The Best Virtual Tours to Enjoy Whilst You’re Safe at Home

The LWT team all understand the importance of staying home, but we’re also itching to go out! Our love of travel is helping to keep us going through the isolation, so we’ve been looking into all the ways we can explore the world without putting anyone at risk. Here are some of the best virtual tours we found.

It goes without saying that sites like the ones we’ve included, especially museums, are struggling during these turbulent times. If you are in a position where you can, we urge you to make a donation.

The best virtual tours of museums and galleries

• The Louvre, Paris
  The Louvre currently offers four different virtual tours, including an Egyptian tour and a medieval one.
• The National Gallery, London
  The National Gallery is home to over 2,600 paintings, and you can now view some of the best from the comfort of your sofa.
• Casa Battlo, Barcelona
  Look around one of the houses designed by artist and architect Antoni Gaudi. We love Barcelona, and Gaudi in particular, so this is definitely one for fellow culture vultures.
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC
  From past exhibits to sculpture gardens, the Smithsonian’s got it all. You could even share this with kids if they’re being homeschooled.
• NASA at home
  NASA is offering a variety of resources for you to enjoy during isolation, including augmented reality and virtual tours.

The best virtual tours of famous landmarks

• The Taj Mahal, Agra
  Explore the inside and outside of the greatest architectural feat in Indo-Islamic architecture.
• The Great Wall of China, Beijing
  Walk along the Great Wall without taking a single step with this virtual tour.
• Angkor Wat, Siem Reap
  Angkor Wat is the biggest religious monument in the world, built in the first half of the 12th century. If this takes your fancy you can find out more by checking the photo diary of our visit a few years back…
• Travel Curious’ city tour live streams
  Travel Curious has a weekly schedule of virtual activities thanks to its #StayCurious initiative, including city tours and quizzes.
• Disney World, Florida
  Rapunzel sang an entire song about what you can do in isolation – we suggest you just take this virtual tour of Disney World, Florida.

Virtual concerts and theatre performances

• The National Theatre, London
  The National Theatre is making a bunch of past performances available online.
• Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin
  The Berlin Philharmonic has just made their live streams and archived performances free to everyone!

The best wildlife and nature virtual tours

• SafariLIVE
  WildEarth is running interactive online safari sessions twice daily, from insects to big cats and everything in between.
• Wildlife webcams, the British Isles
  The Wildlife Trusts’ webcams include peregrines, owls, ospreys, badgers and bats.
• Shukkeien Garden, Hiroshima
  This virtual tour takes you through the 17th-century miniature landscape garden featuring rivers islets, bridges and ponds.
• The National Aquarium, Baltimore
  In between the aquarium’s live streams, you can watch videos of the aquarium’s animals on the website.
• San Diego Zoo
  You can watch the zoo’s baboons, pandas, penguins, polar bears, koalas, butterflies, giraffes and so many more.
• Watch the Northern Lights
  Abisko National park in Sweden is a fabulous spot for watching the Aurora Borealis.

The best dark tourism virtual tours

• Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia
  Take a look around what was once the most expensive prison in the world, home to notorious criminals including Al Capone.
• Winchester Mystery House, San Jose
  The 160-room mansion, built by the eccentric and intelligent Sarah Winchester, contains rooms within rooms and stairs leading nowhere.
• The Catacombs, Paris
  Take a tour around The Catacombs which have held the remains of over 6 million people since 1809.
• Auschwitz, Oświęcim
  Panoramic views and video tours of the whole site, including the barracks, yards and train tracks.

The best virtual tours for armchair travellers – pin for later!