The ULTIMATE Guide to using online ‘Virtual Tours’ to visit Famous Places, Landmarks and Tourist Attractions! An EPIC list of links to take you all over the World!

May people have to cancel travel plans and holidays for to many reasons, such as a death in the family, chronic pain limitations, etc. The biggest reason curently, as I write this post, is Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, that has many places worldwide on lockdown, self-isolation and quarenteen. However, when we can no longer visit places physically – we can use the internet to still visit those places virtually!

Many landmarks, museums, zoo’s and top tourist attractions worldwide, have made virtual tours and many of their resources free over the internet for us to enjoy. This post will share many ways in which we can virtually visit places around the world. It will also bring together an ultimate list of all of these online resources all in one place, for you to easily find things to keep you busy during lockdown self-isolation.

Sections include links to virtual tours for: World Heritage Sites and Landmarks / Museums and Art Galleries / Sports Stadiums / Theatres, Concert Venues & Free Art performances / Religious Places / Zoos and Aquariums / Tourist Attractions, etc.

This is my guide to visiting different places around the world virtually, when you can no longer visit them physically in person. It’s the Ultimate Guide to online Virtual Tours!

– Helen from Helen’s Journey Blog

Using ‘STREET VIEW’ to feel like you are still walking around your holiday destination

⭐ Click HERE to go to Google ‘Street View’ where you can see the world’s landmarks as if you were standing right in front of them – this is a great option if you have had to cancel travel plans to a specific place. you can still virtually visit the places you had on your to-do list while you were there, just in this alternative way.

⭐ The website YouVisit has a list of universities and colleges with 360 virtual tours for each on the list. The architecture is stunning, much beautiful buildings with lots of history in their walls too. You can imagine yourself standing there seeing them in front of you.

⭐ The website ‘Earth Cam’ has a collection of street view cameras all around the world for you to choose from by clicking HERE. If you prefer a map view then click HERE to see a world map and all the live camera feeds from each place available for you to watch. They use a varied mix of 360 virtual tours, drone aerial tours and street view virtual tours.

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In this photograph I was sitting in ‘Theater of Dionysos’ Athens, Greece.

Using Virtual tours to visit famous World Heritage Sites, Landmarks and Tourist Attractions.

Many famous heritage sites around the world are available to view online.

⭐ Google Earth can be used to see many World Heritage Sites as well as many other places and sites of interest worldwide. For example, Google have also created a virtual tour and interactive exhibition named ‘The Hidden World of The National Parks’ Click HERE to view this virtual tour of 31 US National Parks.

⭐ You can use search engines to find specific places you were due to visit or have always fancied seeing. Here are a few of the interesting ones I have seen so far:

1. Machu Picchu, Andes Mountains, Peru
2. Stonehenge virtual tour
3. The Grand Canyon Virtual tours (these are more like step by step slideshows): Take a Grand Canyon virtual hike / follow a virtual raft trip through the Grand Canyon
4. Eiffel Tower 360 virtual tour

⭐ UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) are offering virtual tours of their famous world heritage sites through Google Earth, but on their own website they also have a collection of their own videos too. Click HERE to see UNESCO World Heritage Site Videos. Including Egypt’s The Great Pyramids or Valcamonica’s Rock Drawings of 8,000 Years of Human History.

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When I see a photo oppotunity, I can’t resist jumping in! Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Using Virtual tours and online Exhibitions to visit Museums and Art Galleries

⭐ UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) also have a number of virtual underwater museum tours of many shipwrecks and submerged ancient towns. If viewers have their own 3D glasses they can also watch a 3D video tour about the process of building the HMS Anne (UK Royal Navy Ship). Click HERE to see the list of UNESCO underwater museum tours.

⭐ Google Arts & Culture:

Click HERE to go to the main Google Arts & Culture homepage where it has daily features, top posts, most popular tours etc. New things are continually being added.

Google Arts & Culture have also partnered with 1199 Museum and Art Galleries around the world to give access to these resources via the internet, as we currently can’t physically visit them. Click HERE to go to the list of ALL the Museum Virtual Tours and Art Exhibitions available through Google Arts & Culture. From this link you can also choose to see this list in ‘A to Z’ form or my a map of the world and choosing collections and tours from a specific part of the world. Once you click on the museum you want, it shows you ‘collections’ of art exhibitions and ‘Visit’ where you can ‘explore’ the museums virtually. Some museums do virtual tours by floor and some by collections.

