virtual history tours

• History Classics
• Your Profile
• Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window)
• Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window)
• This Day In History
• History Podcasts
• History Vault

10 Virtual History Museums and Experiences to Explore From Home

By: Missy Sullivan

Updated: June 1, 2023 | Original: March 26, 2020

The need for social distancing may have forced museums and historic sites around the world to close their doors for now, but many have made their spaces, exhibits and collections available to anyone with a digital device and a decent web connection. Some offer 360-degree tours, like the one that takes you into every nook and cranny of George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate. Others present virtual exhibits or browsable online archives, such as the dozens on Google Arts & Culture’s site, where partner museums share treasures like the Rosetta Stone and ancient Egyptian artifacts ( The British Museum , London)...iconic 20th century photos (the LIFE Magazine archive)...or troves of sports history (the Olympic Museum , Lausanne, Switzerland). Here are 10 standout virtual history sites worth exploring:

Xi'an Warriors

It was one of the most stunning archaeological finds of the 20th century. In 1974, farmers digging a well stumbled across a life-sized clay figure that, government archaeologists later discovered, belonged to a vast army of terra cotta soldiers created to protect China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, in the afterlife. The massive mausoleum, created around 210 B.C., houses some 8,000 warriors, along with hundreds of chariots and horses—all arranged in battle formation. In 2017, a Chinese company, inspired by Google Street View, created an awe-inspiring virtual experience that lets visitors swoop down into the tomb and “walk” among the soldiers, viewing their unique facial expressions and traces of their original colorful paint at close range. You don’t need to read Chinese to appreciate the enormity of it all.

Click  HERE for the experience.

READ MORE: 5 Things You May Not Know About the Terra Cotta Army

Smithsonian Museum of American History

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History bills itself as the greatest single collection of U.S. history in the world, home to more than 1.8 million objects that each, in some fundamental way, defines the American experience. The museum offers about 100 online exhibits from its encyclopedic collections, each with a mix of photos, video, graphics and text on topics ranging from the life of Abe Lincoln (yep, they’ve got the stovepipe hat) to the development of the first artificial heart to the evolution of voting machines and even an array of vintage lunch boxes. 

READ MORE: 9 of the Most Collectible School Lunch Boxes, 1935 to Now

The Museum of Flight

War planes. Spy planes. Spacecraft. Gliders. Kit planes. Eccentric contraptions. This sprawling museum, adjacent to the Boeing complex south of Seattle, Washington, is considered one of the world’s largest and best air and space museums, with more than 150 aircraft, 25,000-plus aviation-related artifacts and a huge array of exhibits that collectively chronicle man's quest to take to the skies. Flight geeks could easily get lost in its vast searchable and browsable database of those collections while 360-degree tours let you step inside a dozen iconic aircraft—including the Boeing 747, the Concorde and the museum’s full-scale model of the space shuttle orbiter used for training astronauts.

Click HERE for the experience.

READ MORE: Who Was the First President to Fly on Air Force One?

National Women's History Museum

Come for the deep well of biographies and digital classroom resources , stay for the wide array of virtual exhibits , many of which are enabled by Google Arts & Culture. For two decades, the National Women’s History Museum has been the largest online cultural institution telling the stories of women who helped transform the U.S. Heavy with slide shows and graphics, the virtual exhibits document women making waves in politics, sports, civil rights, science and technology and more. Check out its collection of oral histories from the American Rosie Movement, relaying women's contributions to the nation’s defense production.

READ MORE: Women’s History Milestones: A Timeline

Anne Frank House

Anne Frank ’s diary, chronicling her life in hiding during World War II, remains one of the most powerful testimonies to the horrors of the Holocaust. If a trip to Amsterdam to visit the Anne Frank House isn’t in the cards, AnneFrank.org offers the next best thing. In addition to tons of informative content about the teen, her diary and the war, there are bells and whistles galore: an interactive timeline, videos about her life, a 360-degree tour of the house, a virtual reality tour of the secret annex where she and her family hid for 761 days, and a companion exhibit on Google Arts & Culture.

READ MORE: How Anne Frank’s Private Diary Became an International Sensation

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

FDR , America’s only four-term president , presided over the nation during two of its most trying ordeals: the Great Depression and World War II . This online experience walks users room by room through the exhibits in his extensive presidential library and museum in Hyde Park, New York, drawing together a wealth of original documents, artifacts, videos, 360-degree tours and more. Together, they illustrate everything from FDR’s little-known assassination attempt to his New Deal policies and wartime decisions to Eleanor ’s significant role. It’s easy to lose track of time clicking through all the fascinating letters, whether it’s from a constituent exhorting him to “discontinue being a smiling, wasteful and fickle prima donna politician” to one from Albert Einstein strenuously detailing his objections to the atomic bomb.

READ MORE: How FDR Became the First—and Only—President to Serve Four Terms

Calling all space geeks: Report to the NASA site for ultimate fun in the final frontier. Get the full scoop on all the key NASA programs past and present, from the Hubble Telescope to the Mars Rover to the upcoming Parker Solar Probe. Check out the History hub to dive deep into photos, videos and articles about all their historic missions. Enjoy a motherlode of space images with the cache of ultra-high-def videos taken from various missions—like the virtual tour of the moon in 4K, enabled by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Spacecraft. For astronaut wannabes, virtual tours abound of NASA’s various research and training facilities—putting users right inside a supersonic wind tunnel, a zero-gravity lab, flight simulators, a space environments complex and much more.

READ MORE: The Space Race

American Battlefield Trust Virtual Battlefield Tours

Most on-site battlefield tours require a leap of imagination: the ability to walk around a perfectly peaceful open field and overlay a mental movie of smoke and combat and fallen warriors, all the while considering the military strategy and broader political stakes. ABT’s website may not offer the sunshine on your back, but it marries the setting, action and context far more seamlessly, with its 360-degree virtual tours of more than 20 American Revolution and Civil War battlefields. In the Gettysburg tour alone, there are 15 different stops—no walking required—each of which features clickable icons with granular detail about all the whos, whats and whys. And when you’re done touring, be sure to explore the site’s other robust resources, from battle summaries to generals’ biographies.

READ MORE: 7 Important Civil War Battles

National Museum of African American History and Culture

While there are plenty of current and past exhibits to explore online here, the real draw is the collections. In the site’s Collections Stories area, museum staff members share objects that resonate for them historically or culturally, whether it’s Muhammad Ali’s training gear...the dress Carlotta Walls, one of the so-called Little Rock Nine , wore when she walked the gauntlet of angry mobs on her first day integrating Little Rock Central High School ...or shards of stained glass from the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four little girls. And if you’ve got lots of time to explore, browse the museum’s vast open-source collections, brimming with letters, documents, photos and artifacts. They convey the wide-ranging African American experience—from a slave ship manifest to a poster of Sidney Poitier’s film To Sir, With Love . 

READ MORE: One of the Last Slave Ship Survivors Describes His Ordeal in a 1930s Interview

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. presents powerful online exhibits brimming with resources such as videos, timelines, glossaries and image galleries rich with potent original artifacts. Themes include Collaboration & Complicity, Nazi Propaganda, Americans and the Holocaust, Racial Health Policies and more. Elsewhere on the museum’s site: a deep archive of survivor interviews , moving artifacts like a gallery of 600 ID cards of Holocaust victims and a place to browse the museum’s huge, sobering collections.

READ MORE: American Response to the Holocaust

Sign up for Inside History

Get HISTORY’s most fascinating stories delivered to your inbox three times a week.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Networks. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

More details : Privacy Notice | Terms of Use | Contact Us

Welcome to Epic Travel Plans!

Epic Travel Plans

Destinations that will leave you Breathless. Plans to make it happen

15 Best INTERACTIVE Virtual Tours of HISTORIC SITES

Eager to explore the world? So am I! I started going on a bunch of virtual tours of famous places and loved them so much that I thought I’d share my favorites with you. Here are the 15 BEST virtual tours of historic sites around the world. ALL are interactive 360 videos or photos. These top tourist destinations will wow you! 

This post is part of a best-of series of virtual tours. Find more incredible  virtual tours , including national parks and waterfalls around the world, wildlife encounters, awesome cities, and crazy adventure travel. 

Historic sites make for the best museums and the best storytellers, hey? By simply standing in a room or overlooking the ruins of days past, you’re immediately transported to another time. Another person’s experiences. And these interactive virtual tours take you right there … past the throngs of tourists and face to face with history. I hope you find these virtual tours of historic sites as inspiring as I do!

Now, if you don’t see the historic site virtual tour you’re looking for, continue to the Summary and Resources section at the bottom. There you’ll find links to more virtual tours of historic sites and other amazing tourist destinations. 

As you read through this list, start creating your travel bucket list … you’ll feel very productive getting all that drooling down in ONE place.

Or, go ahead and plan your next trip . (Or a few … I have!)

This is my list of the best virtual tours of historic sites out there. Enjoy!

1. Xian Warriors Historic Site Virtual Tour (China)

Oh. My. Goodness. Let’s start this list of the BEST virtual tours of historic sites with one incredible famous place.

Even in Chinese, this Xian Warriors virtual tour is AMAZING. Jump down from the tourist walkways to “walk” among the 8,000 some warriors and hundreds of chariots and horses, all in battle position. Zoom in to see traces of colorful paint on their unique expressions. Pan around to the rock and ponder what lies beyond.

This massive mausoleum was created around 210 B.C. All of this was to protect China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, in the afterlife. WOW. 

2. Great Wall of China Virtual Tour (China)

Here’s another top tourist destination in China. Given how famous the Great Wall of China is, it isn’t surprising that you can find a few virtual tours. AirPano’s Great Wall of China virtual tour is my favorite. 

Start at Dragon’s Head and click on the informational markers to learn more about this famous place. Move up the incredible climb at Sky Stairs. Enjoy incredible aerial views of destroyed towers and pan around to the great mountain ranges surrounding you. And “look” down to the incredible, ancient wall ruins beneath your feet. 

Want  more  of China? Explore The Forbidden City and Hong Kong in virtual tours of cities , and the Avatar mountains in virtual tours of national parks !

3. Angkor Wat Historic Site Virtual Tour (Cambodia)

Cambodia’s Angkor Wat complex is incredible . It’s one of my happy places, and was a must for this list of best virtual tours of historic sites.

The Angkor Wat virtual tour from Google Maps Street View is pretty great. Explore a number of the Angkor Wat temples and learn a bit about them through the information icons. There’s a bit of a glitch when I try to zoom in with my mouse, but the +/- buttons work.

If you’d prefer a video tour of Angkor Wat, check out this 360 video virtual tour from VR Gorilla. They walk you through a few of the temples, take you on a boat tour past floating villages, and then give you a taste of Siem Reap’s night life.

Interested in Cambodia? Check out my related articles:

• Experiencing Cambodia’s Genocide Sites
• Donating Blood in Cambodia  
• 5 Trusted Charities in SE Asia Every Tourist Should Visit

4. The White House Virtual Tour (United States)

Okay. Let’s jump aaaall the way across the Pacific Ocean to the most famous home in the world: the White House. Google Maps takes us inside this top tourist destination with the White House virtual tour . Sadly, it only includes the public rooms on the main floor. I was really curious about the stairs heading down, but no luck. This virtual tour is pretty basic, but the location is pretty cool to make the list of best virtual tours of historic sites.

Don’t think this is cool enough? How about 360-degree videos of Washington DC’s top tourist destinations ? Open these up in your YouTube app and have fun!

You may also like Hotels for Romantic Getaways in USA

Interested in getting a CHEAP VR headset? Check out Google Cardboard!

5. Anne Frank’s House Virtual Tour (Netherlands)

Now we’ll jump again … over the Atlantic Ocean for virtual tours of historic sites in EUROPE.

And my goodness, this historic site virtual tour is such a treasure. The Anne Frank House virtual tour takes you into the house to see what their lives looked like before and during the Second World War. Climb up to the bookshelf that disguises the Secret Annex. This is where the young girl lived for more than two years, before being discovered. She was sent to the concentration camp, where she died.

Wander through the Anne Frank House virtual tour online. Or, download the free virtual reality app for a more intimate virtual tour of this historic site.

6. Palace of Versailles Virtual Tour (France)

WOW. The Palace of Versailles is certainly among the most grand palaces in the world. And now Google Arts and Culture takes you on a Palace of Versailles virtual tour ! Stroll along the stunning Hall of Mirrors tucked in between the War Room and Peace Room (use the Street View in the link above to enter the side rooms). Don’t forget to look UP!

Then check out the Royal Opera and wander through the gardens. Videos help round out this incredible historic site virtual tour. 

7. Prague Castle Virtual Tour (Czech Republic)

The Prague Castle virtual tour takes you up the hill overlooking the most beautiful city in the world. There are lots of 360-degree images to fall in love with, making this one of the best virtual tours of historic sites!

Explore the gardens and courtyards. Pan up to the buildings towering all around you and zoom in for more detail. Make yourself dizzy spinning in circles under St Vitus Cathedral’s stained glass windows or the Old Royal Palace ceiling. Enjoy the views from the East Gate and Southern Gardens. It’s too bad they didn’t include the view from the steps near Hradcany Square.

Even wandering through the Prague Castle virtual tour leaves me turned around. This is one of the things I really didn’t like when visiting Prague . If you’re planning a real-life visit to this famous place, study the map!

8. Vatican Museum Virtual Tour (Italy)

Have you dreamed of seeing the Vatican’s stunning rooms for yourself? The Vatican Museum virtual tour takes you through Sistine Chapel and Raphael’s Rooms, along with other incredible halls and museums. When I took a tour of this famous place in person, I fell in love with Raphael’s Rooms. Can you find him watching you wherever you stand? He’s in all of his rooms. (Like a much more sophisticated Where’s Waldo!)

Just standing on the doorstep looking into the Sistine Chapel is spectacular. Pan up, spin around and zoom in for a closer look of everything that intrigues you. It’ll be a LOT! The only negative to having it all to yourself? No audio, at least what I could find.

Note: The Vatican Museum virtual tour is compatible with WebVR. So put on a virtual reality headset for an even more epic historic site virtual tour! 

9. Roman Colosseum Virtual Tour (Italy)

One of the most stunning architectural feats of its time, and one of the most gut-wrenching historical sites to visit in person. In nearly 400 years of providing “entertainment,” it’s estimated that nearly 400,000 people died here. Plus almost 1 million animals.

Courtesy of Google Maps, the Roman Colosseum virtual tour takes you inside this top tourist destination. Although you can’t sit on the crumbling steps and absorb the heavy atmosphere, you can “walk” around the public areas and imagine what it would’ve been like. Thundering with cheers and chants of the crowd, lion roars and screams cut short. 

A list of best virtual tours of historic sites wouldn’t be complete without the Roman Colosseum.

Want more of Italy? Check out inspiring virtual tours of cities ! Naples, Pompeii … Old Town Taormina in Messina. WOW.

10. Acropolis Virtual Tour (Greece)

Now how about a trek out to Greece? The Acropolis virtual tour takes you up the ancient steps to this historic site overlooking Athens. Not all images give you 360-degree views and some of my favorite real-life views are missing, but it’s still the Acropolis. And there are detailed descriptions with each image … in English, yay! You also get to see it lit up at night.

My favorite real-life and virtual view from this historic site is looking back over your shoulder as you climb up. Can you find Mars Hill? Step carefully on the uneven paths, especially as you near the East Facade of the Parthenon. And take a deep breath as you gaze out over Athens from the Parthenon Through Time spot (near the West Facade).

But I must confess that I found the Acropolis virtual tour a bit frustrating to navigate. Instead of finding a “next” button, I kept going back to the map. But, the detailed descriptions and zooming function still make it fun, and one of the best virtual tours of historic sites you should check out.

11. Holy Land Historic Sites Virtual Tour (Israel/Palestine)

The Holy Land virtual tour takes you through a long list of 45 amazing historic sites. With so many famous places, I found it a little overwhelming. But if you know where you want to go, choose from the drop-down menu (top center) or images (top left).

The Holy Land virtual tour of historic sites is SO insightful. Bright, colorful churches. Lovely architecture. Vivid colors of the River Jordan. I was surprised by how tall the wailing wall is. You can almost imagine walking those sandy stone paths and running your hand along the stone walls. And feeling the Dead Sea mud squishing through your toes! 

12. Petra Virtual Tour (Jordan)

Ahhh … yes!! You HAVE to check out the Petra virtual tour from Google Maps. Definitely one of the BEST virtual tours of historic sites out there. 

Start your Petra virtual tour at the gateway, and wander all the way into the famous monastery at the end. Google’s Street View gives you an audio tour, ambient sounds of the area, and informational icons to learn more. Pan around and move along the path’s arrows (but you can’t zoom in). Climb up the sandy rock steps, gaze down at the desert canyon below and wander in and out of ancient temples.

My only complaint is that I can’t figure out how to stand back from the monastery for that classic photo op. Or find a camel. Can you?

13. Pharaoh Ramesses VI Tomb Virtual Tour (Egypt)

Okay, this site is very cool. Check out the Pharaoh Ramesses VI Tomb virtual tour . It takes you along a beautiful, ornately decorated tunnel into a room dedicated to Pharaoh Ramesses VI. Step over the railing to look closer at the broken tomb and hieroglyphics on the wall. SO. COOL.

