Culture App to explore the entire collection .

Here’s my comprehensive guide to the Uffizi Gallery and my must know Uffizi tips to prepare for your museum visit.

2. British Museum, London England

In London’s artsy Bloomsbury area is one the world’s foremost museums, the British Museum . Opened in 1753, it’s a universal museum, holding a massive collection of the world’s most important historic artifacts. It seeks to provide a cross cultural understanding of art owned by “humanity.”

But it’s owned by humanity in name only. Many of the goodies on display date from England’s reign as a major world super power.

It’s utterly amazing how much stuff the Brits gobbled up, with their obsessive fervor for quirky collecting. Like the hotly disputed Elgin Marbles taken from the Pantheon.

The British Museum allows virtual visitors 360 views of the Great Court, the ancient Rosetta Stone, and the Egyptian mummies. You can also find hundreds of artifacts on the museum’s virtual tour that can be enlarged, with links to curator descriptions of the pieces.

Here’s my complete guide to the British Museum .

3. Soloman R. Guggenheim Museum, New York City

Google’s Street View feature lets visitors virtually tour the Guggenheim’s famous spiral staircase designed by Frank Lloyd Wright . From there, you can see incredible masterpieces from the Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Modern, and Contemporary art periods.

Visit the museum’s popular online collection . There, you’ll find some of the Guggenheim’s most famous works, including Vasily Kandinsky’s Composition 8 (the most popular piece in 2019), Jackson Pollack’s Alchemy , and Edouard Manet’s Before the Mirror .

You can also check out the Guggenheim’s blog , with in-depth analyses of artists and art works.

4. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

The National Gallery of Art is home to some of the most amazing paintings in the world. Plus, as a Smithsonian branch, it’s free to visitors.

But since you can’t visit right now, the museum features two online exhibits through Google. The first is an exhibit of American fashion from 1740 to 1895. The second is a collection of works from Johannes Vermeer, the famous Dutch Baroque painter.

The museum also has a rotating collection of museum highlights online. The most famous pieces will wow you — Pablo Picasso’s Family of Saltimbanques , da Vinci’s Portriat of Ginerva de’ Benci , Vincent Van Gogh’s Roses , Claude Monet’s Woman with a Parasol, and Mary Cassat’s The Boating Party.

For more information, here’s my complete guide to the National Gallery .

5. Musée d’Orsay, Paris France

Ah, this is one of my favorite museums in Paris , housed in a beautiful converted railway station.

If you can’t visit the museum, you can virtually see dozens of famous works from French and European artists who toiled in Paris between 1848 and 1914. You’ll see artworks from Monet, Cézanne, Gauguin, and so many other artists.

In particular, the d’Orsay is a Van Gogh treasure trove. You can inspect his Self Portrait, Starry Night, Dr. Gachet , The Church at Auvers , and The Siesta .

Other masterpieces at the d’Orsay include Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass and Olympia, Paul Cezanne’s Card Players , Claude Monet’s Houses of Parliament , and Auguste Renoir’s Moulin de la Galette .

Here’s my comprehensive guide to masterpieces of the Orsay and must know tips for visiting the Orsay .

6. Louvre, Paris France

The Louvre is Paris’ iconic landmark and the world’s most visited museum. This treasure trove of history is closed right now. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have an arrangement with Google Arts & Culture.

But the Louvre does offer free virtual tours of some of its important exhibits, like the Egyptian Antiquities, Napoleon’s Rooms, the Medieval Louvre, and works by Michelangelo.

Via my blog, you can also explore the Louvre’s underrated masterpieces or take my virtual tour of the Louvre . I think the best painting in the Louvre , Theodore Gericault’s Raft of the Medusa .

If you’re a Beyonce fan, her recent music video featured pieces from the Louvre. Now, you can follow the Beyonce Louvre Trail .

READ : Louvre Survival Tips

7. Paris Museums Collections

In a collective effort, Paris museums have made 100,000 images of artworks from Paris museum collections freely available to the public.

This includes digital downloads of masterpieces by artists including Rembrandt, Gustave Courbet, and Eugène Delacroix.

Here’s the digital collections portal .

8. The Spy Museum, Washington D.C.

The Spy Museum is always a crowd pleaser. But if you’d like to avoid crowds, you can just visit online.

The Spy Museum gives you 360 degrees views of every room. It’s also got an amazing Pinterest account , featuring photos of its precious artifacts.

The Spy Museum even has a list online of the 10 most important pieces in its collection, including the Enigma Machine that Germany used in WWII to secretly communicate.

9. The Vatican Museums, Vatican City

I recently visited the Vatican Museums twice during a trip to Rome . The Vatican Museums are the public art and sculpture museums in the Vatican City complex.

The works in the Vatican are invaluable crowning glories of Western art. They tell stories of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, the history of the Catholic Church, and the birth of the Renaissance.

You can take an online virtual tour of the Vatican Museums, including the Sistine Chapel , the Pio Clementino Museum, and the Raphael Rooms .

I’ve also quite a few pieces on in which you can check out the art work.

• Vatican’s must see masterpieces
• Raphael Rooms  
• Hidden gems of the Vatican
• Best sculptures in the Vatican
• Sistine Chapel in the Vatican

10. The Dali Theater Museum, Figueres Spain

This is a delightfully eccentric single artist museum in Salvador Dali’s hometown of Figueres Spain. Designed by Dali himself, the pink bread encrusted museum is a surrealistic object itself.

I’ve written a complete guide to the Dali Museum . But you can also see some of its most famous pieces online .

Check out the Mae West Room, the Labyrinth, the Rain Taxi, the courtyard of golden Oscar statues, and the painting of Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea (a clever double image).

11. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam Netherlands

The Van Gogh Museum boasts the largest collection of paintings by the Post-Impressions master Vincent Van Gogh .

He’s an artist known for his colorful sunflowers, vivid landscapes, and searing portraits. Online, you can see panoramic views of the museum rooms.

The museum offers almost 1500 images of paintings to inspect. There’s also a 360 virtual tour of its Sunflower Gallery , with paintings from five international museums.

12. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Netherlands

If you love Dutch art, this is your chance to check out the preeminent source. The Rijksmuseum is well represented on Google Arts & Culture, with 150,000 items on display.

You’ll find masterpieces by Rembrandt ( The Night Watch , The Jewish Bride ), Vermeer ( The Milk Maid) , and Franz Hals ( The Wedding Portrait ) on their virtual tours . There’s also a Google Streets View of its grounds.

13. J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center, Los Angeles

Designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Richard Meier, the world famous Getty Center in southern California opened to the public in 1997.

The Getty Museum has an outstanding online virtual tour with Google Arts & Culture. It even has an outdoor virtual tour , which uses photography and time-lapse videos to enliven the experience.

There are 15,000 paintings and artifacts to see with accompanying audio explanations. Check out the Getty’s most famous pieces — Van Gogh’s Irises and Rembrandt Laughing , Renoir’s La Promenade , and the Lansdowne Herakles sculpture from Roman antiquity.

For more information, you can check out my guide to the Getty Center .

14. Museum of Modern Art, New York City US

The venerable MOMA boasts one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of modern and contemporary art in the world. A $450 million expansion in 2019 added 45,000 square feet of space.

It was the first museum solely dedicated to modern art. It has 84,000 pieces art on display online .

It’s seminal masterpieces include works by Jackson Pollack, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Willem de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, and the ever popular Impressionists. MOMA’s most famous piece is Van Gogh’s Starry Night .

15. Tate Modern, London England

The Tate Modern is my favorite museum in London, a city overflowing with marvelous free museums . Opened in 2000, it’s housed in the former Bankside Power Station. The industrial look seems fitting for its cutting edge art.

Among other modern art masterpieces , you can clap your eyes on Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Diptych , Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain , Amadeo Modigliani’s Peasant Boy , Pablo Picasso’s Nude Woman in a Red Armchair, Georgio de Chirico’s the Uncertainty of the Poet , and Henri Matisse’s The Snail, and Salvador Dali’s Lobster Telephone .

You can navigate the Tate Modern via Google Street View or explore its digitized masterpieces online . The Tate is to launch free online film tours of Andy Warhol (April 6) and Aubrey Beardsley (April 13) exhibitions on their YouTube channel .

16. National Gallery, London England

London’s National Gallery is an incredibly diverse museum, featuring 2,000 European paintings from the 13th to the 19th centuries.

You’ll find familiar names like Rembrandt, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, J.M.W. Turner, Monet, and Van Gogh.

READ : The Monet Guide To Paris

The most famous painting on display is Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin of the Rocks. But Van Gogh’s Sunflowers also draws hordes of admirers. Wherever you are, you can take a virtual tour .

Here’s my complete guide to the National Gallery .

17. The Prado Museum, Madrid Spain

The Prado Museum in Madrid is Spain’s cultural jewel. It boasts one of Europe’s finest and most sensuous painting collections.

The artistic anchors of the Prado are Francisco Goya, Diego Velázquez, and Peter Paul Rubens. But there are also masterpieces by Titian, Bosch, and El Greco.

Now you can Prado in your PJs. If you want to take a virtual tour of the Prado, you can. The Prado recently broadcast a live video in which its director, Miguel Falomir, gave a 20 minute talk on Tintoretto’s famed Christ Washing the Disciples’ Feet .

The Prado also has a 360 virtual tour of its Rubens exhibition and an impressive online collection of over 10,000 works of art. Smarthistory has a large cache of YouTube videos exploring many of the Prado’s best works. The Prado also does a live one hour show on Instagram, also posted on Facebook, every morning at 10:00 am.

Here’s my complete guide to visting the Prado .

18. The Reina Sofia, Madrid Spain

Opened in 1992, the Reina Sofia is Madrid’s modern art museum. Its collection is comprised entirely of art work from 1900 to the present.

There’s a special focus on Spain’s favorite sons, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali , and their respective schools of Cubism and Surrealism.

The star of the Reina Sofia is Guernica , Picasso’s grim depiction of the seemingly casual Nazi bombing of Guernica Spain in 1937.

The Reina Sofia recently tweeted a video showing the array of content it has online .

19. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid Spain

Housed in the Villahermosa Palace, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is named after art collector Baron Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza.

The museum covers every major period in Western art, from 13th century Italian Renaissance to 20th century Pop Art. It also has an important collection of 19th century American paintings not found elsewhere in Europe.

The museum offers virtual visits to both its permanent collection and temporary exhibits. You can also browse through thematic tours that center on fashion, food, love, and wine.

READ : Best Art Museums in Spain

20. Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. US

Washington D.C.’s Museum of Natural History is one of the most visited museums in the world. You can inspect some of its wonderful treasures with an online virtual tour of the entire grounds.

Viewers head into its rotunda and receive a comprehensive 360 room by room walking tour of its most exceptional exhibits, including the Hall of Mammals, Insect Zoo, and Dinosaurs and Hall of Paleobiology.

In general, the Smithsonian museums have also released 2.8 million images into the public domain. They’re searchable, shareable, and downloadable via the museum’s Open Access platform . The Smithsonian will continue to digitize and publish their collections.

21. The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg Russia

The State Hermitage is one of the world’s best museums. It’s the second largest museum in the world. It’s so large that it’s impossible to tackle in one real life visit anyway. Instead, you can explore its artsy endless halls with the Google Art Project guide.

Alternatively, check out the Hermitage website , which boasts a large digital archive with very convenient navigation. In the Highlights section, you’ll find the Hermitage’s most significant pieces: Faberge eggs, sculptures, and jewelry.

Some of its world class paintings include Rembrant’s Danae and The Return of the Prodigal Son , Henri Matisse’s Dance , Titian’s Danae , and Kandinsky’s Composition VI . Other Russian museums with significant online collections can be found here .

22. Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon Portugal

If you’re pining for Portugal , Lisbon’s Calouste Gulbenkian Museum has excellent online viewing options.

Thanks to a wealthy oil magnate, this gem of a museum is stuffed with a stunning range of treasures spanning 4,000 years. It’s one of the world’s largest and best private art collections, compiled over 40 years.

The museum has a 360 tour of the Founder’s Collection and the Modern Collection galleries. It also has an extensive online collection .