⭐ The British Museum have a great virtual tour on their website which pulls together artefacts they have from all over the world. It’s interactive interface lets you choose what you want to look at through choosing either the specific collection you want to see, the specific time period you want to explore or which continent you want to view collections from. Click HERE to explore ‘The Museum of The World’ by The British Museum.

⭐ Of course if you don’t want to visit via Google, you can simply go to each Museum and Art Galleries individual websites to see their virtual tours and art galleries on show. Here are some direct links for you of some I have been enjoying or enjoyed when I visited in person in the past:

1. Louvre virtual tours (France)
2. National Women’s History Museum online exhibitions
3. Van Gogh Museum (Netherlands)
4. UK Tate Modern
5. The British Museum
6. The National Gallery virtual tour of over 18 rooms in the gallery (London)
7. Virtual Tour of Anne Frank’s House Museum
8. National Museum of Ireland 3D online tours

Remember not all museums are only artwork or artefacts!

⭐ If Street Art is more your preferred style of art, then why not listen to a narrated street art visual tour and exhibition of worldwide street art HERE. You can also click HERE to do a street view virtual tour of Banksy Street Art.

⭐ If you have holiday blues with flights being halted and holidays being cancelled, then The Museum of Flight has a list of 360 virtual tours inside many aircraft’s from a Concord to a NASA Space Shuttle Trainer!

⭐ NASA online virtual tours of the Research Center’s facilities

⭐ If pathology, blood, cuts, operations and dentistry is more your thing, click HERE to check out the virtual tour of The Surgeons Hall Museum (I’ve given this one a pass as I’ve heard “it’s not for the faint hearted” from Grumpy Camel Travel Blog)

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I took this photograph outside The International Slavery Museum, Liverpool, England, UK

Virtual tours of Black History Museum, Slavery Museum & African American History Museum

When I visited The National Gallery in London last year, I was overwhelmed with just how ‘white’ the majority of artwork was, it especially supported the notion of ‘White Jesus’ which stood out to me and who I was visiting with. To be honest, although tounge in cheek, we did start pointing out when we finally saw anyone who wasn’t white, which was mostly limited to the depictions of the wise men magi in the nativity story paintings. With the importance of ‘representation’ for young children and adults alike, to see images in museums that reflect them and look like them (as they do exist) I think museums specifically for other cultures and races are needed too.

⭐ So I enjoyed a virtual tour of ‘The National Museum of African American History and Culture’ to see the different parts to the museum. The official Museum website also has made online photo collections of items on display at the museum. Click HERE to view The National Museum of African American History and Culture online exhibitions.

⭐ Click HERE for a virtual tour of The International Slavery Museum which is a museum I visited in person as it is here in England. It was a very powerful museum to emote emotion every step of the way. If you are an emph like me, take your tissues. (I think it should be a part of school national curriculum to take teenagers here on a compulsary history school trip myself. But hey maybe that’s for another blog post…).

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Photograph taken outside Buckingham Palace during the daily ‘Changing of The Guards’ London, UK.

Virtual Tours of UK Tourist Attractions, National Trust Sites and Heritage Sites

⭐ The UK National Trust operate over 500 heritage properties throughout the UK including parks, historical properties, stately homes etc. Virtual tours are a great way to explore these historical places round the UK from anywhere in the world. Click HERE to see the list of virtual tours on The National Trust Website. Including virtual tour of Giants Causeway which is actually on my ‘to-visit list’ for Ireland.

⭐ the English Heritage Trust website has lots of virtual tours of many famous places such as Stonehenge as well as less known places to widen your virtual exploring.

⭐ Buckingham Palace Tour – which includes tours of The Grand Staircase / Whote Drawing Room / Blue Drawing Room and The Throne Room.

⭐ Click HERE to do a walkthrough of The Roman Baths in Bath, England, UK.

⭐ ‘Britain Express’ has a virtual tour of Wales (via photos and text)

⭐ Scotland has many virtual tours of its landmarks too. The Scottish Travel blogger Grumpy Camel has written a great post called ‘How to Explore Scotland Without Leaving Your House’ with links to a number of virtual tours.

Don’t forget there are many Scottish Islands to explore too, click HERE for ‘Sail Scotland’ YouTube channel with many 360 virtual tours of Scottish Isles. You can also check out some of the Scottish residents too, click HERE for live animal webcams at Edingburgh Zoo including Pandas / Koalas / Tigers / Penguins and Rockhopping Penguins too! This links in nicely to my next section below… animal cams!

