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10 best Virtual Museums and Art Galleries to visit during this self-isolation

With the coronavirus keeping people – including museum-goers at home – there has been a spike in online trends; and among these trends are virtual tours. As art galleries and museums continue to be closed due to this pandemic, they’re now offering virtual tours to visitors, thanks to modern technology.

Here are 10 of the best virtual museum and art gallery tours to take during this time of self-isolation:

1. Guggenheim Museum (New York)

From the famous spiral staircase to the displays of incredible works of art, the Guggenheim Museum offers a virtual version of the establishment for New Yorkers. In their virtual museum, you’ll be immersed in the following art periods:

  • Impressionist
  • Post-Impressionist
  • Modern 
  • Contemporary

2. Pergamon Museum (Berlin)

Although you might not be able to visit Germany, you can still experience Germany through the Pergamon Museum virtual gallery.

Considered one of Germany’s largest museums, Pergamon is a historical museum that is home to plenty of ancient artefacts, including the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and the Pergamon Altar.

3. J Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles)

With more than 6,000 years’ worth of treasures, the Getty is home to art on the west coast of the US.

From Neolithic clay figures to Van Gogh’s Irises and Renoir’s La Promenade, this museum is compatible with Google Arts and Culture, where viewers can virtually look inside gallery spaces of these pieces of great art.

4. Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art (New York)

Another popular museum in New York is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is home to over 129 globally-famed artworks and is also recognized by the Google Arts & Culture program. The virtual tours will show you the following:

  • Paintings
  • Sculptures
  • Drawings
  • Prints
  • Photographs
  • Architectural models and drawings
  • Design objects

5. Vatican Museums (Rome)

While Rome is home to the Vatican, it also has the Vatican Museums, which also offer virtual tours.

Viewers can view the soaring vaulted ceilings, intricate murals, and tapestries, with a click of a mouse, or tap of a screen. Offering a series of 360-degree images (especially of the Sistine Chapel, or Saint Peter’s Basilica and Square), this museum has much to see in this interactive space. 

6. The Broad (Los Angeles)

Since 2015, the Broad is a contemporary art museum named after philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad; and, it houses nearly 2,000 pieces of contemporary art, featuring the following artists out of 200: 

  • Cindy Sherman
  • Jeff Koons
  • Ed Ruscha
  • Roy Lichtenstein
  • Andy Warhol

You can take a virtual tour on their website. Or, you can check out their videos on YouTube, which showcases their most popular exhibits like the Infinity Mirror room.

7. Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam)

Located in Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum has a vast collection of art and historical objects across 80 galleries.

Having been renovated in 2013 to add modern lighting and a new glass-roofed atrium, the museum now offers visitors an interactive tour that allows them to get up close to every single brush stroke made by Vermeer, Rembrandt and other Dutch masters of art.

8. British Museum (London)

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The oldest museum in London, and the first national museum in the world, the British Museum (established in 1759) offers a view of human history with priceless artifacts from across the globe. Here are just a few examples that are also featured in the virtual tours: 

  • A rock tool carved by early humans around 1.8 million years ago
  • Items made as recently as the 1950s
  • The Rosetta Stone
  • The Elgin Marbles

9.Georgia O’Keeffe Museum (Sante Fe)

Established in 1997, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum pays homage to artist Georgia O’Keeffe and her work on American Modernism. Many of O’Keeffe’s key works range from innovative abstractions to her iconic large-format flower, skull, and landscape paintings; to paintings of architectural forms, rocks, shells, and trees. 

The museum’s website offers creative activities, stories, and education about O’Keeffe’s life, as well as a large selection of artwork for viewers’ enjoyment since the establishment currently houses nearly 1,200 objects made by the famed artist.

10. Natural History Museum (London)

Another museum to consider in London is the Natural History Museum. In their virtual tours, they’ll display special exhibits, such as: 

  • The dodo
  • Botany
  • Butterfly exhibit
  • Giant crystals
  • Specimens 
  • Various corridors and gallery spaces

Similarly, viewers will be treated to an interactive online guide, so that viewers can easily follow along on the tour.

Conclusion

Want to escape the quarantine without leaving home? Then why not sit back and relax, as to take guided virtual tours from these 10 fascinating museums, and enjoy what they have to offer! 

But we hope to be able to back to travel soon, a good idea would be to book an Independent Trip and plan a visit to our favourite museums again.



Guest post written by: Katherine Rundell

Katherine edits at Custom Paper Writing Service UK and BoomEssays. As a professional writer, she loves writing about the latest trends in traveling and museum-going.