Now, you can also take a virtual tour of the Pyramids . You’d think it’d have to be one of the best virtual tours of historic sites, right? But I found Google Maps’ Street View virtual tour disappointing. I couldn’t figure out how to get inside! (If you know the trick, please share in the comments!)

14. Taj Mahal Virtual Tour (India)

Here’s another incredible historic site to explore online. The Taj Mahal virtual tour takes you around the grounds and inside this top tourist destination. You can pan around and zoom in for a closer look. Listen to videos for information on various pieces. And the views of the gardens and Yamuna River are wonderful. 

But I’m sad to report that the Taj Mahal virtual tour has disappointing limitations. You can’t pan up to look at the ceilings nor down when you’re on top of the buildings. The most annoying thing for me, though, was not finding a “next” button and having to go back to the map every time. That said, I still love that I could “see” this famous place for myself. So, it still makes the list of best virtual tours of historic sites!

15. Machu Picchu Historic Site Virtual Tour (Peru)

One of the top tourist destinations in the world, Machu Picchu is definitely on my bucket list. Yours, too? The Machu Picchu virtual tour will make you want to go now ! 

This Machu Picchu virtual tour is easy to navigate and the narration is short and pleasant. The disadvantage of this setup, though, is you can’t just go wherever you want (like you kinda can with Google Maps Street View). I really wanted to go inside the ruined buildings. And sit on the edge and run my fingers through that sand! This historic site virtual tour really only makes me want to go more .

INCREDIBLE. What a way to end this post of the best virtual tours of historic sites!

Want more of South America? Visit incredible waterfalls like Angel Falls and Iguazu Falls, national parks and the Galapagos wildlife !

Summary and Resources

Which of these virtual tours of historic sites make your best-of list? Which top tourist destination are you eager to travel to next?

Other posts you may be interested in:

• 25 virtual tours of beautiful NATIONAL PARKS around the world
• 15 virtual tours of WILDLIFE ENCOUNTERS  
• 17 inspiring virtual tours of CITIES

If the famous place YOU were looking for isn’t among my best virtual tours of historic sites, here are two other fun websites to explore:

• AirPano has tons of virtual tours of historic sites and other amazing locations around the world, both by 360-degree photos and HD videos (built for VR headsets). Germany’s famous Neuschwanstein Castle. The Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge in China. Russia’s Saint Petersburg. AWESOME. 
• Google Arts & Culture has a huge variety of virtual tours of historic sites and others for you to explore. More palaces, castles and museums. Aquariums. Melbourne Cricket Ground. Many historic sites can be toured with Google Maps Street View, but not all with audio or information icons.

Interested in getting a VR headset? If you’re into gaming or want a good one, reviewers praise the Oculus brand . Otherwise, you CAN get a cheap VR headset. Just check out Google Cardboard !

Know someone who’d enjoy this post? SHARE with a friend!

And now that you’re feeling the travel bug …

• Finally start your travel bucket list (FREE template!)
• Or, start planning your next trip!

Feature photo credit (Xian Warriors): Aaron Greenwood from Unsplash.

6 Responses

Enoued these very much. If anyone is interested, I have a website with over 50 tours. The photography and execution is certainly not as professional as thes 15, bit as a world history teacher I have added accurate historical audio tracks, offering a comprehensive tour of famed sights (as well as those off the beaten path) supplemented by photos I have taken as well as curated videos. The link is: https://tracyanddale.com/VirtualTraveler/index.html

Am I missing something (I’m visually impaired)? I can’t find links to the tours…

I had a virtual tour of the Holy Land. It led me to more than 36 sites with their own spiritual significance. Of course, the original site where a certain event took place are now protected and kept under the church buildings built around them.

Even though the original site was invisible, I could see so many well preserved churches and the people with deep thought on what God has done in those specific places.

The land was somewhat barren with much desert. But I believe it is still a land flowing with milk and honey as God said, over all. Seeing the site, churches and people led me to renew how great God is and how great salvation is through Jesus Christ, as a Christian myself.

Amen. There is something special about this area of the world, that is for sure.

Hi, great site with amazing links which I would love to use with my history student. Only think is that the Holy Land is in Palestine, not stotel territory of İsrael.

I’m so glad you’re enjoying the links! I agree … these virtual tours are pretty incredible.

Thank you for your comment. I’ve updated the post to reflect this.

Add a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Plan your ROMANTIC getaway with our eBook, available in our TRAVEL PRINTABLES store Dismiss

We noticed you're visiting from United States (US). We've updated our prices to United States (US) dollar for your shopping convenience. Use Canadian dollar instead. Dismiss

Sign up now to receive your fillable PDF templates for building your travel bucket list and planning those epic trips! Plus, monthly inspiration and tips to make those "wow" trips happen.

Unsubscribe at any time. But we don't think you'll want to.

Advertiser Disclosure

Many of the credit card offers that appear on this site are from credit card companies from which we receive financial compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). However, the credit card information that we publish has been written and evaluated by experts who know these products inside out. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers that are on the market. See our advertising policy here where we list advertisers that we work with, and how we make money. You can also review our credit card rating methodology .

The 75 Best Virtual Museum Tours Around the World [Art, History, Science, and Technology]

Jarrod West

Senior Content Contributor

440 Published Articles 1 Edited Article

Countries Visited: 21 U.S. States Visited: 24

Keri Stooksbury

Editor-in-Chief

29 Published Articles 3077 Edited Articles

Countries Visited: 45 U.S. States Visited: 28

Google Arts and Culture

1. the albertina museum (vienna, austria), 2. art institute of chicago (chicago, illinois), 3. benaki museum (athens, greece), 4. the broad (los angeles, california), 5. centre pompidou (paris, france), 6. the dalí theatre-museum (figueres, spain), 7. detroit institute of arts (detroit, michigan), 8. frick collection (new york city, new york), 9. galleria dell’accademia (florence, italy), 10. georgia o’keeffe museum (sante fe, new mexico), 11. grand palais (paris, france), 12. hermitage museum (saint petersburg, russia), 13. high museum of art (atlanta, georgia), 14. the j. paul getty museum (los angeles, california), 15. kunsthaus zürich (zürich, switzerland), 16. la galleria nazionale (rome, italy), 17. los angeles county museum of art (lacma) (los angeles, california), 18. mauritshuis (the hague, netherlands), 19. the metropolitan museum of art (new york city, new york), 20. musée du louvre (paris, france), 21. musée d’orsay (paris, france), 22. museo nacional del prado (madrid, spain), 23. museo frida kahlo (mexico city, mexico), 24. museo nacional centro de arte reina sofía (madrid, spain), 25. museu de arte de são paulo (são paulo, brazil), 26. museum of broken relationships (los angeles, california and zagreb, croatia), 27. museum of fine arts, boston (boston, massachusetts), 28. museum of fine arts, houston (houston, texas), 29. the museum of modern art (moma) (new york city, new york), 30. national gallery (london, england), 31. national gallery of art (washington, d.c.), 32. national gallery of victoria (victoria, melbourne, australia), 33. national museum of china (beijing, china), 34. national museum of korea (seoul, south korea), 35. national museum, new delhi (new delhi, india), 36. national museum of modern and contemporary art (seoul, south korea), 37. national palace museum (taipei, taiwan), 38. national portrait gallery (washington, d.c.), 39. pergamonmuseum (berlin, germany), 40. picasso museum (barcelona, spain), 41. rijksmuseum (amsterdam, netherlands), 42. san francisco museum of modern art (san francisco, california), 43. sistine chapel at the vatican museums (vatican city), 44. solomon r. guggenheim museum (new york city, new york), 45. tate modern (london, england), 46. thyssen-bornemisza museum (madrid, spain), 47. tokyo national museum (tokyo, japan), 48. uffizi gallery (florence, italy), 49. van gogh museum (amsterdam, netherlands), 50. victoria and albert museum (london, england), 1. american museum of natural history (new york city, new york), 2. the british museum (london, england), 3. national museum of anthropology (mexico city, mexico), 4. national museum of natural history (washington, d.c.), 5. natural history museum (london, england), 1. london science museum (london, england), 2. museo galileo (florence, italy), 3. the museum of flight (seattle, washington), 4. the museum of natural sciences of belgium (brussels, belgium), 5. museum of science, boston (boston, massachusetts), 6. national aeronautics and space administration (nasa) (washington, d.c.), 7. national air and space museum (washington, d.c.), 8. national museum of computing (bletchley park, england), 9. national museum of the united states air force (riverside, ohio), 10. oxford university’s history of science museum (oxford, england), 1. acropolis museum (athens, greece), 2. american battlefield trust virtual battlefield tours, 3. anne frank house (amsterdam, netherlands), 4. franklin d. roosevelt presidential library and museum (hyde park, new york), 5. national museum of african american history and culture (washington, d.c.), 6. national museum of american history (washington, d.c.), 7. national museum of scotland (edinburgh, scotland), 8. national women’s history museum (alexandria, virginia), 9. terra cotta warriors of xi’an at emperor qinshihuang’s mausoleum site museum (xi’an, china), 10. u.s. holocaust memorial museum (washington, d.c.), final thoughts.

We may be compensated when you click on product links, such as credit cards, from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.

You can now access collections from many of the world’s top museums without ever leaving home! We’ve put together an ultimate list of 75 world-class museums that offer virtual tours you can visit from the comfort of your couch.

Many of the virtual tours include exhibit walk-throughs and the ability to examine some of the world’s best paintings, sculptures, and other pieces up close and personal. These virtual tours are jam-packed with enough details to make you feel like you’re really visiting the museum. The experiences are sure to entertain the whole family, an art or history buff, or even those who want to imagine the joys of travel!

We’ve broken our list into 4 easy-to-review sections, including art, natural history, science and technology, and history museums. So whether you prefer to take in a painting at the Van Gogh Museum, check out an SR-71 Blackbird at the Museum of Flight, or gaze upon the Rosetta Stone, this list has it all!

Many of the virtual exhibits in this article are offered through a collaboration with Google Arts and Culture. If you’re not familiar, Google Arts and Culture is an online platform that showcases high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from more than 2,000 museums throughout the world. You can zoom in and out of images in great detail and view some of the best pieces of artwork ever created without leaving your couch.

The platform is available in 18 languages and has been praised internationally for increasing access to art to those who may have not had the opportunity otherwise. It’s available for web , iOS , and Android .

50 Art Museums With Virtual Tours

Year Opened:  1805

The Albertina Museum features one of the most important European collections of international modern art and houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and 1 million old master prints. Hundreds of the works housed in the museum, like “Study for the Last Supper” by Da Vinci and “The Water Lily Pond” by Monet, can be viewed online thanks to a partnership with Google Arts and Culture.

To view the online exhibits, click here .

Year Opened: 1879

The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the U.S., hosting approximately 1.5 million people annually. Its collection features more than 5,000 years of human expression from cultures around the world and contains more than 300,000 works of art in 11 curatorial departments.

The online tour allows you to view major pieces from the museum’s collection, such as “American Gothic,” “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte,” and “Nighthawks.” The site also offers projects to get creative at home, educator resources, and JourneyMaker, a digital tool that allows visitors to create unique, personalized tours of the museum.

To view the online tour, click here .

Year Opened: 1930

Established in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father Emmanuel Benakis, the Benaki Museum houses Greek works of art from prehistoric to modern times and an extensive collection of Asian art. It also hosts periodic exhibitions and maintains a state-of-the-art restoration and conservation workshop.

The entire museum can be viewed virtually in great detail.

To view the online virtual tour, click here .

Year Opened: 2015

The Broad is a contemporary art museum named for philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad. The Broad houses a nearly 2,000-piece collection of contemporary art, featuring 200 artists including works by Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Ed Ruscha, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol. Notable installations include Yayoi Kusama’s “Infinity Mirrored Room” (pictured above) and Ragnar Kjartansson’s expansive 9-screen video “The Visitors.”

The Broad has put together a series of YouTube videos to give you a first-hand look at the museum.

Year Opened : 1977

The Centre Pompidou, named after the president of France from 1969 to 1974, is the largest museum for modern and contemporary art in Europe and the second-largest in the world. The museum has more than 12,000 pieces of artwork on display, including works by Kandinsky, Dalí, and Valadon.

The Centre has dozens of videos available on its YouTube channel that provide walk-throughs of the museum and explanations of its most important works.

To view the video tours, click here .

Year Opened : 1974

Dedicated to the life and work of the surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, the Dalí Theatre-Museum displays the single largest and most diverse collection of works by the artist. In addition to Dalí paintings from all decades of his career, there are Dalí sculptures, 3-dimensional collages, mechanical devices, and other curiosities from Dalí’s imagination. Through the website, guests can take a virtual tour in 360-degree of the entire museum.

To view the virtual tour, click here .

Year Opened: 1885

With more than 100 galleries covering over 658,000 square feet, the Detroit Institute of Arts has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the U.S. Its collection features works spanning from ancient Egypt and Europe all the way to modern contemporary art.

The museum has put together “ At Home With DIA ” to offer school field trips from home, weekly film screenings, senior resources, and home projects. DIA also has a partnership with Google Arts and Culture to provide online exhibits including:

• Frida Kahlo in Detroit
• Ordinary People by Extraordinary Artists
• Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry
• Self Portrait on the Borderline between Mexico and the United States

Year Opened: 1935

Located in the Henry Clay Frick House, the Frick Collection houses the art collection of industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The collection features some of the best-known paintings by major European artists, including Bellini, Rembrandt, and Vermeer, as well as numerous works of sculpture and porcelain.

The entire museum can be viewed virtually.

Year Opened : 1784

The Galleria dell’Accademia, while small compared to other museums featured, is still the second most visited museum in Italy. Its command of visitors is in large part due to its display of perhaps the most famous sculpture in history — Michaelangelo’s statue of David.

You can view a short, video-guided tour of the museum, which includes 360-degree viewing, allowing you to get a close look at the museum’s offerings.

To view the video tour, click here .

Year Opened: 1997

The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum is dedicated to the artistic legacy of Georgia O’Keeffe and her contributions to American Modernism. The museum’s collection includes many of O’Keeffe’s key works, ranging from her innovative abstractions to her iconic large-format flower, skull, and landscape paintings, to paintings of architectural forms, rocks, shells, and trees. Initially, the collection was made of 140 O’Keeffe paintings, watercolors, pastels, and sculptures, but now includes nearly 1,200 objects.

The museum website offers creative activities, stories, and education about Georgia O’Keeffe’s life, along with several virtual exhibits available through Google Arts and Culture, including:

• Georgia O’Keeffe
• American Modernism
• United States

Year Opened : 1900

The Grand Palais is a large historic site, exhibition hall, and museum dedicated to the organization of exhibitions, publishing books, art workshops, photographic agency, and hosting major fairs and events. The museum receives 2.5 million visitors each year. The partnership with Google Arts and Culture brings extensive online exhibits to life, from the construction of the building to the masterpieces that lie within it.

Year Opened : 1764

The Hermitage Museum is the second-largest and eighth-most visited art museum in the world. The Hermitage has more than 60,000 pieces of artwork on display, including the “Peacock Clock” by James Cox, “Madonna Litta” by Leonardo Da Vinci, and works by Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and Antonio Canova.

The online tour is extremely comprehensive and allows you to virtually walk through all 6 buildings in the main complex, treasure gallery, and several exhibition projects.

Year Opened : 1905

The High Museum of Art offers over 15,000 works of art in its collection and is the leading art museum in the southeastern U.S. The museum focuses on 19th- and 20th-century American art, historic and contemporary decorative arts and design, European paintings, modern and contemporary art, photography, folk and self-taught art, and African art.

The museum’s partnership with Google Arts and Culture also offers online exhibits for viewing including:

• Bill Traylor’s Drawings of People, Animals, and Events
• How Iris van Herpen Transformed Fashion
• Incredible, Innovative, and Unexpected Contemporary Furniture Designs
• Photos From the Civil Rights Movement

Year Opened: 1953

The J. Paul Getty Museum is made up of 2 campuses — the Getty Center and Getty Villa — that receive more than 2 million visitors per year. The Getty Center features pre-20th-century European paintings, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, and decorative arts and photographs from the 1830s through present-day from all over the world. The Getty Villa displays art from Ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria.

The museum has put together online resources like art books, online exhibitions, podcasts, and videos, all viewable on its website .

It has also partnered with Google Arts and Culture to showcase online exhibits including:

• 18th Century Pastel Portraits
• The Art of Three Faiths: Torah, Bible, Qur’an
• Eat, Drink, and Be Merry
• Getty Museum Acquisitions 2019
• Heaven, Hell, and Dying Well

To view the online galleries, click here .

Year Opened : 1910

The Kunsthaus Zürich features one of Switzerland’s most important art collections from the 13th century to the present day. While the museum places an emphasis on Swiss artists, including Alberto Giacometti, you’ll also find work from the likes of Monet, Picasso, and Warhol.

The museum’s partnership with Google Arts and Culture has digitized several of the museum’s best collections for viewing.

