Did you know that in these unprecedented times, many of the worlds’ greatest museums and galleries have opened their doors for you to explore them virtually from the comfort of your own home? Here are a few examples: 

Visit Iconic Landmarks and Institutions: 

NASA, America

Who hasn't dreamed of visiting NASA? You have been granted access to  the Langley Research Centre in Virginia, the Glenn Research Centre in Ohio and the Space Centre in Houston, where you can enjoy flight simulations, supersonic wind tunnels, and take a look behind the scenes. For more information visit nasa.gov.

Acropolis Monuments, Greece

Take the opportunity to hop over to Athens to see the Acropolis and enjoy an interactive tour where you will learn about the most prominent monuments, including the Parthenon and the Temple of Athena Nike which you will see in all of their virtual splendour: acropolisvirtualtour.gr.

British Museum, London

This iconic institution has created a virtual timeline where you can navigate your way through the Great Court, Egyptian mummies and discover hundreds of the museums artefacts here: https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/

There are also many more museum street views that will take you to landmarks across the world available on Google which you can explore here: https://artsandculture.google.com/search/streetview?hl=en

You can also explore some of the world’s most famous heritage sites, including the Statute of Liberty, the Taj Mahal or the Eiffel Tower.

Art Galleries: 

Guggenheim Museum, New York

Google’s Street View feature lets visitors tour the Guggenheim’s famous spiral staircase from the comfort of your armchair. From there, you can discover incredible Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary works of art. You can also explore works of art from the Guggenheim museums in Venice and Bilbao.

Musée d’Orsay, Paris

Explore an online exhibition that looks at how this popular gallery housed in the former Orsay railway station came to be, having been built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. You can also virtually walk through dozens of famous works from French artists who worked and lived between 1848 and 1914, including Manet, Monet, Cézanne, and Gauguin.

The National Gallery, London

Is offering online tours of 18 gallery rooms with over 300 paintings, including works by Titian, Veronese, and Holbein. Captivated by one particular piece? There's also the opportunity to learn more about each of the paintings on view. For more information visit nationalgallery.org.uk.

The Louvre, France

It would take anyone years to explore the entirety of the Louvre so why not take the chance to explore it virtually, you might not get as many steps in but the time you save will allow you to see many more of the works of art and artefacts it houses. For more information visit louvre.fr.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Explore the masterworks from the Dutch Golden Age, including works from Vermeer and Rembrandt via the Google Street View tour.

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Unsurprisingly houses the largest collection by the artist, as well as 750 personal letters that reveal so much about the Van Gogh’s experiences and artistic process. There are also two online exhibitions which look at the books the artist enjoyed and his love life, click here to find out more. 

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

European artworks from as far back as the 8th Century can be found in this Californian art museum. Take a Street View tour to discover a huge collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, manuscripts, and photographs.

Uffizi Gallery, Florence

The Uffizi was designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de'Medici to house the Granducal Magistratures of Tuscany. It now houses the collection of this most famous and powerful dynasty. There are a number of exhibitions available here, as well as a virtual tour available here - don’t forget to take a look at the amazing ceiling!

In addition, there are special features on Google Arts & Culture which currently include stories ‘Four Things To Do With Your Camera Phone’, ‘The Weird and Wonderful World of Dinosaurs’ and a novel way of looking at the art world, called ‘Explore by Colour’.