READ : 4 Day Itinerary for Lisbon

23. Tate Britain, London England

The Tate Britain may be London’s most beautiful museum. It boasts a domed rotunda, beautiful spiral staircase, terrazzo floors, and Victorian details. Built in the late 19th century, the Tate Britain underwent an extensive renovation completed in 2013. The result is an ultra pretty museum experience.

The Tate Britain is home to J. M. W. Turner’s watercolors and Francis Bacon’s abstract religious triptychs and screaming popes. Some of Tate Britain’s most famous paintings are here, including Sir John Everett Millais’ Ophelia , John William Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shalott , and John Constable’s Flatford Mill.

Of special note, there are 8 rooms dedicated to Turner, one of Britian’s greatest and most famous artists.

And you can enjoy it all online with Google Arts & Culture. And you can check out my guide to the Tate Britain , with must see masterpieces.

24. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City US

The Met is the largest museum in the United States. It has an extremely good online collection . There are over 200,000 works on Google Arts & Culture.

The Met also offers a 360 tour , consisting of 6 videos. The tour showcases different spaces inside the Met from unique angles.

Check out the Met’s best pieces — Georgia O’Keefe’s Cow’s Skull , Van Gogh’s Self Portrait with a Straw Hat , Monet’s Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies , Jacques Louis David’s The Death of Socrates , and Antonio Canova’s famous sculpture Venus Italica .

25. The Capitoline Museums, Rome Italy

If you love ancient Greco-Roman sculpture, the Capitoline Museums have a virtual tour of its floorplans and collections. You can also examine its exhibits on Google Arts & Culture .

The Capitoline Museums is Rome’s oldest museum complex, sitting atop a beautiful Michelangelo-designed square, the Piazza dei Campidoglio on Capitoline Hill. It gives you a unique look at Rome’s ancient imperial history. If you’re a history or archaeology buff, this is a must see site in Rome .

READ : 5 Day Itinerary For Rome

The Capitoline Museum boasts an enormous array of ancient Roman, medieval, and Renaissance art — statuary, paintings, and relics. The most famous pieces are the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius , Dying Gaul , Medusa , Capitoline Venus , Spinario , and Bust of Commodus .

Here’s my complete guide to the Capitoline Museums .

26. Raffaello Exhibit, Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome Italy

2020 marked the 500 year anniversary of the death of the Renaissance master Raphael . In honor of the great artist, Rome planned a landmark exhibition.

200 paintings had been gathered from all over Italy, from the Vatican Museums, and on loan from major museums worldwide.

Titled RAFFAELLO, the exhibition was planned to run from March 5th – June 2nd. But it was closed after several days. Fortunately a free virtual tour is now available. It’s narrated in Italian. But you can still admire the beauty of the art works.

27. Ara Pacis | Museum of the Altar of Peace, Rome Italy

The Ara Pacis Museum is dedicated to a single item — an ancient arch dedicated to the gods.

The arch was built by soon-to-be emperor Augustus, who had just pacified the barbarians. This victory marked the beginning of the Pax Roman, a 200 year golden age where arts and architecture flourished.

Opened in 2006, the altar-museum is housed in a modern pavilion designed by American architect Richard Meier. Examine all the intricacies of the altar with the museum’s virtual tour here .

28. The Acropolis Museum, Athens Greece

In 2009, Athens opened a gorgeous new museum, the Acropolis Museum.

Designed by French-Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi, it’s a $200 million state of the art rebuttal to the British Museum’s claim that Athens had nowhere to properly store and display the Elgin Marbles , disputed statuary from the Parthenon’s frieze.

The Acropolis Museum recreated the Parthenon friezes for display. It’s also home to 5,0000 year old artifacts excavated from the Acropolis, home to the Parthenon. Both the ruins and the neighboring museum are free to explore virtually on Google Maps .

READ : One Day In Athens Itinerary

29. Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples Italy

Located in the Capodimonte Palace, the Capodimonte Museum houses a collection of fine and decorative arts mostly from Naples. The core of its collection was compiled by the powerful Farnese and Bourbon families.

The Capodimonte Museum has works by Caravaggio, Masaccio, Titian, Raphael, El Greco, Bruegel, and Sebastiano del Piombo (who also decorated the Villa Farnesina in Rome). The museum’s most famous painting is probably The Gypsy Madonna by Correggio. You can visit the museum’s online collection here .

Thanks to the museum’s collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, the cultural and artistic gems of the Capodimonte Museum can be admired online from home.

The online Google Art & Culture platform contains over 536 works of art. The Google Street View tool allows visitors to enjoy 14 themed stories and virtual tours of museum masterpieces.

30. Picasso Museum, Barcelona Spain

Founded in 1963, the Picasso Museum in Barcelona was launched with a donation of 574 works by Picasso’s secretary, Jaime Sabartés. In 1970, Picasso himself donated 800 more pieces to the museum.

In this museum, you’ll find one of the most extensive collections of his work, 4000 pieces, certainly the best collection in Spain. The best part of the museum is where it’s housed — in five glorious adjoining medieval palaces.

You can browse the highlights of the museum’s online collection here , though the images are rather small. You can take a virtual tour of the palaces here . The palace tour takes you on a private guided tour of the museum’s architectural elements.

If you’d like more Picasso, here’s my guide to the Picasso museums in Europe and my guide to the Picasso Museum in Paris .

31. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston MA

Ah, this is one of my favorite museums in the United States. If you’re a museum or art lover, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a must see site in Boston Massachusetts . I just adored it.

The museum houses gorgeous paintings from the Italian Renaissance and Dutch Golden Age in an exquisite Venetian-style palazzo. The collection was assembled by Gardner herself, who was a wealthy maverick and avid art collector.

Gardner carefully curated and installed her collection amid the three floors of intimate gallery spaces and the interior courtyard with a skylit roof. Each room is named and sumptuously decorated.

In effect, the museum is a total work of art with Gardner as the installation artist. You’ll find pieces by John Singer Sargent, Rembrandt, Francisco Zurburan, Titian, and Sandro Botticelli.

Here’s my guide to the Gardner Museum . You can also take a virtual tour through Google Arts & Culture . If you’ve never watched the fascinating introductory video on the museum’s homepage , now’s the perfect time.

32. Musee de L’Orangerie, Paris France

Paris’ Musée de l’Orangerie, or the Orangerie Museum, is one of the best small museums in Paris . It’s a quick 10 minute walk from its more popular sister museum the Musée D’Orsay. And it’s completely worth the detour, a hidden gem in Paris just waiting for avid fans of the Impressionist painter Claude Monet.

The Orangerie’s main claim to fame is its famed collection of Monet’s water lilies, some of which can also be found at the equally stunning Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris’ 16th arrondissement.

In 1927, the water lilies were set in massive curved panels and installed in two adjoining oval shaped rooms in the new museum. Some art historians call the Orangerie the world’s first “art installation” because the space was designed specifically for Monet’s water lilies.

Here’s my complete guide to the Orangerie . You can also visit the museum masterpieces virtually on Google Arts & Culture.

33. Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao Spain

Who can argue with the emblematic Guggenheim Museum ? Inaugurated in 1997, Frank Gehry’s twisting shimmering museum is the star of the underrated city of Bilbao Spain .

The space age building is an awe-inspiring blend of titanium, glass, and limestone. The scaly exterior evokes a silvery fish and the wings of the building the wind-filled sails of a ship.

Outside, there’s a veritable sculpture museum. Inside, the Guggenheim’s modern art collection is on par with Europe’s best modern art museums. You’ll find works by Robert Motherwell, Yves Klein, Andy Warhol, Eduardo Chillada, and Anselm Kiefer.

Via Google Arts & Culture, you can explore the Guggenheim Bilbao. The online offering includes cinematographic photos, videos, and guided tours of masterpieces from the collection.

READ : 2 Day Itinerary for Bilbao

34. Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh PA

This wonderful single artist museum celebrates Pittsburgh’s hippest native son, who made himself a world famous Pop artist. As the Prince of Pop, Andy Warhol was a hugely significant artist of the second half of the 20th century. Warhol cannily merged superficial commerce and fine art, popularizing robotic everyday images.

Opened in 1994, the Andy Warhol Museum is a chic urban venue. It’s an immersive and well curated museum. The museum has 7 floors in chronological order. You’ll see seminal works from the 1940s to Warhol’s death in 1987, with explanations of Warhol’s creative process.

The Warhol Museum has some of its art and archives online here . You can read about Warhol’s life here .

If you want to see more Warhol work, you can read my guide to the Warhol Museum and find other Warhol’s pieces on Google Arts & Culture .

35. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago IL

The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the best, and incredibly diverse, museums in the United States. It has the best collection of Impressionist paintings outside Paris and a spectacular modern art section.

The museum’s standout masterpieces include Grant Wood’s American Gothic , Georges Seurat’s Sunday on La Grand Jatte , Andy Warhol’s Liz #3 , Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks , Joan Mitchell’s City Landscape 1955, and Monet’s Stacks of Wheat.

You can now tour the renowned museum on Google Arts & Culture . If you’re interested in interiors, take a virtual tour of the Thorne Miniature Rooms.

If you want to explore ancient Roman ruins, there are over a 1,000 pieces online , including a noseless bust of Emperor Hadrian.

36. Museo Napoleonico, Rome Italy

Housed in the Palazzo Primoli, this Roman museum is dedicated to the period of Napoleon and his connection to Italy. Located just north of the Piazza Navona, the museum contains the collections of Count Giuseppe Primoli. He was the great grandson of Joseph and Lucien Bonaparte.

Primoli’s aim was to present the imperial family from his own private point of view. The museum is still arranged as he envisioned it.

You’ll find painting, artifacts, sculptures, Napoleon’s outfits, books, memorabilia, etc. If you’re a history buff, this museum is for you.

The Museo Napoleonico has an excellent multimedia virtual tour . You can take a 360 tour of the collection. Or you can go to the photo gallery, click on a specific photo, and get a wealth of information.

37. The Doge’s Palace, Venice Italy

Set in St. Mark’s Square, the Doge’s Palace or Palazzo Ducale is the very symbol of Venice and a must see site in the city .

This pink and white marble Gothic-Renaissance building was the official residence of the doges who ruled Venice for more than 1,000 years. It was held Casanova in a cell, but he dramatically escaped

Aside from the gorgeous rooms and staircases, there’s some fantastic works of art on display: Veronese’s Rape of Europe and The Triumph of Venice, many paintings and ceilings by Tintoretto, and Tiepolo’s Neptune Bestowing Gifts upon Venice .

You can tour the Doge’s Palace virtually on Google Arts & Culture , take a 360 tour of the exterior, or take a 360 tour of the city of Venice itself.

READ : 2 Day Itinerary for Venice

38. The Belvedere Palace, Vienna Austria

The Belvedere Palace is one of Vienna’s most visited tourist spots and an important UNESCO site for its showy architectural ensemble. The Belvedere is also one of Europe’s most important museums.

The Belvedere’s a haven of Baroque and Austrian art from the 19th and 20th centuries. Its main claim to fame is the world’s largest collection of Gustav Klimt paintings, including the world famous The Kiss . It also boasts masterworks by Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, two important Expressionist painters.

Here’s my complete guide to visiting the Belvedere Palace . You can also tour it virtually on Google Arts & Culture . There’s also an online exhibit dedicated to The Kiss . If you like Klimt’s gold toned art nouveau pieces, I also have a guide on where to find Klimt art work in Vienna .

39. Alte Pinakothek, Munich Germany

Munich’s most touted museum is the Alte Pinakothek . The museum shows off a collection of European masterpieces from the 14th to 19th centuries.

You’ll see a goodly number of paintings from the Italian Renaissance, including works by da Vinci, Raphael, Botticelli, and Titian. You’ll also find Albrecht Durer’s mysterious Self Portrait, and other old master treasures.

You can virtually tour the Alte Pinakothek online at Google Arts & Culture , where they have a massive collection. I also like this Rick Steve’s video about the museum.

READ : 4 Day Itinerary for Munich

40 . Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, Seville Spain

The Museo de Bellas Artes , or Museum of Fine Arts, is a smashing museum, quite lovely. It’s known, after the Prado, as the “second art gallery in Spain.” It’s housed in a salmon colored former convent in Seville Spain .