Year Opened: 1883

La Galleria Nazionale displays about 1,100 paintings and sculptures from the 19th and 20th centuries — the largest collection in Italy. It features work from famous Italian artists including Giacomo Balla, Umberto Boccioni, Alberto Burri, and foreign artists including Cézanne, Monet, Pollock, Rodin, and Van Gogh.

It has teamed up with Google to offer 16 virtual exhibits for online viewing.

Year Opened: 1910

LACMA is the largest art museum in the western U.S., attracts nearly a million visitors annually, and holds more than 150,000 works spanning the history of art from ancient times to the present.

The website (click LACMA @ Home ) includes exhibition walkthroughs, soundtracks and live recordings, online teaching resources, and courses.

To view the LACMA’s online virtual tour from Google Arts & Culture, click here .

Year Opened : 1822

The Mauritshuis is home to some of the best Dutch paintings from the Golden Age of Art. The museum consists of 854 works by artists like Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt Van Rijn, and Jan Steen. Famous works include “Girl with a Pearl Earring” (pictured above) and “View of Delft” by Vermeer, and “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp” by Rembrandt.

The museum has partnered with Google Arts and Culture to bring several of its best works to life for virtual viewing.

To view the Mauritshuis’ online exhibits, click here .

Year Opened: 1870

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, also known as “The Met,” is the largest art museum in the U.S. and the fourth most visited museum in the world with more than 6 million visitors each year. The permanent collection contains more than 2 million works from classical antiquity and ancient Egypt, paintings and sculptures from nearly all of the European masters (including Monet’s Water Lillies), and an extensive collection of American and modern art. It also has extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, and Islamic art.

The museum has extensive different online exhibits available for viewing through Google and its own Art at Home website .

Year Opened:  1793

The Louvre Palace, which houses the museum, began as a fortress under Philip II in the 12th century to protect the city from English soldiers that were in Normandy. It wasn’t repurposed as a museum until 1793. Now, the Louvre is easily one of the most historic art museums in the world. Not only is the Louvre the largest art museum in the world at 782,910 square feet (72,735 square meters), but it also had 9.6 million visitors in 2019, making it the most visited museum in the world as well. Featured masterpieces include “Mona Lisa,” “Winged Victory of Samothrace,” “Venus de Milo,” and “Hammurabi’s Code.”

The Louvre has several virtual galleries on display, including:

• The Advent of the Artist, including works from Delacroix, Rembrandt, and Tintoretto
• Egyptian Antiquities, featuring collections from the Pharaonic period
• Remains of the Louvre’s Moat — visitors can walk around the original perimeter moat and view the piers that supported the drawbridge dating back to 1190
• Galerie d’Apollon, destroyed by fire in 1661 and recently rebuilt for viewing

To view the Louvre’s virtual tour page, click here .

Year Opened: 1986

The Musée d’Orsay is housed in the former Gare d’Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It is one of the largest art museums in Europe and had more than 3.6 million visitors in 2019. It houses the largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world, including works by Cézanne, Degas, Gauguin, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Seurat, Sisley, and Van Gogh.

The museum allows you to virtually walk through one of its popular galleries, featuring hundreds of paintings from French artists.

To view the Musée d’Orsay online gallery, click here .

Year Opened : 1819

The Museo Nacional del Prado is considered to have one of the greatest collections of European art in the world and offers guests the single largest collection of Spanish art. The collection currently comprises around 8,200 drawings, 7,600 paintings, 4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures. Well-known works include “Las Meninas” by Diego Velázquez, “The Third of May 1808” by Francisco De Goya, and “The Garden of Earthly Delights” by Hieronymus Bosch.

The museum’s online gallery allows you to get a close look at over 10,000 different pieces of art. The Prado also offers a 1-hour live show on Instagram every morning at 4 a.m. EST.

To view the online gallery, click here .

Year Opened: 1958

The Frida Kahlo Museum, also known as the Blue House due to its blue walls, is a historic museum dedicated to the life and work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The building was Kahlo’s birthplace, the home where she grew up, lived with her husband Diego Rivera for many years, and where she later died in a room on the upper floor. The museum contains a collection of artwork by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and other artists, along with the couple’s Mexican folk art, pre-Hispanic artifacts, photographs, memorabilia, personal items, and more. Find out more in our guide to the best museums in Mexico City .

Year Opened: 1990

The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, also called the Museo Reina Sofía, is one of the most popular art museums in the world. The museum includes large collections of Spain’s 2 most popular artists, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. Famous works on display include “Guernica” and “Woman in Blue” by Picasso and “Cubist Self Portrait” by Dalí.

You can view collections of artwork at the Reina Sofía through its partnership with Google Arts and Culture.

Year Opened: 1947

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo is Brazil’s first modern art museum. The museum is internationally recognized for its collection of European art, as it’s considered the finest museum in Latin America and all of the Southern Hemisphere. The museum primarily features Brazilian art, prints, and drawings, as well as smaller collections of African and Asian art, antiquities, decorative arts, and others, amounting to more than 8,000 pieces. MASP also has one of the largest art libraries in the country.

You can now take a virtual tour of online galleries the museum has to offer, including:

• Art from Brazil until 1900
• Art from Italy: Rafael to Titian
• Art from France: from Delacroix to Cézanne
• Art in Fashion
• Histories of Madness: The Drawings of Juquery
• Picture Gallery in Transformation

Year Opened: 2010

The Museum of Broken Relationships is dedicated to failed love relationships. Its exhibits include personal objects left over from former lovers, accompanied by brief descriptions. The museum was founded by 2 Zagreb-based artists, film producer Olinka Vištica and sculptor Dražen Grubišić, after their 4-year relationship came to an end.

The virtual tour includes a close-up collection of dozens of the museum’s most interesting pieces.

The 17th largest art museum in the world, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) hosts one of the most extensive art collections in the U.S. It houses over 8,000 paintings, surpassed only by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and exceeds 1 million visitors each year. Pieces by world-renowned artists like Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Monet are featured alongside sculptures, mummies, ceramics, and other artifacts from ancient civilizations.

There are currently 16 online exhibits available for viewing.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) is one of the largest museums in the U.S., and its collection features over 64,000 works from 6 continents. The collection places emphasis on pre-Columbian and African gold, Renaissance and Baroque painting and sculpture, 19th- and 20th-century art, photography, and Latin American art. Read our guide to the best museums in Houston for more information.

The museum has 14 online exhibits available for viewing in collaboration with Google Arts and Culture.

Year Opened: 1929

Regarded as one of the largest and most influential museums of modern art in the world, MoMA’s art collection features an overview of modern and contemporary art, including works of architecture and design, drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, prints, illustrated books, and artist’s books, film, and electronic media. MoMA’s holdings include more than 150,000 individual pieces including Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Cans” and Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” in addition to approximately 22,000 films and 4 million film stills.

MoMA’s website offers 86,000 works of art that can be viewed online, along with a partnership with Google Arts and Culture to create a virtual display of its Sophie Taeber-Arp exhibit.

To view the website’s collection, click here . To view the Google exhibit, click here .

Year Opened : 1824

The National Gallery features more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900, including works such as “Sunflowers” by Van Gogh, “The Virgin on the Rocks” by Da Vinci, and “The Arnolfini Portrait” by Jan Van Eyck.

Its website offers a few virtual tours, showcasing many rooms in the museum, the Sainsbury Wing, and a Google Virtual tour.

Year Opened: 1937

The National Gallery of Art and its attached Sculpture Garden are located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and are open to the public free of charge. The museum was privately established in 1937 for the American people by a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress.

The National Gallery is widely considered to be one of the greatest museums in the U.S. It ranks second in total visitors of all American museums, 10th in the world, and features incredible pieces including Jackson Pollock’s “Number 1,” Leonardo da Vinci’s “Ginevra de’ Benci,” and Degas’ “Little Dancer Aged 14.”

The museum has put together a collection of educational resources on its website for teachers, families, and children. It also features online exhibits through Google Arts and Culture including:

• American Fashion — highlights from 1740 to 1895
• Johannes Vermeer — Dutch Baroque painter

To view the National Gallery of Art online collection page, click here .

Year Opened: 1861

The National Gallery of Victoria is Australia’s oldest, largest, and most visited art museum. The museum offers a wide variety of international and Australian art in its collection, including paintings, drawings, photography, and sculptures.

The online tour includes walk-throughs of exhibits, including highlights from the NGV Triennial 2020 and Chinese Collection, as well as exhibits featuring Goya and KAWS.

Year Opened : 2003

The National Museum of China covers Chinese history from 1.7 million years ago to the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. Notable works include the “Houmuwu” Rectangle Ding, a rectangular bronze sacrificial vessel made in the late Shang Dynasty, the heaviest piece of ancient bronze ware in the world, and a Han Dynasty jade burial suit laced with gold thread. It is one of the largest museums in the world, and the second most visited art museum in the world, just after the Louvre.

The museum has virtual exhibits available for 360-degree viewing including:

• Resplendence of the Tang Dynasty
• Sunken Silver

Year Opened : 1909

The National Museum of Korea is the top museum of Korean history and art and has been committed to various studies and research activities in the fields of archaeology, history, and art, continuously developing a variety of exhibitions and education programs.

The museum’s virtual tour provides a 3D walk-through of exhibits, including 1,000 years of Korean design and 500 years of the Joseon Dynasty.

Year Opened: 1949

The National Museum, New Delhi is one of the largest museums in India. The museum has around 200,000 works of art, both of Indian and foreign origin, including paintings, sculptures, jewelry, ancient texts, armor, and decorative arts ranging from the pre-historic era to modern works — covering over 5,000 years.

The museum has partnered with Google to bring its online exhibits to life, including:

• Art of Caligraphy
• Cadence and Counterpoint
• Indian Bronzes
• Nauras: The Many Arts of the Deccan
• Pottery from Ancient Peru
• Treasures of National Museum, India
• Radha and Krishna in the Boat of Love

Year Opened: 1969

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art was first established in 1969 as the only national art museum in South Korea, accommodating modern and contemporary art of Korea and international art of different time periods. The museum features over 7,000 pieces of artwork, including works of contemporary Korean artists such as Go Hui-dong, Ku Bon-ung, Park Su-geun, and Kim Whan-ki.

Google’s virtual tour takes you through 6 floors of contemporary art from Korea and all over the globe.

Year Opened : 1965

The National Palace Museum has a collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of ancient Chinese imperial artifacts and artworks. The collection encompasses 8,000 years of history of Chinese art, including jade, paintings, bronzes, and porcelain that were formerly held in the Forbidden City of Peking.

The museum offers 360-degree virtual tours of many different exhibits.

To view the virtual tours, click here .

Year Opened : 1962

The National Portrait Gallery has a collection of over 21,000 works of art. The collection focuses on images of famous Americans and how they’ve shaped U.S. culture. A major attraction of the National Portrait Gallery’s collection is the Hall of Presidents, which contains portraits of nearly all American presidents. It is the largest and most complete collection in the world, except for the White House collection itself.

The museum has several collections featured on Google Arts and Culture, but also offers digital workshops, and distance learning resources for children and teachers.

To view the online resources, click here .

The Pergamonmuseum houses monumental buildings, such as the Pergamon Altar, the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, and the Market Gate of Miletus reconstructed from the ruins found in Anatolia, as well as the Mshatta Facade. The museum is subdivided into the antiquity collection, the Middle East museum, and the museum of Islamic art. It is visited by over 1 million people every year.

The museum has dozens of structures and other artifacts that can be viewed online.

Year Opened: 1963

The Picasso Museum, located in the heart of Barcelona’s Latin Quarter, is visited by millions every year. They come to marvel at the best works of Picasso, perhaps the most famous painter of all, but stay to marvel at the best-preserved medieval architecture in Barcelona. With 4,251 works by the painter exhibited, the museum has one of the most complete permanent collections of his works.

The online tour offers a large selection of Picasso’s finest works, as well as virtual tours of the museum’s beautiful courtyards.

Year Opened: 1798

The Rijksmuseum was founded in The Hague in 1798 and moved to Amsterdam in 1808, where it was first located in the Royal Palace. The current main building was designed by Pierre Cuypers and first opened in 1885. The museum has on display 8,000 objects of art and history from the years 1200 to 2000, and a total collection of 1 million objects. The museum features masterpieces including Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch” and “The Jewish Bride,” plus works by Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer, who are known to have been major contributors to the Golden Age of Dutch art.

Google offers a street view tour of some excellent art pieces located in the museum, and the museum has put together an entire virtual tour of all of the museum’s masterpieces viewable on its website.

To view the Google street view tour, click here . You can also view the museum’s From Home microsite and masterpieces tour .

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is composed of over 33,000 works of art spread throughout 7 gallery floors and 45,000 square feet of space. Following a 3-year closure for expansion, the museum reopened in 2016 and is now one of San Francisco’s must-see destinations.

SFMOMA’s website is updated regularly with videos and articles regarding current exhibits, projects, and artist showcases and provides behind-the-scenes looks of the museum. 

To view the museum’s multimedia features, click here .

Read our guide to the best museums in San Francisco to find out more.

Year Opened: 1483

The Sistine Chapel, located inside of the Apostolic Palace (the official residence of the pope in Vatican City), is easily the most popular chapel in the world. The chapel is famous for its magnificent ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, and is considered to be one of the best artworks to come out of the Italian Renaissance. The primary panels of the ceiling showcase 9 scenes from the Book of Genesis, of which “The Creation of Adam” (pictured above) is the best known and most recognized.

Its website offers a virtual tour of the chapel’s most stunning sites, including the ability to marvel at Michelangelo’s ceiling from the comfort of your couch.

Year Opened: 1939

The Guggenheim Museum was established by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in 1939. It is the permanent home of a continuously expanding collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions throughout the year.

Google’s  Street View feature lets you tour the Guggenheim’s famous spiral staircase and some of its art pieces. It also offers a handful of online collections on its website .

Year Opened: 2000

Tate Modern is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the world, consisting of art dating from 1900 until today. The gallery receives over 5 million visitors a year, making it the sixth most visited art museum in the world and the most visited in the U.K.

The Tate Modern has published dozens of videos on its YouTube channel that give you an in-depth look at many of its exhibits, including the Andy Warhol exhibit and the Aubrey Beardsley exhibit.

To view the Tate Modern’s YouTube channel, click here .

Year Opened: 1992

Located in Madrid, the Thyssen has over 1,600 paintings inside its walls and was once the second-largest private collection in the world after the British Royal Collection. It includes works from the Italian primitives, the English, Dutch, and German schools, Impressionists, Expressionists, and European and American paintings from the 20th century. It also features pieces from the continent’s most celebrated artists including Rembrandt and Dalí.

The virtual tour includes a detailed look at the permanent collection, along with exhibits including the Rembrandt and Impressionist galleries.

Year Opened : 1872

The Tokyo National Museum is the oldest and largest art museum in Japan, and one of the largest art museums in the world. At the museum, you’ll find a collection of artwork and cultural objects from Asia, ancient and medieval Japanese art, and Asian art along the Silk Road.

The museum has teamed up with Google’s Arts and Culture to provide an inside look at what the museum has to offer.

Year Opened: 1581

The Uffizi was designed by Giorgio Vasari for Cosimo I de’ Medici, whose family members were by far the largest patrons of art in Renaissance Italy. The museum now spans over 139,000 square feet with 101 different rooms that house its art pieces, including famous pieces such as “The Birth of Venus.” Over 2 million people visit the Uffizi each year, making it the most viewed art museum in Italy.

The museum has teamed up with Google to showcase online galleries including:

• Piero di Cosimo, Perseus Freeing Andromeda
• The Santa Trinita Maestà, Cimabue
• The Creative Process Behind Federico Barocci’s Drawings
• Drawings by Amico Aspertini and other Bolognese artists

Year Opened: 1973

The Van Gogh Museum is dedicated to perhaps one of the most famous artists of all time — Vincent Van Gogh. The museum contains the largest collection of Van Gogh’s paintings and drawings in the world, including over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and over 750 personal letters. The museum has over 2 million visitors each year and is the 23rd most visited art museum in the world. Find out more in our review to the best museums in Amsterdam .

The museum has teamed up with Google to create online exhibits on Vincent Van Gogh’s love life and the books he loved to read. You can also visit the museum’s website for a selection of things to do for young children, including school lessons and coloring pages.

Year Opened : 1852

The Victoria and Albert Museum collection spans 5,000 years of art from Europe, North America, Asia, and North Africa. The collection of ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, silver, ironwork, jewelry, furniture, medieval objects, sculpture, prints and printmaking, drawings, and photographs is among the largest and most comprehensive in the world.

The virtual tour, in partnership with Google Arts and Culture, offers several online exhibits ranging from fashion to surrealism.

5 Natural History Museums With Virtual Tours

Year Opened : 1869

One of the largest natural history museums in the world, the American Museum of Natural History contains 34 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human cultural artifacts.

The museum’s 360-degree virtual tours offer an up-close look at permanent exhibits, current exhibits, past exhibits, and research stations.

