I love going out and spending a few hours touring an art museum. Art makes me happy and helps me escape from the dreary winter months, but between snow emergencies and school, I rarely get the chance to go. Luckily there’s a way to visit a museum without even leaving bed! That means snowy roads, parking fees and travel time are all nonexistent worries. I recently discovered that many art museums put their collections online for anyone to browse—this also means you can “visit” museums in other states or countries from the comfort of home! Here are a few virtual art museums that I love:
Screenshot from the Louvre’s “Egyptian Antiquities” virtual tour by Stasia Higgins.
The Louvre
Obviously the Louvre is one of my recommendations—after all, it is one of the most prestigious museums in the world. The Louvre offers virtual tours of some of its collections where, much like Google Street View, you can see a 360 degree view of the galleries and click to learn about specific pieces of art. You just click and drag to explore the museum. Currently available virtual tours are of the Egyptian Antiquities collection and “Remains of the Louvre’s Moat,” which is “a ground-floor gallery in the space formerly occupied by the moat when the Louvre was a castle.
Virtual tours for the Louvre can be found here.
Art Institute of Chicago
I’ve been fortunate enough to visit the Art Institute of Chicago so I can attest to their truly stunning collection of art. While they don’t offer a virtual tour, the Institute still allows you to see their exhibits from anywhere. Every artwork in their collection can be viewed in stunning quality here. Even pieces that aren’t currently being exhibited are showcased. You can browse the entire collection or, to see a more specific types of art, you can sort by art style, country of origin, date made, subject matter, etc. Clicking on a piece will show you detailed information about its creation. This type of browsing is less work than the virtual tour offered by the Louvre as you don’t have to “move” about the museum!
Screenshot of the Google Street View virtual tour of The British Museum by Stasia Higgins.
The British Museum
The British Museum offers a stunning virtual walking tour in collaboration with Google Street View. This experience is definitely closer to actually being in the museum than anything else I’ve found. Of course, nothing can totally replicate walking around in person, but the depth of the images as well as the other visitors who have been captured make this feel much more real than other virtual tours I’ve been on. The British Museum has a world-class collection of art in a beautiful space with lots of light. The virtual tour of the entire museum can be found here.
Google Arts and Culture
Google Arts and Culture has created a massive virtual collection of art bigger than any museum could house. They offer virtual tours of museums and famous historic sites all over the world which use the same technology as The British Museum, so it’s all unbelievable quality. You can browse artwork by style, time period, artist, subject matter, material, and so much more. They even have specially curated exhibits that are only found online. You’ll be able to find anything you’re looking for, I guarantee it! The homepage for collections and virtual tours can be found here.
Find some time to wander around a beautiful art museum soon—all you need is an internet connection!