The museum has art from the middle ages to the 20th century. But it’s most known for its collection of 17th century art from Spain’s Golden Age, featuring Spain’s top painters Zurbarán, Murillo, El Greco, and Velazquez. You’ll see a lot of monks, balding saints, cherubs, and depictions of Christ.

You can take a virtual tour of the Seville Museum of Fine Arts’ masterpieces on Google Arts & Culture . There are excellent online exhibits on Baroque masters and on the museum’s superstar Murillo .

41. Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao Virtual Tour, Bilbao Spain

Often overshadowed by the famous Guggenheim Bilbao, the Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao is nonetheless one of Spain’s best museums. If you’re an art lover, you should definitely visit in person one day.

Located in Bilbao’s Abando neighborhood, the museum boasts over 10,000 art works, arranged chronologically from the 12th century to the present. It has works by Spanish artists Picasso , Goya , El Greco, Zurbaran, and Chillada, as well as many international artists.

You can explore the collection of the Bilbao Museum of Fine Arts on Google Arts & Culture .

42. Musee Rodin, Rodin Museum, Paris France

Opened in 1919, the Rodin Museum is a shrine to the complex life and oeuvre of one of France’s most revered artists, Auguste Rodin . Rodin is considered the father of modern sculpture. Rodin’s titular museum is housed in the 18th century Hotel Biron, a romantic mansion where Rodin created some of his greatest works.

The museum’s permanent collection includes many iconic Rodin sculptures and works from Rodin’s brilliant student Camille Claudel . The Rodin Museum also has a vast and verdant sculpture garden. In it, Rodin hand placed some of his favorite and most iconic sculptures.

The Rodin Museum has added some online audio tours. You can take a virtual tour of his famous sculpture The Thinker , read stories about Rodin’s life, and view and learn about 40 of the figures in his masterpiece The Gates of Hell .

You can also explore over 300 Rodin sculptures on Google Arts & Culture . Here’s my complete guide to the Rodin Museum , if you want to know more.

43. Musée National Picasso, Picasso Museum, Paris France

Paris’ Picasso Museum is a fantastic single artist museum. It holds one of Paris’ most treasured art collections, shown off in an elegant private mansion in the Marais.

What I love most about the Picasso Museum is that it houses all the art that Picasso himself couldn’t part with. It’s a personal collection that he created, curated, lived with, and kept nearby his entire life. The museum showcases all the artistic periods of his long life, all the women he romanced, and reveals his extraordinary range and talent.

Here’s an excellent series of audio tours of Picasso Museum masterpieces. The museum itself doesn’t yet have a very good online collection.

But you can check out virtual tours of the museum on YouTube here and here . Smarthistory offers 13 virtual tours of seminal Picasso works. And you get explore Picasso paintings on Google Arts & Culture .

Here’s my complete guide to visiting the Picasso Museum in Paris .

44. The Palace of Versailles, Versailles France

The Palace of Versailles has opened its digital doors. Built by the Sun King Louis XIV, the Palace of Versailles is the most ornate and famous royal chateau in France, located just outside Paris. Once behind closed doors, the 17th century palace is now yours for digital viewing at home.

The palace has partnered with Google Arts & Culture to present virtual exhibits online. Google takes users on a journey of the palace’s rich decor and art collection of over 22,000 pieces.

You can also take a plethora of amazing virtual tours on the Palace of Versailles’ website . Nothing is left out! You can see the Hall of Mirrors, the royal apartments, tour the famous Le Notre gardens, etc.

For the full scoop on everything you can see and read online, here’s my guide to taking a digital tour of the Palace of Versailles .

45. Bernardo Museum | Museu Colecção Berardo, Lisbon Portugal

The Bernardo Museum is Lisbon’s modern art museum. Located in the Belem district, it’s a fabulous museum with over 1,000 works from the 20th and 21st centuries.

The ultra-white, minimalist gallery displays billionaire José Berardo’s eye-popping collection of abstract, surrealist and pop art.

It includes art work by such luminaries as David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Francis Bacon, and Willem de Kooning. Picasso’s early Tete de Femme from 1909 and Warhol’s iconic Brillo Box are highlights.

You can take virtually visit the museum on Google Arts & Culture. And here’s a 360 virtual tour where you can admire the art up close.

46. Cluny Museum, the National Museum of the Middle Ages, Paris France

Are you a history buff who wants to be transported back to the late Middle Ages? Or are you, like everyone else it seems, just crazy for mythical unicorns? If so, the Musée Cluny is a must see site in the Latin Quarter of Paris.

It’s truly one of my favorite museums in Paris. The museum’s housed in the Hotel de Cluny, built in the 14th century and adjacent to an extant Roman bath.

The Cluny Museum is dedicated to all things from the Middle Ages. Its centerpiece is the famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. They’re considered the Mona Lisa of tapestries and one of the greatest surviving medieval relics.

You can take a virtual YouTube tour of the museum here . And here’s a 360 tour of the beautiful museum. You can also check out my guide to the Cluny .

47. The Petit Palais, Paris France

Like its sister palace the Grand Palais, the Petit Palais was built for Paris’ 1900 World Fair. It became a museum in 1902. Designed in the Beaux-Arts style by famous architect Charles Girault, the Petit Palais is a charming small museum.

It houses French paintings, sculpture, and artifacts from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Petit Palais collection includes artists as diverse as Rembrandt, Fragonard, Delacroix, Cézanne, Courbot, Corot, Monet, Rodin, Sisley, Pissarro, and many others. There’s also a section dedicated to Roman and Greek art.

Though the museum isn’t on Google Arts & Culture, it has a very good online collection for you to explore. You can also virtually visit its current temporary exhibition, In the Drawing Room , featuring Masterpieces of the Prat Collection. And here’s a YouTube video of the museum’s collection.

For more information, here’s my guide to the Petit Palais .

48. Palazzo Barberini | Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, Rome Italy

Palazzo Barberini is an underrated museum in Rome. But it’s definitely an art lover’s art gallery. Recent restorations give it an unapologetically grand wow factor. The museum holds some of Europe’s classic paintings by the great masters.

The Barberini Palace is 12,000 square meters and has 187 rooms. It has beautiful staircases by Borromini and Bernini.

It’s home to one of Raphael’s most famous paintings, La Fornarina . It’s a painting of the “baker’s daughter,” whom Raphael had fallen in love with while fresco painting in the Villa Farnesina.

Other master works include Caravaggio’s Narcissus and Judith and Holofernes , Holbein’s Henry VIII , and the ceiling fresco by Pietro da Cortona.

You can take a live tour with a museum guide here , a virtual tour with a museum curator on YouTube here , and get a 360 view of the current exhibit on Claude Monet here .

You can also check out my guide to the Palazzo Barberini .

READ : Secret Palace Museums in Rome

49. Louis Vuitton Foundation

Inaugurated in 2014, the Louis Vuitton Foundation houses the collection of Bernard Arnault. It’s a chic little museum tucked into a stunning Frank Gehry designed glass building located in the Bois de Bologne. The Foundation houses modern and contemporary art from the 1960s to the present.

The museum’s permanent collection showcases Pop, Expressionistic, and Contemplative pieces. You’ll find masterpieces by the likes of Egon Schiele, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons, Henri Matisse, and Ellsworth Kelly. The foundation hosts temporary exhibits as well.

You can take a virtual tour here . Or read my guide to the Louis Vuitton Fondation .

50. NASA Headquarters

If you geek out on science, you’ll be pleased to know that NASA offers virtual tours of its research centers. Their extensive virtual tours combine videos, text, and 360 degree views. You may feel like you’re on a school field trip.

Here are some virtual tours from NASA worth exploring:

NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, USA

NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia

The Space Telescope Operations Control Center at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland

* * * * * * *

This is just a sampling of world class museums to enjoy virtually from home. There are over 2500 virtual tours on Google Arts & Culture. If you’d like to explore more online travel and culture sites, here are my other virtual tour guides:

• Virtual Rome
• Virtual Lisbon
• Virtual London
• Virtual Barcelona
• Virtual Paris
• Virtual Versailles
• Virtual Venice
• Virtual France
• Virtual Andalusia
• Virtual French Chateaux
• Virtual Paris Museums
• Virtual Italian Museums

Virtual Spanish Museums

If you’d like to tour world class museums online, pin it for later.

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Last Updated on March 30, 2023 by Leslie Livingston

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These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch

Experience the best museums — from London to Seoul — from the comfort of your own home.

While there's nothing like setting foot inside an iconic museum and laying eyes on a world-famous sculpture created by a renowned artist centuries ago, it's not always possible to hop on a plane to New York City , Paris , or Florence to tour the gallery halls in person.

But there is a way to get a little culture and education while you're at home, gaining inspiration and intel for future trips as well. Google Arts & Culture has teamed up with more than 1,200 museums and galleries around the world to bring anyone and everyone virtual tours and online exhibits of some of the most famous museums around the world.

You get to "go to the museum" and never have to leave your couch.

Google Arts & Culture's collection includes The British Museum in London, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the Guggenheim in New York City, and literally hundreds more places where you can gain knowledge about art, history, and science.

Take a look at just some of Google's top museums that are offering online tours and exhibits. And if you're seeking more thoughtful inspiration from the comfort of your own home, museums around the world are sharing their most zen art on social media . Or, for a dose of nature, you can go "outside" with incredible virtual tours of some of America's best national parks .

The 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 artifacts on The Museum of the World interactive website, a collaboration between The British Museum and Google Cultural Institute.

Guggenheim, 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.

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.

Don Eim/Travel + Leisure

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.

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.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Explore masterpieces 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.

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Anyone who's a fan of this tragic, ingenious painter can see his works up close (or, almost up close ) by virtually visiting this museum, home to the largest collection of artworks by Vincent van Gogh, including more than 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and 750 personal letters.

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

European artworks from as far back as the eighth 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.

Uffizi Gallery, Florence

This less well-known gallery houses the art collection of one of Florence's most famous families, the de' Medicis. The building was designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 specifically for Cosimo I de' Medici, but anyone can wander its halls from anywhere in the world .

MASP, São Paulo

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo is a nonprofit and Brazil's first modern museum. Artworks placed on clear, raised frames make it seem like they're 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 22 exhibit rooms filled with ancient artifacts, including some from the Maya civilization.

Not all popular art museums and galleries are included in Google Arts & Culture's collection, but some have taken it upon themselves to offer online visits. For example, the Louvre offers virtual tours on its website .

To see more of Google Arts & Culture's collection of museums, visit its website . There are thousands of museum Street Views on Google as well. Google Arts & Culture also has an online experience for exploring famous historic and cultural heritage sites .

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18 Free Online Museum Tours To Enjoy Without Leaving Your Couch

Culture up your day without leaving the comfort of your home with these free online museum tours from around the world.

As the history of museums is entering its digital age, more and more art institutions are choosing to expand their online services. Most large museums today offer online access to their collections. Other online resources such as videos, podcasts, games, etc, are also quite common. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, virtual tours of museums have become a popular substitute for physically visiting museum exhibitions. As a result, free online museum tours are becoming more and more available to the international audience.

From Paris to Seoul, and from Moscow to Mexico City, this is our list of 18 free online museum tours. For additional online art experiences, don’t forget to check our 9 Amazing Online Art Resources To Enjoy At Home .

Free Online Museum Tours

1. the louvre museum, france.

The Louvre’s Petite Gallerie offers virtual tours in the famous museum of Paris. This is the best way to explore the architecture, the exhibits, and the history of France’s leading museum without leaving the comfort of your home.

You can also watch 800 Years of History , a short documentary on the history of the museum, or a series of YouTube videos offering guided tours. In addition, the Louvre offers a VR experience of the Mona Lisa as well as a closer look at its masterpieces through multiple audiovisual supplements.

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Please check your inbox to activate your subscription, 2. musée d’orsay, france.

See works by famous Impressionist and Expressionist artists like Monet , Renoir , Van Gogh , Degas , Claudel and so many more with a virtual visit at Paris’ Musée d’Orsay.

