Virtual Travel Experiences
No matter the reason, when you can’t travel and you’re a self-proclaimed travel addict, how do you keep from going stir-crazy?With so many travel bans and restrictions in place, many travel destinations are going virtual.
Thanks to the power of technology, you can take a virtual tour of many of the world’s best travel hot spots, as well as a few off the beaten path destinations. Sure, it’s a 2D trip, without the sensations of smell, touch, and taste, but it beats the alternative of binge-watching another season of the Real Housewives!
Check out these “travel from home” experiences. I hope they tide you over until you can catch a flight and get back to traveling!
Thanks, to Google Arts and Culture Collections, you can tour any of these world-famous museums from home. There are hundreds of options, so don’t be surprised if this eats up hours of your day!
Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum
Florence Italy’s Uffizi Gallery
New York’s Museum of Modern Art
The Museo Frida Kahlo in Mexico City
The Art Institute of Chicago
Oslo Norway’s Munch Museum
The Palace of Versailles
The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Schonbrunn in Vienna
The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC
If you prefer outdoor adventure to arts and culture, Google Arts and Culture also has a wonderful collection of 360-degree tours of our National Parks, including Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon.
Google Maps Treks are another amazing way to experience any travel destination in the world. Using Google Street View, you can tour some of my favorite travel destinations:
Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
Angkor Wat in Cambodia
Venice, Italy
Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona
The Pyramids of Giza in Egypt
Webcams aren’t anything new, but many zoos, aquariums, and environmental centers are sharing live views of their facilities with those of us stuck at home, looking for entertainment.
Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care rescues and rehabilitates many wild animals, and they have several webcams where you can watch bears, otters, and birds play.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium has several live cams, including narrated feedings where you can tune in while they feed the animals.
Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium has been letting the penguins loose to roam the halls of the empty aquarium. It’s adorable.
The Atlanta Zoo has a panda cam where you can tune in anytime to see the pandas hanging out.
The American Eagle Foundation has several live “eagle cams” and right now is the perfect time to watch the baby eagles learn to fly!
The Mercedes Benz Museum offers a virtual travel experience
Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay has curated a #stayhomewithgb collection that includes videos, photos, articles, and even printable worksheets and crafts you can do at home!
The Vatican is offering several virtual tours of their collections, including the Sistine Chapel.
The Louvre has several virtual tours of their exhibitions and galleries, including a Mona Lisa Virtual Reality Experience
The Musee d’Orsay also has an extensive video gallery containing some of their most popular pieces, including Monet, Degas, Picasso, and Renoir.
Take a virtual tour of the Acropolis Monuments in Athens, and explore this archeological site in an interactive environment.
The Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart Germany has a virtual tour to explore the history of Mercedes cars.
Napa Valley Winetasting - many Napa Valley vineyards, like Matthiasson, are offering virtual tastings and vineyard tours.