Year Opened: 1759

The British Museum is one of the largest in the world and houses over 8 million works within its walls. Established in 1759, it was the first public national museum in the world. Visitors can tour the great court and view some of the most famous objects in history, like the Elgin Marbles of Greece and the Rosetta Stone of Egypt.

The Museum is the world’s largest indoor space on Google Street View and you can go on a virtual visit to more than 60 galleries.

The British Museum also has virtual galleries on display, including:

• Prints and Drawings

To visit the British Museum’s virtual tour page, click here .

Year Opened: 1964

The National Museum of Anthropology is the largest and most visited museum in all of Mexico. The museum contains significant archaeological and anthropological artifacts from Mexico’s pre-Columbian heritage, such as the Stone of the Sun (or the Aztec calendar stone) and the Aztec Xochipilli statue.

The museum has made more than 100 items available for Google visitors to explore from home.

To view the museum’s online collection, click here .

Located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History is the 11th most visited museum in the world and the most visited natural history museum in the world. With over 325,000 square feet of exhibition space, the museum’s collections contain over 145 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human cultural artifacts — the largest natural history collection in the world. Highlights of the collection include the Hope Diamond and the Star of Asia Sapphire.

You can view all of these specimens from the comfort of your home as the museum has dozens of different online exhibits that can all be accessed on its website.

To view the museum’s virtual tour, click here .

Year Opened: 1881

Undoubtably one of the best Museums in London , the Natural History Museum in London showcases 80 million life and earth science specimens of great historical and scientific value, even housing pieces collected by Charles Darwin. There are 5 categories within the museum: botany , entomology , mineralogy , paleontology , and zoology . Over 5 million people visit this museum each year, making it the most visited natural history museum in Europe.

One of the museum’s most prominent displays is the skeleton of an 82-foot long blue whale named Hope, which you can learn more about through a self-guided virtual tour, along with several other galleries. 

10 Science and Technology Museums With Virtual Tours

Year Opened : 1857

The London Science Museum holds a collection of over 300,000 items, including famous items such as Stephenson’s Rocket, Puffing Billy (the oldest surviving steam locomotive), the first jet engine, some of the earliest remaining steam engines, and documentation of the first typewriter.

Thanks to Google Street View, guests can take a virtual tour of the entire museum, or watch curator gallery guides on the museum’s YouTube channel.

To view the virtual tour or videos, click here .

Dedicated to the scientist and astronomer Galileo Galilei, the Museo Galilei is housed in an 11th-century palace known as the Palazzo Castellini. The museum has a collection of over 5,000 ancient scientific instruments dating back to the 13th century, and among its most notable items is the telescope Galileo used to discover the satellites of Jupiter.

Visitors from around the world have the opportunity to explore the inside of the museum and can access more than 1,000 permanent exhibition objects through the online catalog.

Year Opened: 1965

The Museum of Flight is the largest private air and space museum in the world and attracts over 500,000 visitors every year. The museum has more than 150 aircraft in its collection, including the Lockheed Model 10-E Electra (the aircraft Amelia Earhart was piloting when she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean), Boeing 747s, and the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (pictured above).

The museum offers 360-degree tours that let you step inside dozens of these iconic aircraft.

Year Opened: 1846

The Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium is dedicated to natural history and is part of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. The dinosaur hall of the museum is the world’s largest museum hall completely dedicated to dinosaurs, and its most important pieces are 30 fossilized Iguanodon skeletons, which were discovered in 1878 in Bernissart.

It has partnered with Google to set up virtual exhibits for viewing, including:

• 360-degree guided tour
• The Bernissart Iguanodons
• From Salehanthropus to Homo Sapiens
• Over 250 Years of Natural Sciences
• Past, Present, Future: The Marvels of Evolution

To view the museum’s online exhibits, click here .

Year Opened: 1830

The Museum of Science, Boston, receiving over 1.5 million visitors annually, is a museum and indoor zoo with more than 700 interactive exhibits and over 100 animals, many of which have been rescued and rehabilitated.

The museum offers a phenomenal virtual tour full of digital exhibits, videos, and audio presentations.

NASA, founded in 1958, was created by the federal government to develop the civilian space program, as well as to conduct aeronautics, space, and astrophysics research. Since its inception, NASA has been responsible for historic space missions including the Apollo moon-landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the space shuttle.

NASA has partnered with Google Arts and Culture to bring many online exhibits to life to showcase the beauty of space exploration.

Year Opened : 1946

The National Air and Space Museum is a center for the history and science of aviation, spaceflight, planetary science, terrestrial geology, and geophysics. It is the fifth most visited museum in the world (the second most visited in the U.S.), and contains the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, the Friendship 7 capsule, the Wright brothers’ Wright Flyer airplane, and Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis.

The virtual tour offers a 360-degree walk-through of the entire museum.

Year Opened: 2007

The National Museum of Computing is dedicated to collecting and restoring historic computer systems. The museum is home to the world’s largest collection of working historic computers dating back to the 1940s, including a rebuilt Mark 2 Colossus computer, alongside an exhibition of the most complex code-cracking activities performed at the Park.

In the 3D virtual tour, viewers can move around the galleries looking at the machines and their descriptions with the added bonus of hyperlinks to video and text explanations providing further detail and history of the exhibits.

Year Opened: 1923

Located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Riverside, Ohio, the National Museum of the United States Air Force is the oldest and largest military aviation museum in the world, with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display.

The virtual tour allows visitors to take a virtual, 360-degree, self-guided tour of the entire museum by navigating from gallery to gallery.

Year Opened: 1683

Oxford’s History of Science Museum holds a leading collection of scientific instruments from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.

The museum, ever ahead of the times, has offered virtual tours since 1995. You’ll get to explore the fantastic exhibits and artifacts of some of the most important scientific discoveries in science history.

10 History Museums With Virtual Tours

Year Opened : 2009

The Acropolis Museum is centered around the archaeological findings at the site of Athens’ most important structure — the Acropolis. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece.

The museum has partnered with Google Arts and Culture to bring the museum to life virtually. Now you can view rock, marble, and sculptures certificates, all of which are thousands of years old, all from the comfort of your couch!

The American Battlefield Trust Virtual Battlefield Tours offers the incredible opportunity to experience 360-degree virtual tours of more than 20 American Revolution and Civil War battlefields. You can explore Gettysburg, with 15 different stops, each of which features icons that discuss in great detail the history and significance of the battle.

Year Opened: 1957

What was once the house where Anne Frank went into hiding during WWII is now a museum dedicated to increasing awareness of Anne’s story and life in the attic. The Anne Frank House was established in cooperation with Anne Frank’s father, Otto Frank, and now welcomes over 1 million visitors from around the world each year.

The museum’s website offers a virtual reality tour of the annex, along with other educational resources about Anne’s life.

Year Opened: 1941

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum holds the records of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd U.S. president (1933 to 1945). The museum showcases the history behind FDR’s story, his presidency, New Deal policies, assassination attempt, and wartime decisions.

The 360-degree online tour gives you a close look at original documents, artifacts, and videos from FDR’s life.

Year Opened: 2003

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African-American life, history, and culture. It was established by an Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African-Americans. To date, the Museum has collected more than 36,000 artifacts.

The museum website offers more than 15 different online exhibits covering African American history and culture.

Check out its online virtual tour  and digital resources guide .

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History has more than 1.8 million objects that highlight the history of the U.S — including the original Star-Spangled Banner, Julia Child’s kitchen, Abraham Lincoln’s top hat, Indiana Jones’ fedora and whip, and more!

The museum offers about 100 online exhibits from its encyclopedic collections, each with a mix of photos, video, graphics, and text on topics ranging through the nation’s entire history.

Year Opened : 1866

The National Museum of Scotland is dedicated to Scottish antiquities, culture, and history. The museum contains artifacts from around the world, encompassing geology, archaeology, natural history, science, technology, art, and world cultures. Popular items from the collections include Dolly the Sheep, the Arthur’s Seat coffins, and the Cramond Lioness sculpture.

The Museum’s galleries have been captured digitally in partnership with Google Arts & Culture, along with a virtual walk-through thanks to Google Street View.

Year Opened: 1996

Founded in 1996 by Karen Staser, the National Women’s History Museum researches, collects, and exhibits the contributions of women to the social, cultural, economic, and political life of our nation in the context of world history.

Its website currently features 29 different online exhibits!

Year Opened: 1974 (created third century B.C.)

The Terracotta Army at Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210 to 209 B.C. to protect the emperor in his afterlife. The sculptures include warriors, chariots, and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the 3 pits containing the Terracotta Army held more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remained buried in the pits near Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum.

The online experience allows you to get up close and personal with the sculptures in a full 360-degree experience!

To view the online virtual experience, click here .

Year Opened: 1980

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is the country’s official memorial to the Holocaust. It is located on the National Mall alongside other monuments dedicated to freedom. Each year, the museum encourages its 1.6 million visitors to promote human dignity, confront hatred, prevent genocide, and strengthen democratic values. The museum’s collection includes millions of archival documents, artifacts, photographs, footage, and a list of over 200,000 registered survivors and their families, among other historical items.

Its website offers a wide selection of educational resources, including a virtual tour, and is available in 16 languages.

There you have it — 75 amazing #MuseumsAtHome options filled with one-of-a-kind artifacts covering art, science, history, and natural history, all of which can be “visited” virtually while you lounge in your pajamas! So whether you’re a massive fan of art, looking for an educational experience for your children, or simply need a way to keep yourself entertained, you can’t go wrong with a virtual tour of any of these world-class museums.

Frequently Asked Questions

What museums have virtual tours.

There are dozens of museums worldwide offering virtual tours — we have 75 on this list alone! But some of our favorites are the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the British Museum!

How much do virtual tours cost?

Every single virtual tour included on our list is completely free of charge!

What is a virtual museum tour?

A virtual museum tour is, in essence, a simulation of what you might experience when visiting the museum in person. Virtual tours are usually comprised of a collection of videos, still images, 3D walkthroughs, and narration that help you feel as though you’re visiting the museum — without actually doing so!

How do you do a virtual tour?

Doing a virtual tour is easy! Often, the museum will have a dedicated website page allowing you to view all of their virtual resources on 1 page.

In the case of museums that have a 3D walkthrough, you can “walk” yourself through the museum by clicking from artwork to artwork, and exhibit to exhibit, as if you were actually visiting the museum in person!

Are virtual tours worth it?

Absolutely! If you’re currently not able to visit a museum in person, but want to experience all it has to offer, a virtual tour allows you to do just that — all from the comforts of your home!

Was this page helpful?

About Jarrod West

Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 6 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in outlets like The New York Times.

INSIDERS ONLY: UP PULSE ™

Get the latest travel tips, crucial news, flight & hotel deal alerts...

Plus — expert strategies to maximize your points & miles by joining our (free) newsletter.

We respect your privacy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. Google's privacy policy and terms of service apply.

Related Posts

UP's Bonus Valuation

This bonus value is an estimated valuation calculated by UP after analyzing redemption options, transfer partners, award availability and how much UP would pay to buy these points.

Welcome to Clio!

Clio is your guide to the history and culture around you. We have ... historical entries from all across the country and ... walking tours, virtual tours of museums, heritage trails, and other curated experiences authored by hundreds of organizations. ... new entries have been added and ... entries have been improved in the last 30 days.

Finding entries near you...

Colleges and universities.

Create Clio entries with students!

Museums and Institutions

Create entries, walking tours, and heritage trails with members of your organization.

Individual Entries

Discover nearby historical and cultural sites. New entries are being added daily by universities, libraries, museums, and historical societies.

Walking Tours and Heritage Trails

Enjoy a guided tour-browse and explore from any location or discover history and culture as you travel.

Clio in the Classroom

Are you part of a classroom that is using Clio? If so, then use the button below to access the student login page.

Historical Societies, Museums, and Libraries

Are you part of an institution that is using Clio? If so, then use the button below to access the institution login page.

Download our free mobile application to discover nearby history.

The best virtual tours to explore the world from home

Oct 8, 2020 • 5 min read

The Sistine Chapel is just one wonder offering a virtual museum tour ©Rajesh Gathwala/500px

We live in an age of unprecedented access to digital technology – and with it, brand new ways of exploring the world around us.

While it's not quite the same as seeing, say, the Mona Lisa or Christ the Redeemer in person, some of the world’s most popular and remote destinations have created libraries of online images and video, as well as 360 degree virtual tours that let you virtually explore museums, galleries, world wonders and even national parks.

Here a just a few of the best digital tours that let you wander the world from wherever you may be social distancing.

See the seven wonders of the world

If there’s anything capable of whetting your appetite for world travel, it is the new seven wonders of the world:  the Great Wall of China , the ancient city of Petra , the Taj Mahal , the Colosseum , Machu Picchu , Christ the Redeemer , and Chichen Itza . Thankfully there are impressive virtual tours of each from The New York Times , AirPano , Google , and Panoramas .

With modern technology, you can even see the last standing wonder of the ancient world— The Pyramids of Giza . There are a few other wonders that might not make it into to the top seven but are still worth a digital peek, like the Alhambra , Seville's La Giralda , and even Easter Island.

Best virtual museum tours

In recent years, Google has partnered with over 2,5000 art museums to upload high-resolution versions of millions of pieces of art. Highlights include New York’s MoMA , DC’s National Gallery of Art , Chicago’s Art Institute , the Casa Battl ó, and Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum to name a few.

In addition, The Louvre offers a virtual tour , as do The Vatican Museums , many of the Smithsonian Museums , the Russian Museum , the top-rated British Museum , the Minneapolis  Museum of Russian Art , and the Palace Museum in Beijing.

You may not be able to kiss the Blarney Stone right now, but you can tour the Blarney Castle from afar. You can also visit the Museum of Flight,  the Museum of Science, the Museum of Natural History,  the National Women's History Museum  and Boston's History of Science Museum .

While museums are often an inherently visual experience, there's a lot to be learned from archives of past lectures and tours like the ones preserved online by Nashville's Frist Museum , the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Smithsonian American Art Museum,  the Frick , and others.

You might also like:  Broadway might be closed, but here’s how to stream the best performances from your home

Explore national parks

While travel to National Parks is best avoided for the time being, you don't need to miss out on the scenery. Virtual Yosemite is absolutely stunning and one of the best, replete with audio. Both Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rushmore offer virtual tours as well. 

Google has similar 360 degree audio-visual tours of five select national parks, including Kenai Fjords, Hawai'i Volcanos , Carlsbad Caverns, Bryce Canyon , and Dry Tortugas, as well as 31 more on Google Earth . You can also get an up-close look at almost 4,000 pieces of artwork, artifacts, and other treasures related to the history and culture of the national parks, and view online exhibits .

Digital safaris

Wildlife is a big draw for travelers, whether it's sighting some of the Big Five in Africa, glimpsing whales in North America, or introducing your children to new animals in person on a family safari . But if you're forays into the bush are grounded for now, many zoos and aquariums have created digital access to their habitats.

You can easily watch several live webcams of some of the nation’s greatest zoos and aquariums, including the  San Diego Zoo , Houston Zoo , Zoo Atlanta , the Tennessee Aquarium , and the Georgia Aquarium . Additionally you can see Canadian farm animals doing their thing , or you could watch Stella the Dog jump endlessly into huge piles of Maine leaves.

You may also like:  These nine wildlife web cams offer access to your favorite animals

Virtual hiking

Thanks to panoramic video, you can get a really good idea of what a hike looks like well before you arrive at the trailhead. For example, you can experience all of the following top-rated hikes right now from your computer or tablet:  Bryce Canyon , Grand Canyon , GR20 , Inca Trail , and the death-defying Angel's Landing . For even more great hikes, simply YouTube one of Lonely Planet’s top 10 treks or any other hike that suits your fancy. Bonus points if you follow along during a workout to enhance the realism.

Famous landmarks

You can visit many wonders of nature, including the Amazon Rainforest , Iguazu Falls , the Komodo Islands , or Table Mountain , using virtual tours. Or you can explore the Statue of Liberty , the Sahara Desert , Niagara Falls , or even a guided tour of the Eiffel Tower . For even more virtual tours, search your bucket list of adventures with  AirPano , Google Earth , or YouTube .

Travel to outer space

The moon hasn't made it to Lonely Planet's Best In Travel list (yet!), and even without self-isolation and shelter-in-place measures for COVID-19, many of us may never travel to space. But thanks to technology, now is as good of a time as any to do so virtually. Before blasting off, considering touring some of NASA’s offices first. Then relive the last lunar missions and moon walks in stunning HD. Or take a virtual tour of Mars with the help of Google. 

You might also like:

Listen to the sounds of forests around the world Cook your way around the world with these travel-inspired kitchen essentials Rome watchlist: films to see before your trip

The novel coronavirus (Covid-19) is now a global pandemic. Find out what this  means for travelers . 

This article was originally published March 2020 and was last updated October 2020.

This article was first published March 2020 and updated October 2020

Explore related stories

National Parks

Jun 14, 2022 • 8 min read

Here are 8 national parks where you can learn more about the history of the Native American peoples first-hand.

