World’s Most Famous Museums That Can Be Seen From Home

Take a tour of World’s most famous museums that can be seen from home.

1. THE SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM

While the architecture of the Guggenheim’s building itself, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is quite impressive, you don’t have to visit the Big Apple to get an up-close view of some of the priceless pieces of artwork inside. The museum makes some of its collections and exhibits available online for people who want to get a taste of what the museum has to offer, including works from Franz Marc, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, and Jeff Koons.

2. VATICAN MUSEUMS, ROME

Soaring vaulted ceilings, intricate murals, and tapestries, the Vatican’s museums are creatively rich sites. Don’t forget to look up when exploring the seven spaces in the museum’s virtual tour, to gawp at a series of 360-degree images, including the Sistine Chapel. Wander around the rest of Vatican City with a You Visit tour that takes in Saint Peter’s Basilica and Square, complete with a tour guide narrating each interactive space.

3. NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, WASHINGTON, D.C.

This American art museum offers two online exhibitions on Google. The first one is an exhibit of American fashion from 1740 to 1895, which includes many renderings of clothes from the Colonial to Revolutionary eras. The second one shows off works from Dutch Baroque artist Johannes Vermeer.

4. THE UFFIZI GALLERY, FLORENCE, ITALY

“Great” is an overworked adjective in Italy, where so many of the country’s monuments and works of art command the highest praise. In the case of the Galleria Degli Uffizi, it barely does justice to a gallery that holds the world’s finest collection of Renaissance paintings. All the famous names of Italian art are here—not only the Renaissance masters, but also painters from the early medieval, baroque, and Mannerist heydays.

5. SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Washington, D.C.’s National Museum of Natural History, one of the most-visited museums in the world, offers a peek at its wonderful treasures with an online virtual tour of the entire grounds. Viewers are welcomed into its rotunda and are greeted with a comprehensive room-by-room, a 360-degree walking tour of all its exceptional exhibits, including the Hall of Mammals, Insect Zoo, and Dinosaurs and Hall of Paleobiology.

6. NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, LONDON

From the diplodocus to the dodo, botany to butterflies, giant crystals to specimens in jars … the Natural History Museum’s vast collection has long been a favorite of both Londoners and tourists. Get lost in the corridors and gallery spaces – one treat is Dippy the dino, who despite recently going on tour still makes an appearance in the entrance hall in this interactive online guide.

7. PERGAMON MUSEUM, BERLIN

Pergamon is one of the largest museums in Germany; therefore, it has a whole lot to offer. This historical museum houses plenty of ancient artifacts such as the famous Ishtar Gate of Babylon and, naturally, the Pergamon Altar.

8. THE PRADO, MADRID, SPAIN

The Spanish royal family is responsible for the Prado’s bounty of classical masterpieces. Over centuries, kings and queens collected and commissioned art with passion and good taste. In addition to stars of Spanish painting such as Velázquez, Goya, Ribera, and Zurbarán, the Prado has big collections of Italian (including Titian and Raphael) and Flemish artists. Fernando VII opened the collection to the public in 1819, in the same neoclassic building it’s housed in today, designed by Juan de Villanueva.

9. MASP, SAO PAULO

This modern non-profit museum is the first of its kind in Brazil. Take a virtual tour for a beautiful display of MASP’s huge collection that includes more than 10 thousand works. Paintings, sculptures, photographs, and even costumes from a wide range of historical periods and various places can be seen there.

10. THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

As its name suggests, the National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force. Centered on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, it houses a wide array of military weapons and aircraft, including the presidential airplanes of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon. The museum also offers free virtual tours of its entire grounds, letting you glimpse objects like decommissioned aircraft from World War II, Vietnam, and the Korean War.

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