Worth exploring is also the research program The digital worlds of Orsay, where historian Pierre Singaravélou offers a new text three times a week on famous or unknown works from the museum’s collection.

3. Rijksmuseum, Netherlands

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is one of the leading museums in Europe offering a rich variety of online resources . At the center of its home services, lies the Rijkstudio , which allows you to dive into the museum’s vast collection of 707,967 works of art.

Take a free online tour of the museum through Google’s Art and Culture project. Worth exploring is also the Discover Masterpieces virtual tour which takes you through the most prized exhibits of the Dutch museum.

Among the museum’s most famous artworks is without a doubt Rembrandt’s Night Watch.  The Rijksmuseum offers a virtual tour explaining all the details you need to know about the famous painting.

You can also play Key Challenges , an interactive game set in the museum’s main exhibition.

Rijksmuseum from Home is a series of videos where museum employees share their favorite objects from the collection.

If you are still not satisfied with these tours and resources, then have a look at “10 ways to visit Rijksmuseum without leaving home.”

4. Van Gogh Museum, Netherlands

One of Europe’s most popular attractions, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is a true monument to the life and work of Vincent Van Gogh . Take a full virtual tour of the museum’s exhibition and immerse yourself in the post-impressionist art of Van Gogh.

If you are a fan of the Dutch painter, you should also check out Van Gogh Worldwide , the most complete resource of Van Gogh paintings and archival material.

5. Vatican Museums, Vatican

The Vatican Museums consist of 54 galleries or sale. These received 6 million visitors in 2019 making the Vatican Museums the third largest museum in the world.

You can explore the galleries at the Vatican Museums website . The institution also offers 360 virtual tours of some of its most iconic monuments like the Sistine Chapel and Raphael’s Rooms with painted decoration by Michelangelo and Raphael respectively.

6. Uffizi Galleries, Italy

Florence’s leading museum that started as the collection of the Medici family in the Renaissance , is home to some of the most famous artworks in the world.

If you visit the museum’s website you will be able to explore its online collections and take a free virtual tour of its new gallery, as well as other exhibitions like the one on Saint Francis. The Uffizi can also be explored via Google Art and Culture .

7. Reina Sofia, Spain

If you like 20th-century Spanish artists like Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali , then the Reina Sofia in Madrid is the museum for you. However, if Spain is out of your reach, why not check out this virtual tour and the museum’s online resources.

Reina Sofia’s Rethinking Guernica is an online space devoted to material related to Picasso’s masterpiece Guernica. Also, the museum’s Gigapixel is a project offering a selection of hi-resolution artworks by artists like Dali, Miro, Mason, Picasso, Santos, and more.

Other multimedia like podcasts, lectures, and short video documentaries on the Reina Sofia are available here .

8. Acropolis Museum, Greece

The Acropolis Museum is home to the archaeological treasures of the Acropolis of Athens . The museum offers a series of online activities and resources.

You can browse through its collection and discover the history of the Parthenon marbles thanks to the museum’s collaboration with Google Art and Culture .

Also, the museum offers a series of online interactive games that are ideal for young explorers interested in the secrets of classical antiquity.

9. The State Hermitage Museum, Russia

The Hermitage in St Petersburg is one of the richest museums in the world with more than three million items in its collections. The museum’s exhibition includes everything from Egyptian and Greek, to Renaissance and Modern art.

You can visit all of the museum’s rooms with a virtual tour and experience the Hermitage without wearing your wintertime clothes to go to Russia.

10. Pergamon Museum, Germany

Berlin’s world-famous institution offers a comprehensive range of online and virtual material. You can take a virtual tour of the museum or play around with a 3d model of the Pergamon altar , the jewel of the museum and a marvel of Hellenistic art .

Worth seeing is also the colorful Ishtar Gate from Babylon.

11. British Museum, United Kingdom

The British Museum grew out of the cabinet of curiosities of the British collector Hans Sloane and now includes a massive collection of more than eight million items.

There are many ways to experience the museum online. The best are to take a virtual tour  or visit its virtual galleries .

The British Museum also offers other resources like online access to its collections, podcasts, audio tours, videos, and more.

If you are interested in finding more ways to explore the British Museum from the comfort of your home, then you should read this British Museum blog .

12. Tate Britain, United Kingdom

Tate Britain houses one of the largest collections of J.W. Turner’s paintings which you can now explore with this virtual tour.

The museum’s website provides audio tours of the museum and various online tours on various themes.

13. National Museum Of Anthropology, Mexico

The National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City is devoted to the history of Mexico’s prehispanic civilizations.

Explore the past of the American continent and take a virtual walk at the museum’s rooms with this free online virtual tour .

14. The Met, U.S.A.

The Metropolitan Museum is another institution that has partnered with Google Arts and Culture to offer free online museum tours to a worldwide audience.

Also on the museum’s website, you will find multiple online resources like The Met 360° , a series of six short videos inviting viewers to virtually experience the Met’s architecture and art.

Worth exploring is also the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History offering more than 1,000 essays on art and global culture using the Met’s collection as a point of reference.

15. MoMA, U.S.A

New York’s leading institution on modern and contemporary art is also offering free online museum tours and resources.

There is a comprehensive virtual tour of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) available on Google Arts and Culture.

Furthermore, the museum has a series of online resources and projects available on its website that allow you to explore its collections and exhibitions. An absolute highlight is the 3D model of Van Gogh’s Starry Night .

16. J. Paul Getty Museum, U.S.A.

Los Angeles is only a second away. Just click here and you will immediately teleport to the virtual tour of the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Take a look at the museum’s website for other online resources and access to its collection.

17. National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, South Korea

Dive into the history of Korean modern art with this virtual tour of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and travel to Seoul without buying a plane ticket.

Don’t forget to check the Online Museum section at the museum’s website which offers interviews with artists and curators, exhibition guides, and more.

18. Museu National, Brazil: A Virtual Tour Against Destruction

Brazil’s National Museum made headlines in 2018 when a good part of its building was destroyed in a fire.

However, thanks to a Google Arts and Culture virtual tour , you can still travel in space and time to take a virtual peek at the museum and its collections before the destruction of 2018.

History of Museums: A Look at The Learning Institutions Through Time

By Antonis Chaliakopoulos MSc Museum Studies, BA History & Archaeology Antonis is an archaeologist with a passion for museums and heritage and a keen interest in aesthetics and the reception of classical art. He holds an MSc in Museum Studies from the University of Glasgow and a BA in History and Archaeology from the University of Athens (NKUA) where he is currently working on his PhD.

Frequently Read Together

Free Art Online: 9 Amazing Resources To Enjoy At Home

Impressionist Art for Dummies: A Beginners Guide

Expressionism: 10 Iconic Paintings & Their Artists

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10 of the world’s best virtual museum and art gallery tours

The originals are out of reach for now, but you can still see world-class art – without the queues or ticket prices – with an online tour of these famous museums

A rt lovers can view thousands of paintings, sculptures, installations and new work online – many in minute detail – as well as explore the museums themselves. There are various platforms: from interactive, 360-degree videos and full “walk-around” tours with voiceover descriptions to slideshows with zoomable photos of the world’s greatest artworks. And many allow viewers to get closer to the art than they could do in real life.

So, take a break from the news, enter full-screen mode and start your art adventure in sunny California …

J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

With more than 6,000 years worth of creative treasures, the Getty is one of the best places for art on the west coast of the US. Go from neolithic clay figures to Van Gogh’s Irises and Renoir’s La Promenade – just two of many artworks that feature in the virtual tour . As with several of our selection, Google Arts and Culture offers a “ museum view ” tool to look inside gallery spaces, with clickable artworks presenting further information. The Getty’s sunny sculpture plaza and garden terrace are worth adding to your digital trip, via another viewing platform, Xplorit . getty.edu

Vatican Museums, Rome

Soaring vaulted ceilings, intricate murals and tapestries, the Vatican’s museums are creatively rich sites. Don’t forget to look up when exploring the seven spaces in the museum’s virtual tour, to gawp at a series of 360-degree images, including the Sistine Chapel. Wander around the rest of Vatican City with a You Visit tour that takes in Saint Peter’s Basilica and Square, complete with a tour guide narrating each interactive space. museivaticani.va

Guggenheim, Bilbao

Frank Gehry’s sculptured titanium and steel building, on the banks of the Nervión River, is one of the world’s most distinctive art spaces. The interactive tour takes viewers around its collection of postwar American and European painting and sculpture – Rothko, Holzer, Koons, Kapoor – and even down between the weathered curves of Serra’s Matter of Time (turn left at the entrance). guggenheim-bilbao.eus

Natural History Museum, London

From the diplodocus to the dodo, botany to butterflies, giant crystals to specimens in jars … the Natural History Museum’s vast collection has long been a favourite of both Londoners and tourists. Get lost in the corridors and gallery spaces – one treat is Dippy the dino, who despite recently going on tour still makes an appearance in the entrance hall in this interactive online guide . nhm.ac.uk

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

This grand museum has a vast collection of art and historical objects across 80 galleries. A 10-year renovation project was completed in 2013, transforming the space and combining elements of 19th-century grandeur with modern lighting and a new glass-roofed atrium. The interactive tour helps viewers get up close to every brush stroke by Vermeer, Rembrandt and other Dutch masters while exploring the Great Hall and beyond. rijksmuseum.nl

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, South Korea

There are several sites making up this museum: the main gallery in Gwacheon and branches in Deoksugung, Seoul and Cheongju. The virtual tours explore an inspiring mix of print, design, sculpture, photography, new media and other large-scale installations. From Joseph Beuys to Warhol and Nam June Paik, the collection includes an international lineup of established artists, contemporary Korean artworks and emerging names. mmca.go.kr

Musée d’Orsay, Paris

In the former Gare d’Orsay, a Paris railway station and hotel, the musée is home to Cézanne, Monet and other French masters. Under a 138m-long curved glass roof, sits the largest collection of impressionist and post-Impressionist works in the world. The virtual tour also includes an online exhibition charting the history of the building. And over on Tourist Tube there’s a 360-degree view of the magnificent exterior. m.musee-orsay.fr

British Museum, London

There are 3,212 panes of glass in the domed ceiling of the British Museum’s Great Court, and no two are the same – and the 360-degree view in this virtual tour lets viewers examine each and every one. Beyond this magnificent space, viewers can find the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies and other ancient wonders. The museum’s interactive infographic platform, History Connected , goes into further depth of various objects with curators, along a timeline. britishmuseum.org

MASP, São Paulo, Brazil

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo has one of the broadest historical collections available to view via its virtual gallery platform , spanning from the 14th to 20th centuries. Paintings appear suspended in the air around the open-plan space, on glass panels or “crystal easels” as the museum calls them. There’s also a temporary retrospective exhibition by Brazilian pop artist Teresinha Soares beside the building’s statement red staircase. The glass and red-beam structure, built in 1968, is worth a look from the outside too, via Google Street View . masp.org.br

National Gallery, London

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Virtual tours of the National Gallery

Wherever you are in the world, take a tour of the National Gallery.

Our virtual tours allow you to step inside the Gallery and explore one of the greatest collections of paintings, from the comfort of your home.

Experience the Gallery in virtual reality through your desktop, phone or VR headset.

The Director's Choice virtual exhibition

Visit a virtual space showing a selection of paintings chosen and narrated by our Director, Dr Gabriele Finaldi.

Take the Director's tour

Fit for a Queen virtual exhibition

Visit our virtual gallery of 28 paintings which celebrates Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Find out more about 'Fit for a Queen'

Fruits of the Spirit virtual exhibition

Visit our virtual exhibition that juxtaposes nine works of art from the National Gallery’s collection with nine works of art from partner institutions across the UK.

Find out more about 'Fruits of the Spirit'

'Sensing the Unseen: Step into Gossaert’s ‘Adoration’, mobile edition'

Immerse yourself in the world of Gossaert’s masterpiece and its awe-inspiring intricate detail.

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Virtual Travel

A Smithsonian magazine special report

Smart News | March 20, 2020

Ten Museums You Can Virtually Visit

Museums are closing their doors amid the coronavirus crisis, but many offer digital exhibitions visitors can browse from the comfort of home

Nadine Daher

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, museums and cultural institutions across the globe are closing their doors to the public. But while visitors can no longer roam the halls of these institutions, virtual tools and online experiences mean anyone with an internet connection can browse world-class collections from home.