Mar 15, 2024 • 10 min read

Mar 1, 2024 • 6 min read

Feb 27, 2024 • 6 min read

Jan 24, 2024 • 7 min read

Dec 27, 2023 • 8 min read

Dec 3, 2023 • 6 min read

Nov 2, 2023 • 5 min read

Oct 7, 2023 • 14 min read

Aug 15, 2023 • 6 min read

JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser.

We use cookies for performance, analytics and marketing. By using this site, you agree to our use of cookies. For more information, view our Privacy Policy .

• Request a Catalog
• Create New Customer
• Create New School Account

# Type at least 3 character to search # Hit enter to search

• Blogs about homeschooling

32 Virtual Field Trips for American History

• Apr 11, 2017

When we venture out on field trips, our kids get first hand experiences that a book can never mimic. At the same time, homeschool field trips can be stressful, time consuming, and sometimes expensive. Weather is an added factor to consider with outdoor events such as a Civil War re-enactment. 

One alternative to packing snacks, loading the van, and buying tickets is the virtual field trip. These online explorations can awaken your child’s love of American history. Besides supplementing your American history curriculum , virtual field trips also provide a way for your child to explore places that may be inaccessible.

If you want to spice up your study of American history , look at these 32 virtual trips and a list of easy ways to enhance them.

Life in Early America and Cowboys

• Plimoth Plantation Virtual Field Trips
• Explore an 1860’s farm
• National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
• George Washington’s Mount Vernon
• Hudson River Museum
• Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House
• Tour the house of Betsy Ross
• Historic Philadelphia Virtual Tour
• Monticello – Home of Thomas Jefferson
• Virtual Jamestown

Native Americans

• Oglala Lakota Nation Pow Wow
• Virtual trip to Georgia Indian Mounds

American Revolutionary War

• Revolutionary war battlefield sites

Lewis and Clark and the Oregon Trail

• Lewis and Clark journey (Google Earth)
• Oregon Trail

American Civil War

• Ford’s Theatre the place of Lincoln’s assassination
• Virtual Gettysburg
• Andersonville Prison also known as Sumter Prison, a large Confederate prison

Immigration, World War II, and Modern American History

• Virtual field trip to Ellis Island
• Museum of World War II
• The Attack on Pearl Harbor: A Map-based Exhibition
• Tour the Statue of Liberty
• Virtual Capitol
• Mount Rushmore
• On Board Air Force One
• Virtual field trip to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s home in Georgia (Warm Springs)
• Supreme Court Virtual Tour

American Transportation

• EAA Aviation Museum
• Strasburg Railroad
• USS Constitution
• USS Pampanito

Ways to Enhance a Virtual Field Trip

Virtual field trips can be just as enriching and interactive as a physical one as long as you plan ahead. For example, print out a notebooking page or prepare a scavenger hunt for kids to fill out. Many websites provide these kinds of helps in the educational resources section of the domain. Do a little hunting prior to your virtual visit to make the most of any freebies the site offers. Some children may like to work as they explore while others will want to totally immerse themselves in the experience and make notes only after the field trip is over. 

To make sure your virtual field trip doesn't become a passive affair, incorporate a hands-on activity before or after . BookShark has Lap Book Kits for both American History Year 1 and Year 2 that could work as field trip follow up in many cases!

Your field trip will likely offer you plenty of ideas for further exploration. What do your kids seem enamored by? What do they keep asking about? Those are areas for interest-led research.

Your project may lead to questions which are answered by the virtual field trip. Or your virtual field trip may lead to fascination that is satisfied by making hands-on models or reading additional books.

• Before you tour the 1860s farm, make butter in a jar or beeswax candles.

Print out a copy of a ship or submarine and have your children label the parts. Learn about early navigation and how sailors navigated without modern tracking equipment. Make an easy homemade compass.

If you’re viewing the Supreme Court field trip, your children can memorize and recite the Miranda Warning or review the steps of how a bill is passed.

After viewing Plimoth plantation, have your children make a craft of the Mayflower and create a diary that looks vintage.

After viewing Mount Rushmore, your children can carve the faces in soap or playdough.

Make a cookie dough map of the Oregon Trail or Lewis and Clark Trail.

Make a timeline of the events of the American Revolutionary War. It’s been said that George Washington was an excellent dancer. Learn his favorite dance, the Minuet.

Learn about early American cattle drives.

Listen to American Civil War music or read letters written during that time period.

Preserve plants in a nature notebook while learning about Lewis and Clark.

Research the physics behind dropping a bomb before viewing Pearl Harbor. Make vegetable soup and learn about rationing after viewing the World War II museum.

Experiencing virtual field trips has become an essential part of our home education journey; the internet opens up dozens of ways to approach American history . Take the extra time to organize activities along with virtual field trip, and you’ll reap the benefits for years to come.

About the Author

Posted in Homeschooling

• Homeschooling
• Middle School
• High School

• Things to do

Explore > Interests > History > 6 Virtual History and Museum Tours

6 Virtual History and Museum Tours

If walking around ancient ruins and perusing historical artifacts are your favorite part of travel, you can still experience this joy through virtual history tours. Journey to Pompeii via Zoom with a live guide. Then, view the online collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. You don’t need a flux capacitor to travel back to the past with a virtual history tour.

1. The Fall of Rome Live Virtual History Tour

What factors ended the more than 500-year reign of the Roman Empire? Connect with an expert historian in Rome through Zoom and be transported back in time to the fall of the Roman Empire. This live virtual history tour of Rome weaves together research with engaging stories, maps, and pictures to bring history to life. Also, find out why scholars think climate change could have played a role in the decline of the Roman Empire. You’ll even discuss the lasting impact of the Empire’s dramatic demise on society today.

2. National Women’s History Museum

From the high-achieving women of NASA to the rough-and-tumble feminism of roller derby, the National Women’s History Museum celebrates the contributions of women to US history. The museum doesn’t yet have a physical location, so you can find all their exhibits online. Photographs, videos, and firsthand accounts bring these extraordinary stories to life. Tune in to the past by listening to oral histories by women who worked in Rosie the Riveter roles during WWII and see photographs of women marching for civil rights.

3. Ancient Troy Self-Guided Virtual Experience

You probably know the story of the Trojan horse—now take a virtual trip to see where it happened. This immersive virtual tour of ancient Troy lets you wander the city at your own pace with the help of satellite and street views. As you explore this ancient metropolis, insightful audio commentary provides historical facts and lesser-known stories. Gain a deeper understanding of the history of Troy and feel like you’re standing in the old stone city without ever having to leave your living room.

4. The Anne Frank House Online

Take a virtual journey to Amsterdam to visit the Secret Annex where Anne Frank and her family hid from Nazis during the Holocaust. The Anne Frank House online exhibits give you a 360-degree experience of the Secret Annex that you can do with or without a VR headset. You can also visit Anne Frank’s home before she went into hiding and see photographs chronicling her life.

5. National Museum of African American History and Culture

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is dedicated to documenting African American life, history, and culture and making it accessible to the public. In this spirit, the newest Smithsonian museum welcomes you to explore its collection and exhibits—even if you can’t visit in person. Delve into a variety of online exhibits on topics like slavery and freedom, the African American military experience, and the history of blues, jazz, and hip-hop. You can also listen to oral histories, view historical artifacts, and learn about the museum through Curator Chats videos.

6. Live Virtual History Tour of Pompeii

Rove around the ruins of one of Italy’s most famous sites from home on a virtual tour of Pompeii . Using video chat, your expert Pompeii tour guide shares their passion for archaeology while showing you all the best parts of the ancient city. See brightly painted frescos, intricate mosaics, and the remains of citizens preserved by the ash from Mount Vesuvius’ eruption.

Find more virtual history tours in some of Canada’s best museums . You can also virtually travel the world through Expedia’s collection of online experiences .

More Articles With History

Although you may know them from the small and big screen, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney discuss their new project, Wrexham AFC.

The global impact of coronavirus is affecting travelers everywhere. Here's how you can prepare and what to expect if you booked travel with Expedia.

You don’t have to travel to Europe for an authentic castle experience. There are a number of beautiful palaces across the US to visit.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Virtual Tour

Narrated Virtual Tours

Join us for narrated tours of the various exhibits and halls of the Museum! More will be added on this page as they become available. 

Intro to Narrated Tours Transcript

Tour the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils – Deep Time

Videos in This Playlist

• Introduction
• Dinosaurs in Detail
• Mass Extinction Events
• Fossils from Digsite to Display Case
• Virtual Tour for Students
• Deep Time Audio Description App
• In-Person and Online School Program: Discovering Dinosaurs
• National Fossil Day at the Museum 2022  (with links to activities and videos) 
• Teaching Resources about Paleontology

Tour the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins

Videos in this playlist:

• Exhibit Introduction
• Past Species
• Reconstruction Gallery
• Human Origins website
• Human Origins Twitter | Facebook
• Online School Program – Human Origins: What does it mean to be human?
• Dr. Rick Potts – NMNH Staff Profile
• Dr. Briana Pobiner – NMNH Staff Profile
• Article about the traveling Human Origins library exhibit

Tour the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals

• Harry Winston Gallery and the Hope Diamond
• Moon, Meteorites, and Solar System Gallery
• Pegmatites: Nature's Treasure Chests

Department of Mineral Sciences

• Overview of the Collections
• The Hope Diamond
• Smithsonian GeoGallery
• Global Volcanism Program

For Educators

• Earth Science Teaching Resources

School Programs

• Identifying Minerals (In-person, Grades 3 to 5)
• Rocks and Minerals (Online, Grades 3 to 5)
• Dig Deep (In-person, Grades 6-12)

Tour the Objects of Wonder Exhibit

• Building Collections
• Celebrating Creativity
• Dazzling Diversity

Featured Collections from Objects of Wonder:

• Finding Patterns Everywhere
• For the Record
• Linking Nature and Culture
• On the Move
• What Do These Objects Have in Common?
• What Makes Things Blue?
• Collecting Natural History
• Digitization Allows Public Access to Smithsonian’s Hidden Collections

Tour the Sant Ocean Hall

• Carcharocles megalodon
• North Atlantic Right Whale (Phoenix)
• Indo-Pacific Coral Reef
• Smithsonian's Ocean Portal
• Life on Planet Ocean
• In-Person and Online School Program: Reefs Unleashed
• Smithsonian Marine Station
• 'Spying on Whales,' an Extract From Nick Pyenson's Book
• Dr. Nick Pyenson's NMNH Lab
• Dr. Brian Huber – NMNH Staff Profile
• Teaching Resources about the Ocean
• Smithsonian Institution
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Host an Event

You are using an outdated browser not supported by this software. Please upgrade your browser .

• Housing & Real Estate
• Living on a Budget
• Personal Finance
• Camping & Outdoors
• Destinations
• Vacation Rentals & Hotels
• All Cars & RVs
• Maintenance
• Makes & Models
• All Shopping
• Beauty & Fashion
• Home & Garden
• Kitchen & Groceries
• All Reviews
• All Food & Drink
• Beer, Wine, & Spirits
• Food Trends & Trivia
• Restaurants & Dining
• Taste Tests
• All Lifestyle
• Entertainment
• Health & Wellness
• Life After 50
• All Gift Ideas
• Gifts by Interest
• Gifts by Price
• Gifts for All
• Gifts for Her
• Gifts for Him
• Gifts for Kids
• In The News
• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions

Copyright ® 2024 Cheapism

31 Historic Places Across America That You Can Tour Virtually

SeanPavonePhoto/istockphoto

Historic Virtual Tours Across the U.S.

While most of us in the U.S. are sheltering in place at home , travel seems like a distant memory (or wishful thinking) these days. But social distancing doesn't mean you can't explore historic places across the country  and discover something new about our nation's incredible history and culture along the way. Experience virtual tours of cultural institutions, history museums, landmark music venues , beautiful national parks, space shuttles, and more from the comfort of your own couch right now.

Ellis Island

New York Embark on an interactive virtual tour of New York's Ellis Island , where many families started their adventure in America as immigrants. Scholastic's virtual field trip  and interactive tour  will even walk you through the immigration process with historic photographs and videos, so you can hear the stories of people who've passed through the former immigration inspection station and learn about the many challenges they faced while coming to America.

San Antonio The Battle of the Alamo (Feb. 23 - March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Take a 360-degree virtual tour of The Alamo Shrine and grounds  in San Antonio to learn about the history behind Texas' war for independence from Mexico. You can also check out a digital version of The Alamo Battlefield  as it looked in 1836 and tour the nearby riverwalk  and other attractions in San Antonio.

Alcatraz Island

San Francisco Explore Alcatraz Island  through a virtual tour of the island and infamous federal penitentiary. You can browse objects made by notorious inmates of "The Rock" like gangster Al Capone and Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz," historic photographs and documents, escape materials, and inmate artwork as well as military prison and federal penitentiary correctional materials used by officers, and learn about the American Indian occupation of 1969 to 1971.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Cleveland Music fans can connect with Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame  and tap into the history of rock music and their favorite songs and musicians from their own living rooms. Take a virtual tour of the museum, watch induction ceremonies, and browse artists who've been inducted into the Rock Hall vault. There's even a special section for teachers and students, Rock Hall EDU, for access to lesson plans, videos, and other activities.

To round out the experience, music lovers can also find virtual tours of landmark music venues like Carnegie Hall , Radio City Music Hall , and Red Rocks Amphitheatre .

Gettysburg National Battlefield

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Take an interactive tour of Gettysburg National Battlefield  home to some of the most historic and scenic Civil War sites. Follow in the footsteps of soldiers who fought at such iconic places as Culp's Hill, The Peach Orchard, Wheatfield, Devil's Den, Little Round Top, and Cemetery Ridge to learn more about the battlefield. You can visit more American battlefields and historic sites through the American Battlefield Trust's array of virtual tours .

The Museum of Flight

Seattle Explore one of the world's largest air and space museums, The Museum of Flight , from home through digital photos, history lessons, and 360-degree tours. Step inside the Seattle museum's famed aircraft like Air Force One, Concorde, B-17, Boeing 747, a NASA space shuttle trainer, and other rare aircraft. Complete your history lesson with flight facts, podcasts, and STEM activities.

Want even more aviation action? Aircraft aficionados should also check out virtual tours of the National Museum of the United States Air Force , Space Center Houston , and NASA's Langley Research Center , and Glenn Research Center .

Library of Congress

Washington, D.C. Tour the Library of Congress , our nation's oldest federal cultural institution. You can visit the Thomas Jefferson Building, James Madison Memorial Building, and John Adams Building via online tours. Virtual visitors can discover the rich history behind each by browsing through exterior and interior photos of the buildings, accompanied by informative descriptions.  

U.S. National Parks

Nationwide Experience our incredible national parks through the U.S.National Park System's crowd-free virtual tours . Follow rangers to hidden pockets of many parks and explore panoramic views  of astounding landscapes. You can roam around Yosemite  and discover the history of America's first national park, kayak through Alaska's glaciers and fjords, fly over an active volcano and explore a lava tube in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, trek through cave formations in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, ride horseback through Bryce Canyon, and dive into the underwater world of Florida's Dry Tortugas National Park.

Related: 18 National Park Webcams Where You Can See the Wilderness from Home

Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation

Dearborn, Michigan What started as Henry Ford's personal collection of historic objects has expanded into themed collections and interactive exhibits paying homage to some of our nation's most innovative thinkers and doers. Visit the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation's  iconic collection of artifacts online, including the Rosa Parks Bus and the Lincoln Chair, automobiles, locomotives, aircraft, antique machinery, pop culture items, and more. Explore online exhibits, visit the Ford Rouge Factory Tour , and take your own virtual Model T tour  on the road past the many historic structures in Greenfield Village.

Related: Muscle Memories: 15 Ford Cars That Defined a Generation

Salem Witch Museum Witch Trial Sites

Salem, Massachusetts The Salem Witch Museum in Massachusetts chronicles a time in American history in which a series of accusations, investigations, and prosecutions ultimately led to more than 200 people being accused of practicing witchcraft — the Devil's magic — and the execution of 20 convicted "witches" in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. Those fascinated by this witch-hunt period plagued by paranoia and injustice can explore key Salem witch trial sites online , including original houses, foundations, grave sites, and sites marked by historic markers.

Walt Disney World Resort

Orlando, Florida For many Americans and others around the world, Disney symbolizes childhood fun and entertainment. Experience some of the ultimate vacation destination's magic from home through Visit Orlando's interactive virtual tour of Walt Disney World Resort  to explore the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, waterpark, and more. Disney Parks also previously launched a series of 360-degree panoramas  featuring Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort, and you can experience some of the rides virtually with Theme Park Insider . 

Illinois to California You don't have to hop in the car to travel along the historic Route 66 , America's first all-weather highway which covers more than 2,400 miles across eight different states in the U.S. Thanks to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, you can experience "The Mother Road" from Illinois to California. Photos and descriptions of landmarks from the old route like motels, service stations, food stops, and other roadside attractions in towns along the way will transport you back to a bygone era.

Related: Route 66: Then and Now

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Washington, D.C. National Museum of African American History and Culture — the first major museum to open online before completing a physical structure — made history when it finally opened its doors to the public in 2016 with a ceremony led by President Barack Obama. Today, visitors can scour the museum's vast open-source collections of historical artifacts, archival documents, and works of art online — and absorb American history and culture through the lens of the African-American experience.  