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Photo taken inside ‘Sea Life Centre Biringham’ England, UK – Helen’s Journey Photography

Virtual Tours of Zoo’s and Aquariums all around the world and Animal webcam Live Feeds

You can use search engines to find the websites of specific Zoo’s or Aquariums around the world or ones in your local area. If you YouTube search ‘animal cam’ you get a whole range of live web cam feeds following animals all over the world. Here are a few of the ones I have been enjoying:

⭐ Live Eagle webcam feed from Duke Farms in America (the Eagle has baby eagles in the nest at the moment too!)

⭐ Click HERE for live webcam feeds from Georgia Aquarium USA – which include different webcam live feeds for: Beluga Whales / Ocean View / Jellyfish / Sea Otters / Indo-Pacific Barrier Reef / Piranha / Sea Lions / Underwater Puffins / African Penguins.

⭐ Shark lagoon live web cam from the Aquarium of the Pacific in California. There have other pools with live web cam feeds on their site as well (but sharks were cool for me).

⭐ Atlanta Zoo live Panda webcam feed

⭐Earth Cam also has a collection of live animal webcams from all around the world. Click HERE to see the live animal webcam feeds on Earth Cam.

⭐ ‘The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’ also has video’s of animals from around the world in their collections too. Including: Rare and Unique Birds: Gondwana Rainforests of Australia / Giant Panda Sanctuary / The Great Barrier Reef / The Crown Jewels of the Oceans / Living with Reindeer / Wild animals at Ngorongoro Conservation Area Tanzania / Marine World Heritage Sites.

⭐ San Diego Zoo live feed have a great selection of animal live webcams, including: Tiger Cam / Elephant Cam / Koala Cam / Baboon Cam / Ape Cam / Polar BearCam / Penguin Cam / Condor Cam. Click HERE to see the live animal webcam’s at San Diego Zoo.

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I LOVED the tour of Camp Nou. The views from the top of the stadium are amazing! Barcelona, Spain.

Virtual Tours of Sporting Stadiums from around the world

Have a sports ground you have always fancied visiting? Then why not do an internet search to see if they have an onlone virtual tour to enjoy from your own home. Here are a few to get you started…

⭐ To view English Premier League 360 virtual tours, simply visit your favourite club on the Premier League website and under the ‘Stadium’ tab, you’ll find the stadium tour.

⭐ If you want to look at football stadiums from all around the world then ‘Football Stadiums 360 is a great website that has international football stadium 360 virtual tours. Including one that I absolutely loved doing in person: Nou Camp Bacelona FC stadium, the view from the press box at the top of the stadium was amazing!

⭐ Click HERE for Australian Cricket Ground Virtual Tour

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I took this photogrpah inside the stunning Galway Cathedral, Ireland.

Virtual Tours of Religious Places from around the world

⭐ Many cathedrals have 360 virtual tours on their websites also. For example: Canterbury Cathedral virtual tour

⭐ Vatican Tours of certain parts of The Vatican.

⭐ St Basil’s Moscow Virtual Tour

⭐ An interesting blog post for this is Church Pop’s article “12 Amazing Virtual Tours of the World’s Most Spectacular Churches”

⭐ Click HERE for a virtual tour of the Taj Mahal that will have you imagining you are at the very top of it looking down at the world below.

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I couldn’t see the globe sign and not try to hold it! 😉 Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London, UK.

Virtual Tours of Art Venues (Theatres, Concert Halls etc) and online shows, plays, and performances.

⭐ Well I can’t be British and talk about Theatre without mentioning Shakespere can I? So click HERE to see Shakespeare Globe 360 theatre tour. you can also check out their ‘Globe Player TV’ by clicking HERE to see the full list of free Live recordings of Shakespeare Plays to watch including: A Midsummer’s Nights Dream / A Winter’s Tale / Julias Ceasar and more.

⭐ If dance is your thing then how about a dance performance at The Tate Modern by coreographer and dance artist Faustin Linyekula? click HERE to watch this one off online only performance.

⭐ If classical music floats your boat then check out Berlin Philharmonic: Digital Concert Hall free online concerts and videos.

⭐ Click HERE to see a list of The Royal Opera House free live performance’s of orchestra performances and Royal Ballet shows via their YouTube channel.

There you have it. My ultimate guide to virtual tours online that will keep us busy during times of self-isolation and when we are unable to physiclly travel to different parts of the world for varied reasons.

Do you have a virtual tour you have enjoyed? Why not tell us about it in the comment box under this post. remember #SharingIsCaring and #WeAreInThisTogether!

– Enjoy exploring & going on adventures! Helen x

⭐ To read my blog post reviews about places I have visited in person around the world, click HERE for my ‘TRAVEL & DAYS OUT’ section of the blog

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