The Smithsonian Institution , of course, has its own array of virtual tours, experiences and educational resources . Among the other experiences on offer: Scroll through an extensive trove of 3-D photographs from the Minneapolis Institute of Art , explore online exhibits from the National Women’s History Museum in Virginia, or admire artistic masterpieces from the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Spain. Additionally, around 2,500 museums and galleries, including the Uffizi Galleries in Florence and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, are offering virtual tours and presenting online collections via the Google Arts and Culture portal.

For those in search of armchair travel inspiration, Smithsonian magazine has compiled a list of ten museums that have found new ways to fulfill their critical mission of cultivating creativity and spreading knowledge.

The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza

Home to the world’s second largest private collection of art, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza owns masterpieces by giants of virtually every art movement—to name just a few, Jan van Eyck, Titian, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Picasso and Dalí. To spotlight these artistic treasures, the Madrid museum offers an array of multimedia resources . Users can take a virtual tour of the entire building (or a thematic tour covering such topics as food, sustainability, fashion and even “inclusive love”); browse current and closed exhibits ; and watch behind-the-scenes videos featuring interviews, lectures and technical studies.

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Committed to offering a culturally rewarding experience since opening its doors in 2013, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul (MMCA) has established itself as a prominent cultural platform and leader in Korean art. In collaboration with Google Arts and Culture, the MMCA is now offering a virtual tour of its collections. This experience takes visitors through six floors of modern and contemporary art from Korea and around the world. Those seeking an educational walkthrough can follow along by tuning into curator-led recorded tours.

The Anne Frank House

The Anne Frank House , established in cooperation with the famed diarist’s father, Otto, in 1957, strives to inform the public through educational programs and tours of the building where the teenager and her family hid during World War II. To delve deeper into the story detailed in Frank’s diary, online visitors can watch videos about her life; virtually explore the Secret Annex ; look around the house where she lived before going into hiding; and view the Google Arts and Culture exhibition “ Anne Frank: Her Life, Her Diary, Her Legacy .”

The Vatican Museums

Home to some 70,000 artworks and artifacts spanning centuries, continents and mediums, the 5.5-hectare Vatican Museums are among Italy’s finest cultural institutions. Virtual visitors can tour seven different sections of the sprawling complex, enjoying 360-degree views of the Sistine Chapel , perhaps best known for Michelangelo’s ceiling and Last Judgment fresco; Raphael’s Rooms , where the Renaissance artist’s School of Athens resides; and lesser-known but equally sumptuous locations such as the Pio Clementino Museum, the Niccoline Chapel and the Room of the Chiaroscuri.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

“Since its founding, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has maintained a belief in the transformative powers of art,” reads the Manhattan museum’s website . “In uncertain times such as these, art can provide both solace and inspiration.”

In a nod to this mission, the Guggenheim , a cultural center and educational institution devoted to modern and contemporary art, has opened up its collections to online visitors. The building itself, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is an architectural masterpiece; audiences can listen to an audio guide of its history or journey up its spiral halls via a Google Arts and Culture virtual tour . For those who want to take a deeper dive into the museum’s collections, the Guggenheim’s online database features some 1,700 artworks by more than 625 artists.

The London National Gallery

Take a virtual tour of 18 gallery rooms, enjoy a panoramic view of the museum’s halls and click through a wide collection of artistic masterpieces using the National Gallery ’s virtual tools . Based in London, this museum houses more than 2,300 works reflecting the Western European tradition between the 13th and 19th centuries. Collection highlights include Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers and J.M.W Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire .

NASA Research Centers

For those fascinated by space exploration, NASA offers online visitors the chance to take a behind-the-scenes look inside its facilities. Visitors can take virtual tours of the organization’s research centers, where aeronautic technology is developed and tested, and learn more about the functions of different facilities. The online tour of Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, covers 16 locations, including the Flight Research Hangar and the Katherine Johnson Computational Research Facility. The virtual tour of the Glenn Research Center in Ohio, meanwhile, takes visitors inside facilities such as the Supersonic Wind Tunnel, where high speed flight is researched, and the Zero Gravity Research Facility, where microgravity research is conducted.

The National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City

Home to the world’s largest ancient Mexican art collection, in addition to an extensive collection of ethnographic objects, the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City preserves the country’s indigenous legacy and celebrates its cultural heritage. In collaboration with Google Arts and Culture, the museum has made some 140 items available for online visitors to explore from their homes. Among the objects available for viewing are the famous Aztec calendar sun stone and the striking jade death mask of ancient Mayan king Pakal the Great.

San Francisco’s De Young Museum

One of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco , the de Young Museum ’s new copper-clad building in Golden Gate Park combines art with architecture. The collection features a priceless array of American art dating from the 17th to the 21st centuries, as well as artifacts from Africa and Oceania, modern and contemporary art, costumes, and textiles. Through Google Arts and Culture, the de Young offers 11 exhibits, including “ Cult of the Machine ” and “ Ruth Asawa: A Working Life .”

Housed in a large fortress along the banks of Paris’ Seine River, the Louvre regularly tops rankings of the most-visited museums in the world, with millions of visitors flocking to its halls in search of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa , the Venus de Milo and other instantly recognizable artworks. Virtual tours offered by the Louvre include a walkthrough of the Egyptian antiquities wing and a view of the museum’s moat, which was built in 1190 to protect Paris from invaders.

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Nadine Daher | | READ MORE

Nadine Daher is a digital intern at Smithsonian magazine. She is a senior at Northwestern, where she studies journalism and international studies.

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Online tours - Enjoy the Louvre at home!

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Virtual tours Enjoy the Louvre at home! Online tours

Virtual tours, louvre at home.

Visit the museum rooms and galeries, admire the palace architecture and enjoy the views!

From afar. Travelling Materials and Objects

Through materials and objects, this exhibition describes exchanges between distant worlds – exchanges often far more ancient than the explorations of the 16th century.   From deepest antiquity, carnelian, lapis lazuli, ebony and ivory circulated along trade routes...

Launch virtual tour  

The Advent of the Artist

For its 5th edition, the Petite Galerie takes a closer look at the transition from the typically anonymous craftsman of the classical period to the artist of the Renaissance, featuring works by Delacroix, Rembrandt, Tintoret and more.

Power plays

This third Petite Galerie exhibition focused on the connection between art and political power, from antiquity to the present day.

The Body in Movement

In its second season, the Petite Galerie explored one of the performing arts: dance. How did artists use different materials and techniques to represent movement?

Founding Myths: From Hercules to Darth Vader

The very first Petite Galerie exhibition looked into how illustrators, sculptors, painters, puppeteers, filmmakers, and musicians around the world have drawn inspiration from myths, given them form, and brought them to life.

What activities does the Louvre offer that can be enjoyed from home?

Events at the auditorium (in French)  

Podcasts (in French)  

Louvre Kids  

“Mona Lisa Beyond the Glass” virtual reality experience  

International Luxury Lifestyle Magazine

The 18 Best Virtual Art Museum Tours You Can Enjoy Online

The world’s art museums are full of treasures. Thanks to advances in technology we can view them from the comfort of our armchairs. Virtual art museum tours are a great way to see incredible artworks without travelling. Whether you’re into contemporary painting or traditional artworks, you’re sure to enjoy these virtual museum tours.

Best Virtual Art Museum Tours

While it would be fun to visit all the best museums in the world, that’s not easy to do. However, with these art museum virtual tours, you can explore them from your own home.

More and more museums are making their collections accessible to all online. Quite a few of the famous museums featured here have special kid friendly online museum tours too.

Google Arts & Culture have also partnered with hundreds of museums and art galleries worldwide to create virtual tours of art museums. These include The Guggenheim and MoMA in New York and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea.

18. Belvedere Museum, Vienna

Let’s start with a museum that is as beautiful inside as outside. Belvedere Museum, or The Österreichische Galerie Belvedere to give its full name, is located within the Belvedere Palace in Vienna, Austria .

The former Summer residence of Prince Eugene, it’s now as UNESCO World Heritage Site. The palace is a masterpiece of Baroque architecture.

After Prince Eugene’s death, it became an art gallery. Among the permanent collection highlights are works by Egon Schiele and Hans Makart.

The Upper Belvedere houses the largest collection of Gustav Klimt artworks in the world. This includes the famous painting, The Kiss, which shimmers thanks to the use of gold leaf.

The Belvedere has several online digital guided tours on their website and social media channels. They have also made available 360° museum views of the Upper and Lower Belvedere galleries, and a Smartify app offering free audio tours. In Wintertime, The Belvedere hosts one of the best Viennese Christmas markets in its grounds.

17. Art Institute of Chicago

One of the most impressive museums in the United States, the Art Institute of Chicago boasts a variety of interactive online resources. You can search the permanent collection, take part in virtual events or watch recordings of previous virtual events.

16. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Housed in an extraordinary building inspired by Venetian palaces, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum showcases over 2000 objects from around the world. Isabella Stewart Gardner was an art collector who sadly lost her only child to pneumonia.

Travelling around the world with her husband gave Isabella a renewed purpose in life. She built this three floor museum to house her collection of artifacts, including sculptures, paintings, photographs and textiles.

In 1990, two men committed the world’s largest unsolved art theft, stealing thirteen artworks. A virtual museum tour shows you where these masterpieces originally hung. A $5 million reward is offered for their safe return.

15. British Museum, London

This famous London museum is actually the largest indoor space in the world on Google Street View. There are 60 galleries to explore, with historical artefacts like the Rosetta Stone in the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery .

The British Museum also has two virtual galleries on their own website : Oceania and Prints and Drawings. Another good way to view the museum’s online exhibits is on their Google Arts & Culture pages. There are over 50 to choose from including Guatemalan Masks and Buddhist Art in Myanmar.

14. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Known as The Met for short, this is the largest art museum in the USA. After opening in 1870 at 681 Fifth Avenue, New York City , the main museum moved to its current location in 1880.

The spectacular Beaux-Arts facade was designed by Richard Morris Hunt. There are also two other branches of The Metropolitan Museum: The Met Breuer on Madison Avenue and The Met Cloisters in Northern Manhattan.

The Met is one of the best virtual museum tours for kids, thanks to its #MetKids map , created by children. They can explore the online collection map or hop in the Time Machine.

The Met 360° Project is a series of six award-winning videos created with 360° technology. They enable viewers to discover the museum’s key spaces with a virtual visit including The Great Hall and The Temple of Dendur.

13. Musée d’Orsay, Paris

One of the things that make this famous Parisian museum so special is the building it’s located in. A former railway station, it was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900.

Designated a historical monument, the Musee d’Orsay was designed by Victor Laloux. These days, it features a fine collection of Impressionist works and Post-Impressionist paintings.

Take a virtual art museum tour of the Musée d’Orsay building. You can admire works by some of the most famous artists in the world including Degas, Renoir, Monet and Van Gogh.

12. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

The Getty Museum has partnered with Google Arts & Culture for a new exhibition in Pocket Gallery. This immersive exhibition feature creates a life sized virtual space using augmented reality.

Choose from several virtual rooms and explore the artworks by moving your phone. There are four virtual rooms, on the themes A Breath of Fresh Air , City Life , Music and Merriment and Around the Table . The app is available for iOS and Android phones.

11. National Gallery of the Cayman Islands

Discover artworks from the Caribbean in the online exhibitions of Grand Cayman’s National Gallery. Founded in 1996, the  National Gallery of the Cayman Islands (NGCI) is the leading arts museum and education centre in the country.

They curate up to 6 exhibitions each year in Grand Cayman and also host over 25 education and outreach programs monthly for all age groups.  There are currently four colorful exhibitions available as virtual tours.

These include an online tour of the National Art Collection ; Cross Currents – Cayman Islands Biennial , showcasing 42 local artists; Bendel Hydes – A Retrospective , a retrospective of the artist’s 50 year career and Tidal Shift, featuring 26 artists. The current NGCI exhibition Island of Women – Life at Home During Our Maritime Years will also be available soon.