Colonial Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Virginia Immerse yourself in the sites of Colonial Williamsburg  from anywhere in the world through virtual tours and webcams highlighting the historic district. You'll learn how the buildings were reconstructed and what artifacts adorn their walls as you explore the living-history museum in 360-degree virtual tours. Go on a virtual tour of the Governor's Palace or watch a series of webcams  overlooking sites like Merchants Square. 

National Baseball Hall of Fame America

Cooperstown, New York Baseball fans can explore the National Baseball Hall of Fame America's  online exhibits and virtual tours of the museum's unparalleled collection of photographs, documents, posters, signed baseballs, videos, and more — all dedicated to America's favorite pastime. Online exhibits include a snapshot of the museum's photograph collection, a colorful history of the baseball uniform, and the history of the single-season home run record.  

Castillo De San Marcos

St. Augustine, Florida Go on a virtual tour of Castillo De San Marcos , the oldest masonry and only remaining 17th century fort in North America. Located in St. Augustine, the U.S.' oldest city, this tour leads visitors through the exterior features from the City Gates to the seawall of the best-preserved example of a Spanish colonial fortification. Walk through the structure's interior rooms with 3D models to explore along the way, and upstairs to the upper gun deck for a bird's-eye view of the surrounding landscape and grounds.

National Women's History Museum

Online Explore a wide array of virtual exhibits through the National Women's History Museum , the largest online cultural institution sharing the stories of trailblazing women who helped shape American history. For two decades, the museum has documented women making waves in politics, sports, civil rights, science and technology, and more through its impressive collection of online exhibits, biographics, oral histories, and digital classroom resources.

While it's not a bricks-and-mortar landmark just yet, the House of Representatives recently voted  to establish a comprehensive national women's history museum under the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Lincoln Home National Historic Site

Springfield, Illinois Lincoln's home in Springfield has drawn crowds of visitors since it first opened to the public in 1887. Constructed in 1839 and restored to its 1860 appearance, the 12-room, Greek Revival house was Abraham and Mary Lincoln's home before he departed to serve as president of a nation on the verge of Civil War. Tour the house and artifacts that tell the story of the Lincoln family through the virtual Lincoln Home National Historic Site , which focuses on Abraham Lincoln's political and legal careers, his home, and his family.  

Museum of the American Revolution

Philadelphia Take an immersive 360-degree virtual tour of the Museum of the American Revolution , located in Philadelphia's Old City area, for the fascinating story of the bloody revolution that gave birth to the United States more than 200 years ago. Highlights include George Washington's Headquarters Tent, the replica of the Boston Liberty Tree, and nearly 500 artifacts from the earliest days of America's independence.

Educators and parents can also take Scholastic's virtual field trip  to the museum and download a Beyond the Battlefield classroom kit for young students. Additionally, virtual trips to many historic Philly spots like the Liberty Bell Center, Benjamin Franklin Bridge, and even the "Rocky Steps" at Philadelphia Museum of Art are possible through You Visit .

The White House

Washington, D.C. Take a peek inside the White House , the only private residence of a head of state that is open to the public, free of charge. The Google Arts & Culture virtual tour lets the curious explore the elegant rooms, offices, art and decor, and manicured grounds of the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. There's also a tour of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the castle-like building next to the White House that houses many staff offices.  

Frank Lloyd Wright Sites

Chicago and across the U.S. You can now video tour  historic sites designed by America's most famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. Step inside the iconic architect's most influential works in the Chicagoland area — home to his largest collection of designed structures — and across America. Video tours include Frank Lloyd Wright's Home and Studio  in Oak Park, Illinois, and even two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the beautifully restored Unity Temple and the Robie House. The virtual classroom  also offers free lessons and educational activities for K-12 students.

Plimoth Plantation

Plymouth, Massachusetts Through Scholastic's "The First Thanksgiving" virtual field trip , you can step aboard a reproduction of the Mayflower, get a glimpse of the simple but taxing life of the Pilgrims as well as the indigenous people who were part of the Wampanoag Nation, and join the Pilgrims and Wampanoag as they discuss the first Thanksgiving.

Related: The 40 Best Places in America to Travel Back in Time

Freedom Trail

Boston Take a photographic tour of the 16 official stops along Boston's Freedom Trail . Learn about historic sites like the Old State House, the oldest surviving public building in the city; the Boston Massacre site; Faneuil Hall, which hosted America's first Town Meeting; the Paul Revere House; Old North Church (the site that launched the American Revolution); the USS Constitution; Bunker Hill Monument; and the Boston Common, the oldest city park in the United States. If you're pressed for time, this video tour  will breeze through all the sites in five minutes.  

Biltmore Estate and Gardens

Asheville, North Carolina The Biltmore Estate  in Asheville, North Carolina, has created a series of virtual tours on YouTube  showcasing the timeless architecture of America's largest home, renowned gardens and grounds, breathtaking views, and the 8,000-acre estate's storied history in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  

New York Public Library

New York Uncover the hidden details of the massive New York Public Library's spectacular interior via a guided video tour  by Architectural Digest and scour the stacks and other iconic rooms through a 360-degree panoramic tour . The public library has digitized more than 890,000 items from its collections — from old New York City prints and scrapbooks to scanned vintage children's books. For families in need of a little educational entertainment, NYPL also hosts an online storytime  for kids.  

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

Santa Fe and Abiquiú, New Mexico The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum  preserves the artistic legacy of Georgia O'Keeffe — one of the most significant artists of the 20th century and one who was inspired by the New Mexico landscape — through the Santa Fe museum's art and archival collections and her historic home and studio in nearby Abiquiú. Learn more about her life and career, homes in New Mexico, and specific artworks through free gallery tours via the museum tour app . Dig into online collections  featuring her art, photographs, archives, homes and belongings, and artist's library, and catch a live view of Georgia O'Keeffe's garden through the Abiquiú garden webcam .

Mount Vernon Mansion

Mount Vernon, Virginia Stroll the plantation grounds and rooms of Mount Vernon Mansion , the estate of George Washington and his wife, Martha, situated on the banks of the Potomac River in Virginia. Inside the first U.S. president's mansion, you can experience 360-degree views of each room and even select objects in the room to learn more about their history.

Related: 19 Virtual Tours of Famous Homes

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Washington, D.C. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum  in showcases dynamic and deeply moving online exhibits. Visitors can virtually tour themed galleries filled with photographs, videos, timelines, and backgrounds: Americans and the Holocaust; State of Deception: The Power of Nazi Propoganda; Anne Frank The Writer: An Unfinished Story; Nazi Olympics Berlin 1936; Life Reborn: Jewish Displaced Persons 1945-1951; and more. You can also listen to Holocaust survivors  who've shared their personal stories.  

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park

Appomattox, Virginia Take a 360-degree virtual tour of Virginia's Appomattox Court House  buildings and grounds, where Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in April 1865, ending the Civil War. Stay connected to the historic park from your home through social media , podcasts  that tell in-depth park stories, photos of the historic village , and a variety of digital resources  for engaging young people with history.

The Museum of Modern Art

New York As one of the world's largest and most influential art museums, The Museum of Modern Art 's  ever-evolving modern and contemporary art collection includes almost 200,000 works — and more than 86,000 works are currently available online . Virtual art highlights include Claude Monet's "Water Lilies," Vincent van Gogh's "The Starry Night," and Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," as well as more recent works by Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Murray, and others. MoMA's YouTube channel  also offers a peek inside exhibits and live events.

Field Museum

Chicago Chicago's Field Museum  annually draws 2 million visitors as one of the world's largest natural history museums, but you can satisfy your curiosity from the comfort of your own home. The museum and its collections, which originated from the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, has swelled to 40 million artifacts and specimens — with exhibits featuring the earliest fossils and current world cultures. Follow the museum on Twitter  for more ways to engage with the museum from home — from shenanigans with SUE the human-sized T-Rex to online learning and games.

Washington D.C.'s world-class National Museum of Natural History  also offers a 360-degree virtual tour, allowing you to see its amazing exhibits like the Hall of Mammals, Insect Zoo, and Dinosaurs and Hall of Palaeobiology from the comfort of your own home.

Virtual Travel

A Smithsonian magazine special report

Travel | June 8, 2020

Take Virtual Tours of These Seven Historic Homes of American Artists

A new book looks at American art through the studios of the masters that made it

Jennifer Billock

Travel Correspondent

Throughout history, people have turned to art in times of strife. American landscape painter Winslow Homer's later work is perceived to be a reaction to what he witnessed during the Civil War. Photographer Alice Austen created a whole series on immigrants coming into New York in the 1890s and being quarantined before they could enter Ellis Island. And, of course, this is evident in the present time, with coronavirus street art and murals memorializing George Floyd springing up around the world.

“In times like this, people do turn to these communal expressions of being human,” says Valerie Balint, author of Guide to Historic Artists' Homes & Studios , the new guidebook for the 44 site museums in the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historic Artists’ Home and Studios program. “People look to the specific creative voice of humanity at times when other aspects of humanity are being challenged, and certainly artists who are producing in any one of those moments can't help but be impacted by that.”

Balint’s book offers an inside view of the homes and studios of American artists throughout history. Readers can imagine themselves walking through the living room of Weir Farm, the Connecticut home of the grand patriarch of American impressionism, Julian Alden Weir. They can explore the chaotic studio floor at the East Hampton, New York house where Jackson Pollock and his wife, Lee Krasner, lived from 1945 until their deaths in 1956 and 1984, respectively. Readers can inspect the thousands of tiles lining the walls at Henry Chapman Mercer’s Fonthill Castle in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, or take in the statuary of Elisabet Ney’s self-designed sculpture studio in Austin, Texas.

Guide to Historic Artists' Homes & Studios

From the desert vistas of Georgia O'Keeffe's New Mexico ranch to Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner's Hamptons cottage, step into the homes and studios of illustrious American artists and witness creativity in the making.

Through the book, it becomes apparent how the personal spaces of these artists impacted their work, potentially giving an idea of how we can embrace our own spaces as we stay home more often than not.

“While we're at home, we are communing with our personal spaces on an extended basis in ways many of us have not done for years,” Balint says. “It's really interesting to examine, at this moment, the incredibly personal spaces where some of the most important visual minds and creatives of American culture did their work. [It’s interesting to examine] the choices they made in terms of location, type of house they wanted to be in, the type of space, and what they surrounded themselves with, and how that fostered these great pieces of art and artistic movements that we still feel connected to today. Seeing how the landscapes informed works of art or how the artists themselves stretched into architectural and landscape practice beyond the confines of the picture frame really makes us remember that creative spirit is limitless. It humanizes these great geniuses of art, and reminds us that creativity resides in all of us.”

Armchair travel to the following American artists’ homes and studios through Balint's book, and then check out the virtual tours available for each site.

Thomas Hart Benton State Historic Site; Kansas City, Missouri

Large-scale muralist and painter Thomas Hart Benton lived in this limestone home , built in 1903 by architect George Mathews, with his family until his death in 1975. Benton worked in the carriage barn behind the house, where he spent the majority of his days painting. It was here he created one of his most famous works, A Social History of the State of Missouri , which is on display in Missouri's state capitol building. Benton died in his studio; he always returned to the house for dinner with his family, and one night, he returned to the studio to sign his latest (and last) piece, but collapsed and died before he could. Rita Benton, his wife, died only 11 weeks later, and the house and studio have remained the same ever since, per her wishes.

“We could see ourselves tinkling on the piano and grabbing a drink off of the bar cart in the dining room,” Balint says. “But when you're in the studio, you see all the different parts of process that need to go into making a really large-scale mural. Because of all the detritus that's there, you can actually see this is a very complex process.”

C-SPAN offers a video tour of Benton's home and studio, led by site administrator Steve Sitton. You'll also discover a bit about Benton's personal life.

Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle; Doylestown, Pennsylvania

Henry Chapman Mercer’s concrete home and studio , constructed between 1908 and 1912, was of the tilemaker and archaeologist’s own design. Though inspired by European buildings the artist discovered during travels while he was younger, the building completely flouts standard construction methods of the time it was built.

“He just decided he was going to create a concrete castle in the image that he wanted to do it, which meant that he created a new way to use this material,” Balint says. “He completely abandoned any typical ways of planning for an architectural space. He actually just made little models of rooms and then stuck them together. That’s why the outside looks really weird and irregular. So often in architecture, you consider the exterior of the building. But Mercer really cared about how his rooms were going to be in relationship to each other, and how that would all fit together externally was just not as important to him.”

Inside, the home reflects the chaotic nature of its design through the thousands of tiles he used to adorn the walls, ceiling and floors. Mercer created tiles for specific themed rooms, like pink and blue tiles in the Columbus Room designed to reflect Columbus’ voyages and the native people of the places he landed. The 44-room castle is also lined with Mercer’s massive library and ceramics collection.

This three-minute video tour walks you through Fonthill Castle, sharing information about Mercer and the art decorating the walls inside.

Alice Austen House; Staten Island, New York

Photographer Alice Austen lived a privileged life, but also one that didn’t conform to modern times. Photography wasn’t considered a suitable profession for a woman; however, her family was wealthy enough that she didn’t need to live off just her earnings. She often shocked society when she donned her corset and bicycled into New York City to capture images of life there, from shoeshine boys to quarantined immigrants. She lived with her partner, Gertrude Tate, in the family home (where she had a small darkroom in an upstairs closet and had to wash her prints in the well outside), even though both their families disapproved of the relationship.

“The Alice Austen House is a nationally-designated LGBTQ site, and I think it offers members of that community a touchstone to go to, to understand the creative practice of a person who was trying to forge her own way within the social conventions and artistic conventions of her time,” Balint says. “She managed to live a life on her terms and created work that was interesting and unique.”

That being said, Austen’s house was typical for the time period, a 1700s Dutch cottage with Victorian and Gothic Revival elements added by her grandfather in 1844. Austen lost everything she owned, including the house, in the 1929 stock market crash. Her family wouldn’t allow her to legally live with Tate afterwards, so she intentionally stayed impoverished and moved into a local poor house where Tate often visited her. Austen died in 1952, and was again denied her wishes to be with Tate—she was buried in the family plot instead of together with her partner.

The Alice Austen House created this virtual tour on Google Expeditions, allowing viewers to walk through the home and overlay historical images onto the modern setting.

Elizabet Ney Museum; Austin, Texas

When sculptor Elisabet Ney built her limestone castle home and studio —at once Texas’ first artist studio and first art museum—in 1892, she was in her 50s and had already reinvented her life several times. She began her career among the German elite, friend to royals and war heroes and working out of a studio in the German royal court. She and her husband, Edmund Montgomery, came to the U.S. in 1871 to escape political turmoil and get medical care for Montgomery. They first lived on a cotton plantation in Texas, where Ney quit sculpting to run the plantation, raise her two children and be a leader in the Texas women’s rights movement.

When her surviving child was grown and out of the house, she built her studio and reclaimed a career as a sculptor. Some of her first commissions were sculptures for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and her masterpiece— Lady Macbeth —is on display at Smithsonian American Art Museum.

“This is a woman who lived nine lives,” Balint says. “She's an incredibly complex person. She basically built her studio to create an artistic enclave. She would hold studio salons right out by the lake. Austin is really known for being an artistic community, and she is the embodiment of what Austin represents. She helped forge it.”

Take a video tour of Elisabet Ney's studio and explore her sculptures on YouTube, led by the museum's curator Oliver Franklin.

Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center; East Hampton, New York

About a week and a half after getting married in 1945, abstract expressionists Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner moved into a secluded cedar-shingle home built in 1879. Initially, Pollock painted in an upstairs bedroom while Krasner worked in the back parlor. But Pollock eventually moved his studio out to the barn, where the chaotic marks of his work remain splashed on the floor today. After Pollock’s death in 1956, Krasner moved into the barn studio, and today the walls still echo with the huge arching movements of her painting. The detritus of their work in the barn makes the building itself almost like stepping into a joint Pollock and Krasner painting.

“There are very few places you can go where you can understand process,” Balint says. “The house is so modest, and the studio is so modest, and there's this beautiful bucolic view out to the marshland and the creek. Pollock and Krasner both said they were inspired by this environment. And then you go into the studio, and you look down at the floor, and you look up at the walls, and you just understand being in the process. When you go to the studio, your understanding of the physicality of the process is changed through that experience.”

This YouTube virtual tour of Pollock and Krasner's home and studio, led by site director Helen A. Harrison, describes the history of the site, the artists' styles, and how the residence changed when it became a museum.

Winslow Homer House; Scarborough, Maine

In 1883, after gaining fame with oil paintings, watercolors and Civil War illustrations in Harper’s Weekly , painter Winslow Homer gave up urban life in New York City and moved to a coastal retreat in Maine, where he established his home and studio in a two-story Shingle Style carriage barn . Here, Homer dramatically shifted his work as well, from detailed illustrations to pieces reflecting the environment where he lived and worked.

“Works by Homer evoke such emotion for people,” Balint says. “And when you stand in the home, your sense of why you feel what you feel when you look at one of those paintings becomes even more imprinted upon you. You understand suddenly why that type of painting causes a reaction. You can see how a particular view and a particular environment can pull upon an individual soul and their desire to then somehow capture that for others.”

