13 Best Virtual Museum Tours You Can Experience Now

Hands up – who is missing art? While in early 2021 we can only dream of visiting exhibitions in far-flung destinations, we can experience the next closest thing: being transported to world-class museums and galleries, via European courtyards and faraway sculpture gardens, and lose ourselves in virtual tours and talks. Google Arts and Culture has collaborated with a plethora of venues to place viewers right at the heart of the action. Here are the 13 virtual museum tours to take now.

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  Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums, Rome

  It may just be that you had always intended to visit Rome and marvel at Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling masterpiece. Here you can place yourself in the chapel, which is inside the pope’s official palace residence, and gain a more complete impression of how it would be for real. You can even take a tour guide option to wander around Vatican City and enhance the virtual experience.

• NASA, Washington DC

  Who isn’t fascinated by NASA and space? This experience gives a glimpse into how the US government agency operates. There’s some incredible video footage on its website’s Galleries page of test-firing launch systems and missions to the moon. Visitors can also see a variety of exhibitions online.

• Natural History Museum, London

  There’s pretty much something for everyone at the Natural History Museum: a 360-degree tour of the Fantastic Beasts exhibition and a gallery full of extraordinary Photographer of the Year images. You can also experience the magnificent Hope the blue whale – with audio guides by the reassuringly knowledgeable Sir David Attenborough. Every Tuesday at 3 PM, visitors can engage with a scientist online and participate in interactive discussions.

• The National Gallery, London

  If you missed the much-talked-about Titian: Love, Desire, Death exhibition when the National Gallery reopened, now is your chance to see the glorious works of the Italian Renaissance painter. There are also video highlights from the gallery’s considerable British collection with The Wonderful Everyday tour.

• The Frida Kahlo Museum, Mexico City

  Frida Kahlo’s eventful life has been well documented, as have her colorful masterpieces. There is no place more fitting to view her work than in the house where she spent most of her years: La Casa Azul (the Blue House). Through this virtual tour, it is possible to explore the house, its gardens, and view a selection of Kahlo’s art.

• Picasso Museum, Barcelona

  A vibrant way to bring a piece of Spain into your living room. Picasso spent many of his formative years in Barcelona, so many of his most significant pieces are housed in this museum. The virtual stroll showcases works from his Blue and Rose periods, as well as reinterpretations of Velázquez’s Las Meninas.

• The British Museum, London

  No stone (literally) has been left unturned when it comes to exploring the British Museum from home, with a staggering 60-plus galleries to visit via Google Street View. Exceptional collections cover various regions, with art and artifacts from the South Pacific islands, along with an impressive selection of prints and drawings.