Access all the tours here:  https://www.nationalgallery.org.ky/see/virtual-tours/ .

10. National Palace Museum, Taipei City

With almost 700,000 objects, the National Palace Museum in Taiwan is the largest collection of ancient Chinese artifacts in the world. Featuring rare items from the Neolithic period to the present day, the museum was founded in 1965.

There’s a fantastic range of guided virtual tours online, including the exterior as well as the interior of the building. Admire Zhishan Garden, the Pavilions and the Cage Changing Goose sculptue before heading indoors to explore the rest of the collection.

You can take one of  four featured routes  or simply click around the galleries depending on your interests. Handy floor plans will prevent you from getting lost! There’s also a fun time lapse of the museum.

9. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Spread over 80 galleries and showcasing 8,000 objects,  The Rijksmuseum  is one of the best art museums with virtual tours. Focusing primarily on Dutch art and history, it is housed in a magnificent Renaissance-Gothic style building designed by Pierre Cuypers.

Highlights of the museum’s collection include the Delft pottery collection, the 17th century dolls’ houses and the  Night Watch  by Rembrandt.  The Milkmaid , by Dutch painter Vermeer is another subtly brilliant artwork.

8. Tate Britain, London

Featuring the finest British art, Tate Britain is located in a magnificent building on Millbank that dates from 1897. Kids will enjoy author Jacqueline Wilson’s Magical Tour of Tate Britain .

You can also take a  Google  virtual tour of the Pre-Raphaelite galleries. Works such as Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent and Ophelia by Sir John Everett Millais have an ethereal charm.

7. The Louvre, Paris

Famous for its incomparable collections, The Louvre is also the largest art museum in the world. The building itself is a historical monument, with the main section dating from the 12th century.

The glass pyramid by I. M. Pei was added in 1989. The Louvre is known for works of art such as the  Mona Lisa  by Leonardo da Vinci and  The Venus de Milo  by Alexandros of Antioch.

It also has an extensive collection of French crown jewels and Egyptian antiquities. The Great Sphinx of Tanis and the ancient mummy are particularly impressive.

There are several Louvre online tours including The Advent of The Artist exhibition in the Petite Galerie with works by Rembrandt and Tintoretto. Don’t miss the virtual exhibits in the recently restored Galerie d’Apollon, with its central panel by Delacroix.

6. The National Gallery, London

With over 2,300 paintings, The National Gallery has an impressive collection of artworks from 1260 to 1900. One of the most visited museums in the world, it has an enviable location on Trafalgar Square.

The main building was designed by William Wilkins and opened in 1838. The Sainsbury Wing extension opened in 1991.

There are several virtual tours of the National Gallery, including a VR tour of the Sainsbury Wing, created in collaboration with Oculus. Using Matterport 3D technology, it showcases over 270 Early Renaissance paintings .

You can either enjoy the virtual 360° tour or experience it in virtual reality if you happen to have a VR headset. There’s also a Google virtual tour of 7 rooms and the Central Hall, which showcases works by Holbein, Titian and Veronese.

5. The Smithsonian, Washington D.C.

One of the best virtual art museums, The Smithsonian Institution is also the largest museum, research and education complex in the world. Several of the 19 galleries and museums have virtual tours available.

These include The National Museum of Natural History , the National Portrait Gallery and National Museum of Asian Art . There are also lots of online resources for educators available here . Kids will love the wide range of activities including how to make an Art Bot and Color Our Collections .

4. The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

One of the largest museums in the world, The Hermitage has over 3 million exhibits! Founded in 1764, the incredible collection spans 5,000 years.

The most popular visitor attraction in St Petersburg, it wows not only with its artworks but also with its architecture. Designed by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in the 1750s, The State Hermitage Museum was founded by Catherine the Great.

There are over 17,000 paintings including works by Leonardo da Vinci, Rubens and Picasso. The Knight’s Hall examines the history of armoury in the 15th to 17th centuries.

Check out the Google virtual museum for other highlights including the Kolyvan Vase. It weights over 19 tonnes and is the largest single piece of jasper in the world.

3. The Vatican, Rome

If you want to have The Sistine Chapel to yourself, then don’t miss The Vatican virtual tours. Pope Julius II founded The Vatican Museums in the 16th century.

There are 7 Vatican City virtual online tours including Raphael’s Rooms, the Chiaramonti Museum and the Niccoline Chapel. The latter is known for its fresco paintings by Fra Angelico.

2. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has a fun Unravel Van Gogh app . One of the best virtual art museum tours, it allows you to discover how Vincent Van Gogh worked.

Peel back layers of paint and comparing his paintings with postcards of the time. There are also quite a few resources in the Google Arts & Culture app, including virtual room tours of the museum.

1. Uffizi Gallery, Florence

One of the best art museums in the world, the Uffizi Gallery has an incredible collection of works from the Italian Renaissance period. Located in the centre of Florence , the Uffizi complex has been open to visitors since the 16th century.

Designed in 1560 by Giorgio Vasari, it features a top floor gallery that was intended to display the artworks of the Medici family. Over the years, it grew into the world famous collection that we know today.

You can admire several online exhibits in their virtual art gallery such as The Adoration of the Magi by Gentile da Fabriano, La Primavera by Botticelli and Medusa by Caravaggio. The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli has a timeless appeal.

Here’s a recap of these virtual art museum tours:

• Uffizi Gallery, Florence
• Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
• The Vatican, Rome
• The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
• The Smithsonian, Washington D.C.
• The National Gallery, London
• The Louvre, Paris
• Tate Britain, London
• Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
• National Palace Museum, Taipei City
• National Gallery of the Cayman Islands
• J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
• Musée d’Orsay, Paris
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
• British Museum, London
• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
• Belvedere Museum, Vienna

Final Thoughts on the Best Virtual Art Tours

There you have it, the best virtual art tours to take from the comfort of your home. While nothing can replace an in-person viewing experience, these virtual art tours provide the next best thing.

From world-renowned museums like The Louvre and The Metropolitan Museum of Art to smaller, lesser known institutions, there is something for everyone on this list. So whether you’re missing your local museum or looking to explore somewhere new, be sure to check out one (or all) of these amazing virtual art tours.

And if you’re interested in learning more about the art world, be sure to check out our other articles on everything from up-and-coming artists to must-see exhibitions.

Which of these virtual art tours do you like best? Are there any others that you would recommend?

You might also enjoy:

• Best Museums in Brussels
• Best Cultural Attractions in Naples, Florida
• Best Excursions on Grand Cayman Islands
• Best Sculpture Gardens in the World
• Most Famous Asian Artists
• Most Famous Impressionist Paintings
• The Most Famous Painters Worldwide

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12 Virtual Art Museum Walk Throughs for Free

When visiting a museum in real life is difficult, you can still spend time looking at art online with free virtual art museum walk throughs. Check out this great list of 12 art museums who offer free virtual tours.

If you believe we are made in the image of God and He is the Creator of all things, then you understand that creativity is part of who we are a humans.

While our creativity may have different focuses, learning about art by visiting museums can help bring each of us a dose inspiration. Plus, as we study the different types of art, we can consider the creativity of God.

If you have not visited a museum in a while or want your children to have a similar experience but cannot travel to the museum, take a virtual tour through an art museum for free.

Free Virtual Art Museum Walk Throughs

Whether you are a student or just an art enthusiast, many museums are adapting to a post-pandemic society and making their exhibitions available through virtual tours. Many museums offer walk throughs using Google Earth while others are experimenting with augmented reality. (A special app may be required for viewing with augmented reality.)

Musée d’Orsay, Paris

Virtually walk through the halls of the Musée d’Orsay using the available Google Street View or choose to view the paintings by collection. This museum features art between 1848 and 1914, including several paintings by Monet, Van Gogh, and Degas. View the museum.

Louvre Museum, Paris

While many museums are using Google Arts & Culture, Louvre has invested in a different virtual touring software (which I personally found easier to navigate than many others.) Just take note that while the art descriptions on the wall are provided in both French and English, the info bubbles for each piece seem to be only available in French. View the museum.

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

The Van Gogh Museum is home to the largest collection of works by Vincent Van Gogh including over 200 paintings. Four virtual tours of the museum are available for free, one tour of each floor of the museum. You can also view the art by collection (based on the material used,) popularity, time, and color. When you click to view an individual painting, you can also view the paintings using the designated app and augmented reality. Visit the museum.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

In collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, the Met offers a free walkthrough tour as well as stories on art in fashion and music. Click to view the available pieces and get in depth details about the art. Some of the pictures can even be downloaded. Visit the museum.

Museum of the World, a collaborative project of the British Museum and Google Arts & Culture

Navigate a timeline using the point and click of your computer mouse to explore artifacts from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Click on a specific artifact and learn more about the item, including a map, related objects, and an educational audio. Visit the museum.

Mori Art Museum, Tokyo

The Mori Art Museum has a unique virtual museum walk through available for free. Begin in the museum’s lobby or point and click your way through the various exhibits including artificial intelligence and robotics. You can even view the museum in virtual reality using an Oculus headset. Visit the museum.

The Vatican Museum, Vatican City

Featuring a 360 degree virtual tour of the Sistene Chapel, The Vatican Museum offers thirteen additional free virtual walk throughs. View the work of Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio, and Bernini. Visit the museum.

Solomon Guggenheim, New York

Using Google Earth, walk through the Guggenheim in New York City, New York and view the contemporary art housed within. To begin the tour, click on the Google Earth street view icon on the right side of the page.) See exhibits up close by clicking on the small pop up boxes that will appear on the left-bottom portion of the screen. (Note: Not all exhibits inside the museum have this feature.) Visit the museum.

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

With a focus on art from the 21st century, the J. Paul Getty Museum features the photography of Julia Margaret Cameron and Ogawa Kazumasa as well as art in the rococo style. Since this online museum tour is hosted by Google, you can organize the exhibits by popularity, timeline, and color. You can also click to view the individual pieces in augmented reality. View the museum.

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

The MMCA has four different locations in Korea with each museum having its own focus. Several virtual museum walk throughs are available for free using Google street view with a sampling from each of the locations. The museum also host two collections from Yoo Youngkuk, a pioneer in Korean art. Visit the museum.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The Rijksmuseum offers several online exhibits and features the works of Jan Luyken, the Dutch poet and illustrator, as well as works by Vermeer and Rembrandt. Either different virtual tours are available with one for each floor of the museum. You can also click to organize the paintings and sculptures by popularity, time, and color. Visit the museum.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Also available in the Google Arts & Culture collection, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston offers a diverse collection of art from the prehistoric era to modern times. One free virtual tour is available. Visit the museum.

Other Online Art Museum Tours

Some museums do not have a walk through available online but have an amazing variety of free resources for studying artists and their works.

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

While I could not find a walkthrough of the museum on the website, this is my favorite online museum for studying painting. Upon my visit to the website, there was a click-through study on Johannes Vermeer. You can also view the art by choosing what is popular, on a timeline, or by color. Using an app and projector, you can view the painting in its original size right in front of you. View the museum.

Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas

Even without a free virtual walk through, these resources available online from the Dallas Museum or Art are extensive. I personally enjoy the diverse collections of art and the way you can view based on type of apparel, climate, motif, object and more. The museum also includes extended information, linking to artist biographies, teaching ideas, and more. View the museum.

Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis

Although the Minneapolis Institute of Art does not offer a virtual tour, they do have a video tour, teaching resources, and several ideas for experiencing art at home including video and projects. View the museum.

Other Free Art Museum Resources

Make the most of your free virtual art museum tours with these additional resources:

• National Gallery of Art –  If you need a resource for teaching art or just having some artistic family fun, the National Gallery of Art offers several suggestions. You can even enroll in online classes (using EdX) for free.
• Smithsonian Learning Lab – Navigate through collections of art in related subjects at the Smithsonian Learning Lab. Also, if you have never visited their website before, notice there are resources for other subjects too, including science, social studies, and language arts.
• Art History Resources – While a virtual tour is much different from a in person tour of a museum, they have a great post about preparing for your visit that could be adapted to apply to only museum visits.