Homer lived a simple life in Maine, though taking time to travel regularly. He didn’t have running water or electricity, and relied on a fireplace for heat. His main goal was to focus on his work and the surrounding environs, leading him to create masterpieces like Weatherbeaten , an 1894 painting of a crashing ocean scene that’s now on display in the Portland Museum of Art.

This YouTube tour through Winslow Homer's studio speaks to artifacts, his career in New York before arriving in Maine, and his personal life.

Weir Farm; Wilton, Connecticut

American impressionism takes hold at Weir Farm , a home and studio enclave purchased in 1882 by Julian Alden Weir, a pioneer in the style. The 153-acre farm saw three generations of Impressionist work conducted on the premises, not just by Weir but also by his daughter, Dorothy Weir Young, and her husband, sculptor Mahonri Mackintosh Young, and artists Doris and Sperry Andrews, who bought part of the property after befriending the Youngs. Today, the farm and its picturesque red buildings are one of three major sites devoted to American Impressionism throughout history.

“Because it's multi-generational, you see the kind of studio a painter needs and wants, and then a hop, skip and a jump away is the type of very large studio that a sculptor needs,” Balint says. “You get to understand what the needs are of the different types of art practice in a really great way. Weir Farm is such a representation of what we, as Americans, think of when we think of our tie to the land—something that starts as a family farm and this beautiful pastoralness, and then all these interesting things come together about how we look at land in our culture.”

Follow along with this YouTube video tour to learn more about Weir Farm, its past residents, and the life and history of J. Alden Weir.

Get the latest Travel & Culture stories in your inbox.

A Note to our Readers Smithsonian magazine participates in affiliate link advertising programs. If you purchase an item through these links, we receive a commission.

Jennifer Billock | | READ MORE

Jennifer Billock is an award-winning writer, bestselling author, and editor. She is currently dreaming of an around-the-world trip with her Boston terrier. Check out her website at jenniferbillock.com .

HistoryView

Free Educational Virtual Tour Platform of Museums, Art Galleries, National Parks and Historic Sites

Top 10 Reasons Museums Create A Virtual Tour with HistoryView

Global Reach: Virtual tours enable museums to reach a worldwide audience, breaking down geographical barriers and making their collections accessible to people from all corners of the globe.

Showcase Collections: Museums can effectively showcase their extensive collections and exhibits, providing a tantalizing glimpse into the treasures they house.

Educational Resource: Virtual tours serve as invaluable educational tools, offering informative insights into the historical and cultural significance of the museum’s artifacts and displays.

Fundraising Opportunities: Museums can use virtual tours as a creative way to raise funds by offering viewers the opportunity to donate to support their mission.

Diversify Audiences: Virtual tours attract a diverse range of audiences, including those who might not typically visit a physical museum, thereby broadening the institution’s reach.

Interactive Engagement: Viewers of virtual tours can actively engage by leaving comments and feedback, fostering a sense of connection and dialogue between the museum and its audience.

Marketing and Promotion: Museums can use virtual tours as marketing tools to promote upcoming exhibitions, special events, and programs, generating interest and attendance.

Collaborative Networking: Virtual tours offer the possibility of collaboration and networking with other cultural institutions, facilitating the sharing of knowledge and resources.

Historical Preservation: Creating virtual tours is an effective way to preserve a museum’s history and collections for future generations, ensuring they are not lost to time.

Enhanced Accessibility: Virtual tours increase accessibility for individuals with disabilities and those who face travel constraints, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to explore the museum’s offerings.

By partnering with HistoryView, museums can unlock a multitude of benefits and opportunities, making their collections and cultural heritage more accessible and engaging than ever before. Contact us today to embark on the journey of creating an immersive virtual tour for your museum.

Related Virtual Tours

Related posts, our incredible experience at nasa: 360-degree footage of ula atlas v rocket launch oa7.

5 Reasons Art Galleries Create Virtual Tours with HistoryView

HistoryView VR visits Vermont

Leave a reply cancel reply.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Please note that all conversations are recorded (DO NOT GIVE PERSONAL INFO)

Discover more from HistoryView

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

In the metro

Alexander ramsey house, historic fort snelling.

James J. Hill House

Mill City Museum

Minnehaha Depot

Minnesota History Center

Gale Family Library

Minnesota State Capitol

Oliver Kelley Farm

Sibley Historic Site

In Greater Minnesota

Birch Coulee Battlefield

Charles Lindbergh House and Museum

Comstock House

Folsom House

Forest History Center

Fort Ridgely

Harkin Store

Historic Forestville

Jeffers petroglyphs.

Lac qui Parle Mission

Lower Sioux Agency

Marine Mill

Mille Lacs Indian Museum & Trading Post

Snake River Fur Post

Split Rock Lighthouse

Traverse des Sioux

W. W. Mayo House

• Buy Tickets

Become a Member

• History Center Exhibits
• Events Calendar
• COVID-19 Update

Themes & Topics

LGBTQIA + Communities in Minnesota

Minnesota People Records

Duluth Lynchings

US-Dakota War of 1862

Collections & Indexes

Search artifacts, people records, digital newspapers, archival collections, and more.

Browse MNHS books, and explore MNopedia, our online Minnesota encyclopedia.

• Digital Newspapers

Access to millions of digital newspaper pages through the Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub.

Minnesota History magazine

A lively, richly illustrated magazine published quarterly. Purchase recent issues and explore the archive.

• Research Help

Get your research started with online tools and resources from the Gale Family Library.

• Preservation

Learn how we preserve and protect our state’s objects, documents, and places.

• Collections and Indexes

Education Overview

Resources, programs and events to support Minnesota history education for teachers and students.

• National History Day

Students choose a topic on an annual theme, then research and present papers, exhibits, performances, documentaries and websites.

• Northern Lights

Minnesota social studies curriculum for sixth graders.

• Supplemental Curriculum Products

Enrich your lessons and engage students in complex history topics with our curriculum products.

• Teacher Professional Development

Discover new teaching practices and broaden your knowledge in an MNHS professional development workshop.

• 6th Grade History Pass

Minnesota 6th graders are granted FREE admission to MNHS historic sites and museums for one year. Teachers and parents may order them now!

• Field Trips

Transport your students to hands-on history destinations.

• Teacher Memberships

Discounted admission for educators.

• Teaching Native American History & Culture

Resources developed to broaden your knowledge and engage students.

Learn how we use the power of history to transform lives

Preserving our past, sharing our state's stories and connecting people with history.

• Mission, Vision, Values & Strategic Priorities
• Exhibits To Go!
• Internships
• Fellowships & Residencies

Support MNHS

Your support helps us harness the power of history to transform lives.

Members get the best deal in history with free general admission and discounts on events, purchases, and more at our historic sites and museums for a full year.

Tax-deductible donations of all sizes help MNHS provide extraordinary services to nearly one million visitors each year.

• Corporate Giving

North Star Circle members are a distinguished group of supporters who serve as Minnesota history’s strongest advocates.

Shop for books and gifts relating to the fascinating people, long history, and unique culture of Minnesota.

• Advocate for History

Speak up for history. Talk with your legislators, our governor, and your community leaders.

New website guide and feedback form

Virtual Tours

Can’t visit us in person? ​​Connect with these historic locations from the comfort of your own home!

Our virtual tours allow you to explore select MNHS historic sites as never before. Immerse yourself in history as you take a self-guided, room-by-room tour from your desktop or mobile device.

Built in the 1870s as the dream home of Minnesota’s second governor, Alexander Ramsey, and his wife Anna, the handsome native limestone home was one of the first in St. Paul to receive running water, piped in from Lake Phalen.

Charles Lindbergh House

Transport yourself to Little Falls in the early 20th century with a virtual tour of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh’s childhood home. Built in 1906, the house features original family objects and furnishings.

The north woods is an amazingly diverse and constantly evolving ecosystem. Explore a recreated 1900 logging camp and learn about Minnesota's forests of yesterday and today.

Forestville’s first settler-colonists arrived in 1853 and by 1860, the town had more than 150 residents and boasted 20 houses, a school, two sawmills, a gristmill, a blacksmith shop, a store, two hotels, a distillery, and a cabinetry shop.

Peek behind the curtains into the spaces of the Commandant’s House, where the fort's constructor slept and entertained; clerks and regimental staff gathered for work; and enslaved people and servants toiled around the hearth.

Jeffers Petroglyphs is home to about 5,000 sacred rock carvings, also called petroglyphs, made by the ancestors of today’s Native Americans. Petroglyphs are found worldwide, but the petroglyphs at Jeffers make up one of the oldest continuously used sacred sites in the world.

Love Exploring

50 Virtual Tours That Let You Explore The US Without Leaving Your Home

Posted: April 7, 2024 | Last updated: April 7, 2024

Virtual things to do in America

Alabama: learn something new at Birmingham Zoo

An excellent resource for kids of all ages, but also a fun and educational activity to fill the time with, the Virtual Zoo by Birmingham Zoo offers a selection of videos that take viewers behind the scenes. From a day in the life of a veterinarian to red panda training and sheep weigh-in, the videos offer a chance to learn plenty of fun facts about these animals. All videos are also accompanied by activities and curriculum standards for relevant grade levels. The zoo is a current member of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums ensuring it meets rigorous standards of care and conservation too. 

Alaska: embark on a glacier tour in Kenai Fjords National Park

If you've always dreamed of exploring this remote part of the USA, this is your chance to do it from the comfort of your sofa. Rappel into a crevasse, kayak through icebergs and watch a glacier recede as you get up close and personal with the Kenai Fjords National Park, thanks to a virtual tour created by Google and the National Parks Service.

Arizona: walk through the Grand Canyon

Undoubtedly, the state's grandest attraction, the Grand Canyon might be out of reach for many, but the National Park Service has teamed up with Virtual Field Trips to allow virtual travelers to explore this remarkable natural wonder. Choose between an unguided exploration and discover unique locations along the Colorado River or learn more about the layers of the canyon.

Arkansas: immerse yourself in art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Connecting with art is one thing, but fully stepping into artwork is the stuff of dreams. Or rather, virtual reality. Here at the art museum in Bentonville, you can take a  360-degree view  of each world-class piece, by winding through galleries and soaring over the rooftops. From stunning architecture nestled in 120 acres of Ozark woods to the light spectacles in the Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room, it's sure to inspire you to visit in person.

California: scale El Capitan

California's Yosemite National Park and one of its most famous landmarks, El Capitan, is an incredibly enticing destination, especially for mountain climbers. And now you can scale the impressive mountain all the way to the top too. Join three professionals on an exhilarating virtual journey  to one of the world's most famous summits. 

Colorado: trek the Rocky Mountains National Park

Escape your living room and take in a deep breath of fresh mountain air as you go on a digital trek through the Rocky Mountains. Along your hike, you'll visit top sites such as Milner Pass and Chasm Lake, as well as several scenic overlooks. You'll also be able to walk around each stop along the way and discover the area by yourself. 

Connecticut: look inside Mystic Seaport Museum

If you're into maritime history, you'll find Mystic Seaport Museum's YouTube channel an absolute delight. The videos range from boat building demonstrations to knot tying and learning to read the night sky. However, it's the behind-the-scenes tours you won't want to miss. These videos take visitors inside the museum's non-public areas, including the Watercraft Hall that holds all sorts of maritime-themed artifacts. 

Love this? Follow our Facebook page for more travel inspiration

Delaware: walk through a du Pont mansion with a curator

Located within the former home of Henry Francis du Pont, the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library is a treasure trove of antiques and artifacts relating to the history and cultural heritage of the United States. Although the museum has reopened, thanks to its dedicated curators you can take a peek inside from the comfort of your sofa. In a series of four-minute Facebook videos , the curators take virtual visitors through the museum and discuss the history of each room and its contents.

Florida: go diving in Dry Tortugas National Park

Imagine yourself on a tropical vacation as you go on a virtual dive through a shipwreck in Dry Tortugas and swim in the third-largest barrier reef in the world. As 99% of the Dry Tortugas National Park is underwater, you'll spend a significant amount of time exploring the seas, but once you're ready to head back on land, you can tour the Civil War-era fortress, Fort Jefferson.

Liking this? Click on the Follow button above for more great stories from loveEXPLORING

Georgia: visit the Georgia Aquarium

A fun and educational activity for the whole family while at home, observing these cute animals in the Georgia Aquarium never gets old. Take your pick from playful California sea lions, funny African penguins or scary piranhas. Don't miss a chance to scroll through the aquarium's animal album and learn more about the creatures too. Georgia Aquarium is a current member of the  Association of Zoos & Aquariums  so you can be sure the animals receive the highest standards of care. 

Hawaii: explore Volcanoes National Park

Another remote US destination, Hawaii and its nature are full of wonder. Get a closer look at the unspoiled beauty of this state as you fly over an active volcano, explore a lava tube and look out across volcanic cliffs in Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park – a once-in-a-lifetime experience even when enjoyed virtually .

Idaho: go on a wild adventure

There's plenty to love about Idaho's natural attractions and Visit Idaho has put together a handy playlist of some of the experiences you can enjoy in the Gem State. There's everything from rafting the Payette River to base jumping, kayaking to Shoshone Falls and even zip-lining through the Snake River Canyon to bring a bit of excitement and adrenalin into your living room.

Illinois: visit The Art Institute of Chicago

One of the oldest and largest art museums in the USA, The Art Institute of Chicago is a treasure trove of incredible exhibits and some of the most significant artworks in the world. Start by exploring the collection virtually , from the iconic American Gothic to Monet's Water Lilies and works by Dalí, Cézanne and Warhol. Then take a video and audio tour of the El Greco special exhibition and browse through a catalog of videos, offering a glimpse into the museum's history.

Indiana: imagine a weekend break at the French Lick Resort

Fancy a spa weekend away? Why not tune into French Lick Resort's virtual tours and imagine you've been whisked away to the West Baden Springs Hotel for the weekend. Start by arriving through the atrium and check-in at the lobby, take a peek inside the library and finally relax at the indoor pool – all are best viewed in full-screen mode. One of America's most historic hotels, once named the eighth wonder of the world, its interiors are chock-full of charming historical detail. 

Iowa: tour the Museum of Danish America

With several historic Danish settlements in the state, it's little surprise that one of those villages, Elk Horn, is home to the Museum of Danish America. Now open on Tuesday–Saturday, it also offers one of the best and most comprehensive virtual tours in all of America. From the first Danish settlers in the US to LEGO and new Nordic cuisine, it might not be a museum you'd ordinarily visit, but this is a great chance to discover something new.

Kansas: take in beautiful blooms at Botanica

Missing colorful flowers while at home? Worry not as Botanica, The Wichita Gardens and their brilliant employees are determined to bring the blooms to you. Executive Director Marty Miller has filmed a range of videos , showing off the beautiful blooming cherry trees, a walk through the tulips and stunning yellow magnolias among others. There are also video tours of the different parts of the garden as well as a live feed. 

Kentucky: enjoy a visit to Kentucky Derby Museum

Among Kentucky's most famous exports, the Kentucky Derby is one of the most historic horse races in the world and its story is well-documented at the Kentucky Derby Museum. You can now browse through the museum's collection online , alongside videos and expert commentary – a true delight for horse racing fans around the world. 

Louisiana: vacation in New Orleans

While you might have had to cancel that long-awaited trip to New Orleans, there's still a way to  enjoy the Big Easy virtually . Tour some of the city's most famous sites, including the French Market and lively Bourbon Street. There's also a separate tour that's ideal for kids and an exploration of the city's connection with voodoo.

Maine: visit Acadia National Park's most picturesque spots

Start your digital hike of Maine's picturesque Acadia National Park at the top of Precipe Trailhead. You'll then be able to virtually walk around some of the park's most beautiful sections, including Thunder Hole, where waves crash against the rocks with a thunderous boom, and the towering Cadillac Mountain. Finally, head on a calming seaside trek along the wild Ocean Path Trailhead.

Maryland: befriend sea creatures at the National Aquarium

One of Maryland's most popular attractions, it continues to delight people online with its virtual tour . With eight areas to explore, from shark alley to Pacific coral reef, learn more about the individual animals and see their natural habitats recreated. Once you've walked through the aquarium itself, don't miss the live exhibit cams, featuring sharks, colorful reef fish, graceful rays and mysterious jellyfish. The National Aquarium is a current member of the  Association of Zoos & Aquariums  so you can be sure the animals receive the highest standards of care. 

Massachusetts: tour the collection of Museum of Fine Arts

With more than 450,000 works in its collection, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is one of America's most comprehensive art museums. Thanks to Google Arts & Culture, it's now possible to tour this incredible museum from your living room. You can start by diving deep into the museums digitized collection before virtually heading inside the museum itself . 

Michigan: learn more about the state's history

You can now explore five floors of the Michigan History Museum and learn more about the state's history, from its first people, the Anishinaabe, up to the mid-20th century. The immersive  virtual tour  covers the whole museum and features topics like the Civil War, mining in Michigan and the growth of the car industry in the state. 

Minnesota: tour a historic stately home

Set (virtual) foot inside the stunning Glensheen Historic Estate in Duluth where you can follow the arrows and take a peek inside the luxuriously decorated rooms. To enhance your virtual experience , you can either download the Glensheen app or print out a virtual treasure book to learn more about every room in the historic house as well as its most notable details. 

Mississippi: go on a virtual river cruise

If you've never been on a river cruise before but you are tempted,  enjoy a trip virtually thanks to American Cruise Lines. Take in the scenery from the sun deck, stop for a drink in the sky lounge and lay your head to rest in one of the suites. An excellent idea for date nights at the moment, it's easy to imagine you're navigating the Mississippi River rather than sitting on your sofa.

Missouri: tour Kansas City's fountains

Did you know that Kansas City is also known as The City of Fountains? With more than 200 fountains, the city definitely isn't short on watery landmarks. This virtual tour features seven of those, including the grand Henry Wollman Bloch Fountain, designed by the same people who created the iconic Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas, and the playful Children's Fountain. 

Montana: escape to the Glacier National Park

If you're in a desperate need of an escape, there's nowhere better to go (virtually) than Montana's remote Glacier National Park. Thanks to Google Earth , you can imagine yourself kayaking on the stunning Lake McDonald, hiking among towering red cedars and seeing the hard-to-access Bird Woman Falls.

Nebraska: explore the Nebraska State Capitol and Governor's Residence

With two incredible virtual tours on offer of two historic landmarks in the state capital Lincoln, there's plenty to discover. Start with a comprehensive tour of the Capitol building with information boxes presented along the way, then step inside the Governor's Residence and be amazed by its exquisite interiors.

Nevada: walk through Las Vegas and beyond

Have you always dreamed of visiting Sin City? You don't have to put your travel plans on hold because thanks to Google Earth you can visit this one-of-a-kind destination and surrounding areas virtually. Start by ticking off some of the most famous sights along the Strip, but there's also plenty to see for non-gamblers too as well as family-friendly attractions. Finally, leave the city behind and head to the Red Rock Canyonlands.

New Hampshire: learn at the Children's Museum of New Hampshire

Stuck for fun things to do with the kids? Embark on a virtual tour of the Children's Museum of New Hampshire and make the most of this resource to support at-home learning. With lots of different topics covered in the museum, from dinosaurs to puzzles, there are also plenty of resources for online learning so staying at home is not only fun but also educational.

New Jersey: join a virtual zoo school

Thanks to the efforts of Cape May County Zoo and its keepers you can learn about a different animal every day at the  virtual zoo school . So far the zoo has featured owls, American bison, cheetahs and African lions among others. The daily videos are posted on its website and on the zoo's Facebook page. As with all the zoos and aquariums featured in our gallery, Cape May County Zoo is a current member of the  Association of Zoos & Aquariums  too.  

New Mexico: tour the Carlsbad Caverns

If tight and dark places are not for you in real life, why not explore them virtually? This tour of Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico gives a glimpse inside the caverns and the incredible formations that cover their ceilings and walls. Then, don a virtual headlamp and trek through a cave after virtually flying with thousands of bats that live here.

New York: go inside the American Museum of Natural History

Not only an exciting but educational activity, this virtual tour of one of the world's top scientific and educational institutions is truly eye-opening. Journey through 45 permanent exhibition halls as you come face to face with a blue whale, marvel at the size of a T-Rex and take a peek at the cross-section of a giant sequoia. There's also a digital version of the museum's collection and three fascinating online exhibits – the one on the museum's dioramas (miniature models) is unmissable.

North Carolina: explore Wilmington and beyond

If a seaside escape is long overdue, head to Wilmington in North Carolina virtually . This immersive 360°-experience offers a bird's eye-view of the city and has several videos touring the city's most notable attractions, including the battleship North Carolina and the Historic Downtown. When you've explored the city, virtually fly over to the Carolina Beach boardwalk or Kure Beach and imagine the sand between your toes.

North Dakota: escape to the Great Plains in Jamestown

Home to the world's largest buffalo monument, Jamestown has plenty of exciting attractions to discover. There's the National Buffalo Museum, of course, and the Frontier Village, capturing what life would've been like for early settlers. Both the 1883 Historic Stutsman Courtroom and Courthouse are fascinating too. If you have a VR headset, you can view this tour in 3D.

Ohio: walk through the history of the US Air Force

This incredibly well-designed virtual tour allows visitors to step through the doors of the National Museum of the United States Air Force and tour the entire museum. There are easy-to-follow arrows to point you in the right direction to the exhibits, from planes used in the Korean War to a decommissioned Air Force One, as well as 'hot spots', where you can watch additional videos and find links to more online resources.

Oklahoma: go inside the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

Although the museum has reopened, you can still browse through its impressive collection online thanks to Google Arts & Culture. Read through the virtual exhibits first – we particularly love the exhibit about artist Charles M. Russell and the American Rodeo Gallery – then head inside the museum and walk around for yourself. 

Oregon: tour the Oregon State Capitol

Another breathtaking capitol building, the Oregon state Capitol is grand and unrestrained in its décor. Start your exploration at the rotunda where you'll be able to hear more about the State Seal. The accompanying audio guide will lead you to the House and Senate chambers, explaining the work that is done here. Both chambers feature videos of the legislative process in action. 

Pennsylvania: discover the historic sites of the Battle of Gettysburg

One of America's most important historical landmarks, Gettysburg is littered with notable Civil War sites. Thanks to this virtual tour you can follow in the footsteps of Civil War-era soldiers and learn more about such historic places as Culp's Hill, Devil's Den and Little Round Top – the site of an unsuccessful assault by the Confederate troops on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. There are information boxes to guide you along the way too. 

Rhode Island: tour the historic mansions of Newport

This seaside city located in Narragansett Bay has a reputation as one of the top New England summer resorts and is famous for its wealth of historic mansions and rich sailing history. Head over to the Newport Mansions website – a preservation society dedicated to protecting the area's architectural history – and you'll find several virtual tours of some of the most luxurious mansions in the area. The ostentatious décor of The Elms is our favorite.

South Carolina: peek inside the Governor's Mansion

The South Carolina Governor's Mansion dates from the 1850s and this exquisite property, the residence of the Palmetto State's First Family since 1869, is packed with treasures including paintings and silverware.  Step inside and virtually walk through the house at your own pace, making sure to pay great attention to the historic detail throughout. 

South Dakota: tour the Mount Rushmore National Memorial

If you've never had a chance to visit South Dakota and Mount Rushmore, this is the perfect opportunity to explore its pathways, lookouts and, of course, the famous stone carvings themselves. This virtual experience allows you to get an extreme close up of the four presidents – George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson. Their portraits, carved into the Black Hills, are equally as majestic online as they are in real life.

Tennessee: visit Nashville

A virtual visit to the Music City comes highly recommended as, thanks to Google Earth , you can now explore this fun city in great detail straight from your living room. Start in Downtown and take in sites like the Tennessee State Capitol and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, where you even get to go inside. Then explore Nashville's connection to honky-tonk music and virtually walk through Midtown and Southern Nashville, where you'll find a full-scale replica of Greece's Athenian Parthenon.

Texas: see a digital exhibition at Space Center Houston

One of America's best space museums has put together an incredible virtual exhibition on Apollo 13, including videos, historic images and stories from the crew. Learn more about what went wrong on this mission that was later called a "successful failure", discover what the journey home was like for the astronauts and get a closer look at one of the artifacts from Apollo 13. 

Utah: explore the night sky in Bryce Canyon

Embark on an exhilarating virtual journey  that spans day and night in Bryce Canyon and you'll discover a lot more than just its stunning red rock formations. While this stone jungle and its hoodoos are fascinating up close and a virtual horseback ride through the canyon comes highly recommended, it's the night sky here that will totally surprise you – you can even see the Milky Way.

Vermont: walk through the Vermont State House

This virtual tour of Vermont State House allows you to explore all of the building's principal chambers. Built in 1833, the State House is the state capitol of Vermont and thanks to a careful restoration project in the early 1980s its stunning Greek Revival exterior and opulent interiors are simply jaw-dropping. 

Virginia: tour George Washington's home at Mount Vernon

The estate owned by the first President of the United States George Washington is now a comprehensive museum, looking at Washington's life and times and also offering a peek at how people lived in the second half of 1700s. This detailed virtual tour takes visitors through the buildings on the estate and allows you to discover the interiors too. Each room has an accompanying fact box and there are several videos to guide you along the way.

Washington: take in the calming scenery at Olympic National Park

A delightful escape to the great outdoors , Washington state's Olympic National Park is full of wonderful scenery to make you forget you're at home. You'll get to take in calming views of Rialto Beach, dotted with rocks and driftwood as well as discover the trails of Hoh Rain Forest and finish your virtual hike with a stop at Marymere Falls.

West Virginia: discover how hand-blown glass is made

Famous for its artistic hand-blown glass, Blenko Glass came to prominence when its work was used for the stained-glass windows of St Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. And although the factory's visitor center in West Virginia has reopened, there's a comprehensive video resource , explaining how the glass is designed and made, and then shaped into a variety of objects. 

Wisconsin: visit the Wisconsin State Capitol

Another stunning state capitol, it would be a shame not to take advantage of this building's virtual tour . Focused on the impressive rotunda, there are plenty of interesting facts to learn along the way about the central mural and other artistic details of this impressive structure in the lakeside city of Madison.

Wyoming: go on a virtual walk through the Upper Geyser Basin

One of the country's most enticing national parks, Yellowstone usually draws in plenty of visitors and it's no different now, only you'll have to walk through the Upper Geyser Basin virtually . Tour the boardwalks and learn more about the park, its wildlife and geology and then take a closer look at some of the most famous of Yellowstone's landmarks, including the Old Faithful. 

Liked this? Click on the Follow button above for more great stories from loveEXPLORING

Enjoyed these virtual tours? Discover the European museums you can visit from home too

More for You

Boeing plane part falls off, strikes wing flap during takeoff in Denver: FAA

Ukraine appeared to strike a Russian tank equipped with a makeshift electronic warfare system — but that may worry Ukraine

Stephen Colbert is mourning the death of his assistant – how do you properly grieve a colleague?

Greta Thunberg dragged away from Dutch climate protest by police

7 CDs You Probably Owned, Threw Out and Now Are Worth Bank

These 5 popular fast-food chains went out of business, but why?

Timothée Chalamet Breaks Global Box Office Record With Dune 2

"Why he was crying? I didn't care" - Scottie Pippen showed no sympathy for John Paxson when he cried during an apology call

Michael Bloomberg is worth an estimated $106 billion — but you won't find him on the Bloomberg rich list

How to delete your personal information from the internet

15 Most Valuable Wheat Pennies, Ranked

Florida no longer in play as a swing state as GOP voters surge over Dems by nearly 900K: DeSantis

Over 150 Jewish creatives sign open letter defending Jonathan Glazer for Oscars speech on Gaza

5 people explain what it actually feels like to die

A millennial who made $170,000 secretly working two remote jobs says it helped him pay off about $50,000 in student loans

Russian Pantsir-M System Destroys Storm Shadow for First Time: Manufacturer

Belgian breakthrough: Stool transplant shows promise for improving symptoms of Parkinson's disease

How to turn an old PC into a NAS

They were thought to be hostages in Gaza. Israeli raids found they were dead.

‘Romeo & Juliet’ play starring Tom Holland and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers faces ‘barrage of racial abuse’

University of Minnesota Morris

• Twin Cities
• Request Info
• What Is a Liberal Arts and Sciences Education and How Will It Benefit You?
• Small Classes; Big Rewards
• Low Cost; High Value
• Student Success
• A Community that Cares
• Student Community
• Sustainability & Green Living
• Student & Campus Life
• Degree in Three
• Internships
• Study Abroad
• Research and Creative Activity
• Visit Campus
• Majors, Minors, & Academic Programs
• Areas of Concentration
• Online Learning
• Division of Education
• Division of the Humanities
• Division of Science and Mathematics
• Division of the Social Sciences
• Honors Program
• Summer Term Tuition and Fees
• Truckers & Turnover Project
• Wind STEP Program
• How We Evaluate Applications
• Apply as a Transfer Student
• Apply as a PSEO Student
• Apply as an International Student
• Apply as a Returning Student
• Transferring Credit
• Take a campus virtual tour
• Family and Supporters Guide
• New Student Welcome Week
• Contact Admissions
• Net Price Calculator
• Scholarships
• Grants & Waivers
• American Indian Tuition Waiver
• Community of Scholars
• Residential Life
• Events & Activities
• Dining Facilities
• Student Employment
• Student Organizations
• Student Engagement at UMN Morris
• Intramurals
• Morris Campus Student Association
• Student Success Center
• Hasselmo Language Teaching Center
• Sports & Fitness
• Equity, Diversity & Intercultural Programs
• Native American Student Life
• Native American Student Success Program
• International Students
• LGBTQIA2s+ Support
• Multi-ethnic Student Program
• Accessibility Support
• Transportation Options
• Student Complaints and Grievances
• Student Affairs Office

Solar Eclipses in History

An eclipse is coming! Join our conversation with Laura Chajet, sponsored by the physics discipline Sunday April 7, 4-5 pm: , a in the McGinnis Room in the Briggs Library

Event Types

Event audience, virtual tour.

Give our virtual tour a try. You can discover the beauty of campus right from your computer, phone, or tablet.

• Anishinaabe Summer Language Immersion

• The Inventory

Go On a Tour of One of the Greatest Sets in Star Trek History

Grab a jumja stick and let quark himself take you through one of the most important locations in star trek : deep space nine's promenade..

What’s the most important set on a Star Trek show? Depending on the series, it might differ—for the most part, it’s going to be the bridge of a starship . But “the bridge of a starship” isn’t really the answer to that question: it’s the place that feels most like home . And while it’s definitely not a starship, Deep Space Nine ’s promenade is exactly that, perhaps more than any other iconic locale in the franchise.

Today as part of a series of updates to its virtual tour offerings on the Apple Vision Pro, the Roddenberry Archive and OTOY announced a raft of new virtual reality set tours , taking fans inside the world of Star Trek . To celebrate this week’s return of Star Trek: Discovery , the bridge of the legendary vessel is now available for virtual visitation, as are the first virtual tours inside the fleets of the Klingon Empire —specifically the I.K.S. Amar , the K’t’inga battle cruiser from the opening of The Motion Picture . But perhaps the most fascinating addition is a further exploration of Deep Space Nine ’s titular station, and the most important place of all among its rings and pylons : the thoroughfare of the Promenade.

The Promenade was already part of the archive, but now audiences can explore further aspects of the set—one of the biggest ever built for Star Trek , the biggest outright at the time of filming—but the real highlight is a new, accompanying documentary about the design history of the set and its legacy, narrated by the perfect tour guide for such a locale: Armin Shimmerman, the man behind the lobes of the Promenade’s premiere businessman, Quark.

It’s a great little piece, looking at the set’s design process, how its scale was captured on screen, as well as Shimmerman relishing in giving little in-universe guides to everything that the Promenade had to offer. It’s a reminder of not just what an impressive set it was, but how its design language informed the very heart of what Deep Space Nine was doing with Star Trek . In the Promenade, we have a primary set that is unlike anything we’ve ever seen on the show before: this is not Federation design, or Starfleet ship corridors, but the brutalist angles of Cardassian aesthetic clashing with the pops of color from the flags hung by the Bajorans and other alien cultures steadily in the process of reclaiming what was once a grim shadow over the oppressions of Bajor. Few Star Trek sets are exactly comforting, but this heady mix of sharp angles and cool metallics against the vibrancy of shop lights and flags brings the Promenade a sense of homeliness that few other regular Trek sets could match.

But one thing this tour can’t capture about the Promenade that made it so compelling in the first place is the people milling about the place: the life that made it feel like home more than anything else. Sure, every Trek set has had some flavor of walk and talk on it before, the bustle of crew milling about and looking at monitors, but the Promenade was life itself made manifest. The culture clash of the design language was echoed in the people —so many people, more people than we would often see in one place on Trek outside of big crowd sequences or social hubs like canteens and bars. You had Starfleet crew, sticking out in their black and division-colored uniforms, you had the browns and beiges of Odo and his local security officers, you had Bajoran priests, you had civilians of all species and stripes, from visitors passing through to vendors hocking food and trinkets—and, of course, the myriad patrons of myriad scruples flocking in and out of Quark’s bar. The Promenade was defined by background vibrancy, a social and communal space that was far more important to Deep Space Nine than the cramped battle bridge of the Defiant , or the command crew’s home in operations.

That life made the Promenade sing—sometimes literally, in the case of the Klingon restaurateur playing his accordion and roaring traditional Klingon ballads at diners—and it made it the heart of Deep Space Nine , a sacred space for the viewer that the show could then violate at a moment’s notice to amplify any given threat. The Promenade has been home to firefights, assassination attempts, it’s been besieged , it’s been captured by our heroes’ worst enemies, but it’s also a place of love, adventure, and fun, the sight of some of the best moments in the entirety of DS9 . It is, after all, where the show’s heart is—and that is where home resides.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel , Star Wars , and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV , and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who .