More Fun Art for Kids

• Easy Preschool Color Mixing Experiment with Printable
• Field Trip: The Art Museum
• Creating Lessons with the STEM Approach

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Best free virtual tours for art students

Emily in Paris? More like Emily-sad-and-stuck-at-home. Coronavirus, vaccine trials, restrictions, pandemic, lockdown — we are sick and tired of hearing of these words. This virus has definitely got all of us on a tightly-wound leash. Not one to just complain and do nothing, we thought we could help you make the most of it with our list of free virtual tours of famous museums. 

They are in 12 countries and full of unique and individual art and history, perfect if you’re an art student or an enthusiast. Most of the virtual exhibits mentioned in this article are available through Google Arts and Culture as the online platform has collaborated with said museums, showcasing high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from over 2,000 museums throughout the world and all from the comfort of your sofa.

Netherlands

Everyone knows who Vincent Van Gogh is. He was the Dutch post-impressionist painter who cut off his ear and got famous after he died — which is the case for most artists. One of Van Gogh’s stellar pieces, “The Starry Night” in watercolour is still used today as a  fine example of what true art is with his style of naturalistic rendering of light and colour. You can take a look at his work at the Van Gogh Museum here . Also, if you’re interested in Dutch history and culture and love good free virtual tours, you can also explore Rijksmuseum from your home. 

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Rijksmuseum (@rijksmuseum)

Some of the world’s best museums are located in the UK. The Victoria and Albert Museum boasts over 2.27 million objects and the British Museum has eight million works of human history, art and culture with more than 60 free galleries to be explored.

Sir David Attenborough as narrator to a self-guided tour of the Natural History Museum ? Yes, please. While at it, why not binge-watch some of his documentaries? 

Tate Modern , one of London’s most iconic art galleries, is also offering a 360-degree tour following the director Frances Morris and TV presenter Nick Grimshaw — it will feel like a private personal tour. 

South Korea is best known for k-pop , which is not only a music genre, but a culture that draws in people from all over the world. Aside from this huge music culture, Korea is also known for kimchi, soju and contemporary art. Check out the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art through the Google Arts and Culture platform, and traverse through modern Korean art with online exhibitions and 3D tours in and outside the museum. Free virtual tours are the new way to see the world digitally. 

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by 박기호 (@miki_hh)

United States

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum , more commonly known as The Guggenheim, is a must-see that visitors to New York often put at the top of their checklist. Add The Metropolitan Museum of Art to your list too, globally known for its architecture, art and host of the Met Gala organised by Anna Wintour from Vogue. You’ll want to check out their free virtual tours, even if you’re sitting at home in your baggy casual clothes. 

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Guggenheim Museum (@guggenheim)

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is one of the world’s largest influential museums with the biggest collection of avant-garde paintings, sculptures, films, and multi-media art. For those who like artists such as Takashi Murakami, Damien Hirst, and Cindy Sherman, they should check out the free virtual tour from The Broad with the coolest exhibitions. 

Siesta, fiesta, and more importantly, los artistas! Spain is fun, and home to priceless art museums and one-of-a-kind architecture. Speaking about architecture, Antoni Gaudi is known for his Catalan Modernism portrayed through his architectural work mostly in Barcelona, such as in the church of “Sagrada Familia”.

Another quite popular spot that offers a free virtual tour is the Dalí Theatre-Museum , home to all things bizarre and surreal by Salvador Dali. Then if you’re up to digitally transport yourself to a magnificent 15th-century old building in Valladolid, which is known for its medieval history, click here . This museum, which was once used as a centre for theologians, mystics and inquisitors, is now known as the National Sculpture Museum. 

Finally the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum , famous for its paintings and art from the 19th century including Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces, is part of the variety of free virtual tours in Spain and worth checking out!

Tequila: one shot, two shots, three shots, floor. Line up your salt, ready your slices of orange, we’re heading to the land of tacos! Frida Kahlo, a global icon known for her unibrow, self-portraits and works inspired by her country has a museum (more of a colonial house) full of her art that you can check out here .

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Frida Kahlo (@fridakahlo)

Are you into pre-Hispanic history and archaeology? The National Museum of Anthropology is Mexico’s largest museum with several ancient artifacts dating back to the country’s pre-Columbian heritage. These free virtual tours are easily accessible from your own home!

Dim sum, want some? You could order dim sum, and then check out the Palace Museum for your fill of the Chinese arts and history. Ancient history can be fascinating. 

Bonjour, you might as well buy yourself some pastries (whatever your nearest grocer’s has that is similar enough to French ones) and sit tight at home while you explore every corner of the Louvre where some of the world’s finest art is. Oh, not to mention that Beyonce and Jay-Z shot a music video here. Not only are there several free virtual tours to choose from here, but you have the power to choose from “The Body in Movement” — about performing arts — to “Egyptian Antiquities” which is all about ancient Egypt.

Arrivederci. Please make yourself a giant bowl of pasta as you make the most of the following free virtual tours. From the Uffizi Gallery to the Vatican Museums , Italy is known to have taken art to entirely new levels, even as far back as the Ancient Roman days. 

When you think of Greece, do you think of Greek gods? Then the free virtual tour to the  Acropolis Museum is just right for you with its exhibitions of modern and ancient history on one of Greece’s most famous archeological sites. 

You’re stuck at home but you can still order some sushi to be delivered home and imagine you’re touring some of Japan’s finest museums. Kyoto National Museum is a must-see, as is another cool private museum featuring Western art — also the oldest in Japan —  called the Ohara Museum of Art .

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by 砂の美術館 the Sand Museum (@tottori_sandmuseum)

The Sand Museum is an open air museum showing sand sculptures, strategically located at the Tottori Sand Dunes. Another two museums to check out while in Japan — but really from your own home — are Adachi Museum of Art and Fukuoka Asian Art Museum .

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A world of arts & culture in the palm of your hand.

Explore expert-curated guides from cultural institutions across the globe.

With the free Bloomberg Connects app, explore expert-curated content and guides to over 400 museums, galleries, sculpture parks, gardens, and cultural spaces from the palm of your hand. From behind-the-scenes guides, to artist and expert-curated video and audio content, Bloomberg Connects makes it easy to discover arts and culture, anytime, anywhere.

Thousands of hours of content from 400+ institutions, for free

Bloomberg Connects features thousands of hours of bespoke audio, video and text content, with more content being added every month. The app makes it easy for you to explore arts and culture on your own time, at your own pace. Quick snackable content or deep dives. On site or from home. In your city or around the world. All guides are downloadable, allowing you to explore them even when you’re offline.

Your personal curator, on and off site

Beyond unique content and guides, the app offers a number of tools to enhance your in-person visit to a culture institution – trip-planning tools, maps, and lookup numbers for quick access to app content. Free to download and free to use, the app was created by Bloomberg Philanthropies to help make the art and offerings of cultural organizations more accessible – not just to those visiting in person, but to people around the world.

Accessibility first

The app is designed with a variety of built-in accessibility features including voice over, captions and audio transcripts, image zoom, and font size adjustment. We designed the app to remove barriers to experiencing arts and culture.

Free for institutions and cultural partners

Created by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Connects benefits over 400 museums, galleries, gardens, and cultural spaces — with more joining every month — by providing a pre-built, easy-to use app interface customizable to their content and mission. We empower our partners with training, marketing, and technical support to deliver digital experiences to their visitors and a global audience.

Created by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Connects benefits over 400 museums, galleries, gardens, and cultural spaces — with more joining every month — by providing a pre-built, easy-to use app interface customizable to their content and mission. We empower our partners with training, marketing, and technical support to deliver digital experiences to their visitors and a global audience. Learn more.

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Plan Your Visit

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Gallery Closures

The Ancient Near Eastern and Cypriot Art  galleries and The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing  are closed for renovation.

The Temple of Dendur will be closed through Friday, May 10.

See a list of currently closed galleries .

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The Met Fifth Avenue

The Met Cloisters

Review our visitor guidelines to get the most out of your Met experience.

Plan your route to the Museum.

Use The Met's interactive map to get around the Museum.

We welcome all visitors and affirm our commitment to offering programs and services that are accessible to everyone.

Where to eat and drink when you visit.

Enjoy free admission, complimentary guest tickets, invitations to exclusive viewing hours, discounts, and more.

Now On View

The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism

The Roof Garden Commission: Petrit Halilaj, Abetare

Hidden Faces: Covered Portraits of the Renaissance

Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery

Indian Skies: The Howard Hodgkin Collection of Indian Court Painting

Weaving Abstraction in Ancient and Modern Art

Lineages: Korean Art at The Met

The Facade Commission: Nairy Baghramian, Scratching the Back

Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room

The African Origin of Civilization

Cycladic Art

Look Again: European Paintings 1300–1800

The Art of the Literary Poster: Works from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection

Vision and Verse: The Poetry of Chinese Painting

Anxiety and Hope in Japanese Art

The Real Thing: Unpackaging Product Photography

Don't Forget to Call Your Mother

Art of Native America: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection

Bélizaire and the Frey Children

The Calculated Curve: Eighteenth-Century American Furniture

Emulating Books: Book Objects from the Lynn and Bruce Heckman Gift

New York Art Worlds, 1870–1890

Samurai Splendor: Sword Fittings from Edo Japan

Ganesha: Lord of New Beginnings

A Passion for Jade: The Bishop Collection

Embracing Color: Enamel in Chinese Decorative Arts, 1300–1900

Afterlives: Contemporary Art in the Byzantine Crypt

The Jousting Armor of Philip I of Castile

Layered Narratives: The Northern Renaissance Gallery

Renaissance Masterpieces of Judaica: The Mishneh Torah and The Rothschild Mahzor

Celebrating the Year of the Dragon

More ways to explore.

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An Hour at The Met

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Art in Moscow: Museums, Galleries and Museum-Reserves

There is no strict dress code in Moscow museums. However, if you are going to explore ancient churches and holy places we recommend more conservative outwear. Women should have their heads covered.

All state museums and galleries are free every third Sunday of the month. Some of the Moscow museums are free on holidays, and during the «Museum days» and «Museum Night».

If you’re looking for great cultural tours around art points of Moscow, we have a great MOSCOW ART & DESIGN TOUR , available for you everyday except Mondays.

Moscow Museums

The Moscow Kremlin

Don’t miss a chance to see the very heart of Moscow, the Kremlin, the symbol of the Russian State, one of the greatest architectural ensembles in the world, a treasury of unusual relics and monuments of art. It is situated on a high Borovitskiy hill above the Moskva River, so you’ll be able to see a spectacular view of the city center. The famous Armory Chamber and the Diamond Fund are real treasure-houses, where you can see ancient Russian regalia, ceremonial tsar’s dress, church hierarchs’ vestments, arms, gold and silverware by Russian, European and Eastern masters. The Kremlin is the official President’s residence and remains a gorgeous political landmark. The UNESCO has included the ensemble of the Moscow Kremlin in the World Heritage List.

Site: http://www.kreml.ru/

The State Historical Museum

Ivan Zabelin, Aleksey Uvarov, and several other Slavophiles founded the State Historical Museum in 1872 to promote Russian history and national self-awareness. During its century-long history, the museum has collected more than 4.5 million of valuable items and over 12 million pages of documental archives. Its exhibitions range from relics of prehistoric tribes that lived in the territory of present-day Russia, through priceless artworks acquired by members of the Romanov dynasty. The museum’s historical building which was reconstructed and equipped to meet all the visitors requirements is on the Red Square.

Site: http://www.shm.ru/

The State Tretyakov Gallery

The State Tretyakov Gallery takes a special place among the national art museums of the world. Established with the efforts of one person, the dedicated collector Pavel Tretyakov, it possesses a unique collection of Russian art, more than 150000 masterpieces, created by famous Russian artists throughout the centuries. The historic building of the State Tretyakov Gallery at Lavrushinski Lane presents Russian art from the 11th through the early 20th century. The state Tretyakov Gallery at Krymsky Val has an excellent collection of Russian art of the 20th century, modern art and holds temporary exhibitions.

Site: http://www.tretyakovgallery.ru/

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is one the largest European museums of fine art. It has one of the most remarkable collections of fine arts in Russia that consists of artworks from ancient times to the present day. Visitors can see great paintings by world famous artists: Rembrandt, Botticelli, Canaletto, Tiepolo, along with the remarkable collections of Impressionists, Post-impressionists, modernists: Monet, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Picasso and others. Moreover, the museum holds the private collectors’ galleries, many of were inaccessible to public for many years.

Site: http://www.arts-museum.ru/

Moscow Museum of Modern Art

Moscow Museum of Modern Art specializes in the modern art of 20th and 21st centuries. The famous Russian artist and sculptor Zurab Tsereteli has founded it. The museum is located in four historic buildings in Petrovka Street, Gogolevsky Boulevard, Ermolaevsky lane and Tverskoy Boulevard. The museum’s collection depicts the development of avant-garde. The largest part of the collection consists of masterpieces of Russian artists, but you can also find works by Anri Russo, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso and many others.

Site: http://www.mmoma.ru/

The Moscow Planetarium

The Planetarium in Moscow first opened its doors in 1929. After a global reconstruction, it was reopened in 2011. Now it is a multifunctional complex that combines scientific and educational resources: the interactive museum «Lunarium», the Museum of Urania, the Big Star Hall and the Sky Park, family recreation center, that focuses on different age groups. The Moscow Planetarium is one of the biggest planetariums in the world.

Site: http://www.planetarium-moscow.ru/

Moscow Galleries

Garage museum of contemporary art.

Exhibit on display during the opening of «Art Experiment»

The museum is a kind of independent platform aimed to disclose and reveal a new way of thinking. The Garage Center currently reflects the contemporary innovations of national and world’s culture. It invites you to the beautiful world of modern art, showing its best pieces. This center offers a great number of various exhibitions, educational projects for kids and adults, and publishing. The Garage Center is also called The Museum of Everything. It provides ways and reasons for public dialogue and the creation of progressive ideas.

Site: http://garageccc.com/

The Multimedia Art Museum

Fifty Years of Bond Style Exhibition

The Multimedia Art Museum opened in October 2010 at the base of the Moscow House of Photography. One of the main principles of MAMM s work is complete openness to the new forms of visual expression and for the fresh, innovative trends in the Russian and foreign media art and photography. There are seven floors of spacious exhibition halls and minimalist architecture that is a great font for modern art. The exhibition history of MAMM and Moscow House of Photography counts more than 1300 exhibitions in Russia and abroad. Moreover, Multimedia Art Museum has different educational programs and holds famous Moscow art festivals: Photobiennale, «Fashion and Style in Photography» and others.

Site: http://www.mamm-mdf.ru/

Lumiere Brothers Photography Center

This modern photo gallery is located in the very heart of Moscow, next to the Kremlin, Cathedral of Christ the Savior, big art galleries, design studios famous clubs and restaurants. The photography Center houses in an old and huge mansion at the Moskva River Embankment. Lumiere Brothers Photography Center has three huge exhibition rooms, lecture hall, library with an immense collection of rare books in photography and an independent bookshop. The Center is conducting research work, organizing educational projects, providing a base for the future Russian Museum of Photography.

Site: http://www.lumiere.ru/

Winzavod (Wine Factory) is the first and the biggest Center of Contemporary Art in our country. It unites all the areas of modern culture: exhibitions, festivals, lecture programs, cinema, concerts, theater premieres. You will find here a big amount of art galleries, artists’ workshops, designers and photographers studios, art cafes, fashion showrooms, a bookshop, children’s studio and many other things. The purpose of Winzavod is to support and to develop Russian contemporary art, art initiatives and help talented young people. Visiting Winzavod you will see the art that defines not only today’s but also tomorrow’s life.

Site: http://www.winzavod.ru/

The Manezh was built in 1817 in honor of the 5th anniversary of Russia’s victory in the 1812 war. Then it was called «Exerzierhaus», building, intended for military drills. The building has the unique construction – wooden structure trusses overlap the space of 44.86 square meters without any intermediate supports. After 1917, Manezh served as a garage for government vehicles. And since 1957 it has been continuously used for exhibitions and public events. In 2004, the building was severely damaged by fire. Renovated in 2005 the Manezh doubled its area. Nowadays it is one of the leading Moscow exhibition halls. There are two exhibition spaces, a conference room and a cafe on the third-floor observation deck. The Manezh hosts numerous fairs, festivals, and exhibitions.

Site: http://moscowmanege.ru/

Flacon Design Factory

Flacon Design Factory, located in the territory of a former glass factory, has become a pioneer in the revitalization of industrial zone outside the historic center of Moscow. Flacon has become a powerful launch pad for multiple cool projects, self-expression of creative individuals and carrying-out of sociocultural initiatives. No wonder that the atmosphere at Flacon entirely coincides with its motto: «Create as you please!» The Factory includes offices, co-working zone, shops, workshops, exhibition and creative projects spaces. Lectures, film screenings, fairs, design festivals, innovative exhibitions, presentations, concerts, limited actions and design community work days pass here weekly.

Site: http://flacon.ru/

Artplay is near Winzavod in the former industrial space in the area Kurskaya metro station and occupies an area of 75,000 square meters. Artplay, providing a new life to carefully reconstructed factory buildings, has become an important part of the contemporary cultural landscape of the city. Artplay unites designers, architects, furniture, lighting, ceramics, decorative materials shops, involving them in cooperation with each other. Young Moscow galleries, artists’ studios, cafes, bars, bookstores, music club, school of design, theater, children’s art studio are also situated here. Three exhibition halls regularly host contemporary art exhibitions, festivals, video art, alternative music concerts, performances, film screenings, lectures and master classes.

Site: http://www.artplay.ru/

CCI Fabrika

The Center For Creative Industries «Fabrika» is an art space for non-commercial creative projects. Today it is the example of peaceful coexistence of art business, operating enterprise, production, and workplaces for talented people in Moscow. CCI Fabrika is a member of the international network of non-profit cultural centers – Trans Europe Halls. This project is a typical umbrella-center. It is developing in both ways: creating and exhibiting its cultural projects and offering workspaces for other creative groups. Here you can find art studios and workshops of design, architecture, cinema, theater, cartoon animation and contemporary music studios.

Site: http://www.proektfabrika.ru/

Moscow Museum-Reserves

Tsaritsyno State Museum-Reserve

Tsaritsyno State Museum-Reserve is one of the largest historical, cultural, recreation and touristic complexes. Its total area is more than 700 hectares. It is an excellent combination of nature – marvelous rivers, ponds, streams, forests – and scientifically restored and renovated architectural and landscape monuments. The museum’s collection of historical items, exhibitions, and educational programs will be attractive for both national visitors and foreign tourists.

Site: http://www.tsaritsyno-museum.ru/

Arkhangelskoye Country Estate

Russian cultural monument is a good sublimation of the stunning beauty of a green space and luxurious collection of paintings, sculptures, unique books and pieces arts and crafts. During its long history, the estate was used as a recreation place for emperors, politicians, famous writers and poets. Today it is the finest place to have an enjoyable walk and to see the richest collection Russian art.

Site: http://www.arhangelskoe.su/

Kolomenskoe Museum-Reserve

A unique historic place – Kolomenskoe – is situated in the picturesque surrounding over the Moscow River banks. A magnificent country estate has appeared at the lands full of legends. Archeological discoveries state that the first settlements appeared here in the VIII century. It is an ancient and uniquely formed place. Today this is a unique complex of cultural monuments of high historical value.

Site: http://mgomz.ru/kolomenskoe

Sergiev-Posad City

Sergiev Posad Museum-Reserve

Museum of Sergiev-Posad is a historical and art reserve. It is located within the unique wall of the St. Sergius Trinity Lavra. This ancient monastery gathered its treasures during centuries from the tsars, princes and boyars donations. Moreover, many art and craft items were made at Lavra’s workshops. Now, the collections of Sergiev-Posad Museum-Reserve include rare, ancient icons, Cyrillic alphabet books, medieval manuscripts, visual art items, gold and silver showpieces.

Site: http://www.stsl.ru/

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Moscow city 360-degree virtual reality tour.

Take the virtual tour of the kremlin, moscow river, saint basil’s cathedral and red square.

The Moscow Kremlin  usually referred to as the Kremlin, is a fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River to the south, Saint Basil’s Cathedral and Red Square to the east, and the Alexander Garden to the west.

It is the best known of the Kremlins (Russian citadels) and includes five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. Also within this complex is the Grand Kremlin Palace. The complex serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

The name “Kremlin” means “fortress inside a city”, and is often also used metonymically to refer to the government of the Russian Federation in a similar sense to how “White House” is used to refer to the Executive Office of the President of the United States. It had previously been used to refer to the government of the Soviet Union (1922–1991) and its highest members (such as general secretaries, premiers, presidents, ministers, and commissars). The term “Kremlinology” refers to the study of Soviet and Russian politics.

All of Moscow’s main streets start at  Red Square , so it’s easy to see why this is considered the heart of the city. A massive space of 330 meters by 70 meters, the square is flanked by the Kremlin, Lenin’s Mausoleum, two cathedrals, and the State Historical Museum. In 1945, a massive Victory Parade was held here to celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany by the Soviet Armed Forces.

St. Basil’s Cathedral , one of the most recognizable buildings on the square, was built in 1555. The unique cathedral has architectural details inspired by Byzantine and Asian designs, as well as details that resemble those found in famous mosques. There are nine individual chapels inside the church, all decorated with colourful mural art.

Yuri Gagarin Is the First Man in Space. Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on 12 April 1961

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Moscow – Ancient history surrounded by the cosmopolitan

Moscow is a truly enchanting cityscape of old & new, with splashes of colour & cosmopolitan elegance creating a wonderful arena in which to explore the art, culture, heritage & history of a very exciting city.

You can wander the old, church-filled Varvarka Street to Red Square, surrounded by the Kremlin, Vasilij Cathedral and Lenin's mausoleum before marveling at the delightful colours of the beautiful cupolas of St. Basil's Cathedral & copper domes of Saviour Cathedral while learning about Moscow's enthralling history, from 12th Century to Ivan the Terrible, Tsars, Soviet era & recent history, and get to grips with present day Moscow, gaining insightful local hints & tips from friendly, authentic local Moscow guides on freetour.com recommended free walking tours.

The city is a treasure chest of fantastic ways to spend your time – incredible museums, galleries & theaters, such as the Gulag museum, Tretiakov Gallery and the famous Bolshoi Theater, await your arrival while a journey through the remarkably beautiful Metro stations is an experience in its own right. You can also indulge in tasty local cuisine, peruse the Izmaylovo Market for interesting Russian souvenirs, walk the Moskva river in Gorky Park, & sample local Vodka while embracing the vibrant nightlife. However you spend your time among the towering skyscrapers of Moscow, you're sure to have an unforgettable visit.

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Best things to see and do in Moscow

Moscow is the capital of Russia and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Asia. It’s rich and complex history is a constant reminder of its strategic position between Europe and Asia and makes it one of the cities you should visit once in your life. In terms of the many iconic landmarks, the delicious cuisine, and the characteristic, colorful architecture it has, Moscow is full of surprises for first-timers and seasoned travelers. Apart from the main attractions, it has like the Kremlin or Red Square, Moscow has many hidden gems for you to discover on your free walking tour with your local guide. 

On any of the free guided tours we offer in Moscow , you will be able to find a selection of many tours which are available in different languages and at different times of day, like the morning, afternoon, and evening. Since Moscow is such a large metropolis, getting your bearings by doing a guruwalk with a local guide who will show you all Moscow’s hidden gems is a great idea. This way you get to learn as much as possible about the local culture and way of life. A trip to Moscow wouldn't be complete without visiting iconic places like St Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin’s Mausoleum, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, or the State Historical Museum, before getting some fresh air at Gorky Park, the medieval church of Kolomenskoye, or shopping at Izmailovsky Market. Don’t miss visiting the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Bolshoi Theater, or checking out the Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve. 

Many travelers have left their r eviews and opinions about the local guides , gurus, and the routes they walked. If you have any questions about the routes or what is included in the tour, check out their opinions. 

Free walking tour near Moscow

Others cities to visit after moscow, where are you traveling to.

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