Guggenheim Museum, New York
Visitors to the Guggenheim Museum will undoubtedly be impressed by the building’s unique spiral architecture. Visitors can enjoy the artworks by taking an elevator from above and then descending to the spiral surface as intended by the architect.
You can tour the Guggenheim Museum's collection using Google Street View, which lets you literally "walk" through the entire architectural marvel. As you get closer to a work of art, Google will give you detailed information about it.
Musée D'Orsay, Paris
Google Street View also takes you inside the famous Musée D'Orsay in Paris, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is located in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts-style railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum primarily houses French art from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It has the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art in the world, and includes famous works by Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin, and Van Gogh, including Van Gogh's "Self-Portrait" and Whistler's "Portrait of His Mother." Many of these works were held at the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume before the museum opened in 1986. It is one of the largest art museums in Europe.
National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul
The Museum of Contemporary Art of Korea's vast collection is also available as a virtual tour via Google Maps. Some exhibitions that involve moving images or videos (like the one pictured above) will only be available as still images, but you can also enjoy a wide range of other paintings and photography.
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
The J. Paul Getty Museum also offers virtual tours via Google Street View, so you can not only enjoy the artwork and sculptures on display, but also see the architecture of the building itself. Areas of the museum grounds that are not accessible via Street View can still be seen in many images via Google Maps.
Uffizi Gallery, Florence
The Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi) is a prominent art museum located near Piazza della Signoria in central Florence, Tuscany, Italy. It is one of the most important museums in Italy, and one of the most important and famous museums in the world. The Uffizi houses a priceless collection of works by the de Medici family from the Italian Renaissance, including Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" and Caravaggio's Medusa. And you can experience a virtual reality tour of the Uffizi using Google Street View technology!
Boboli Gardens, Florence
Boboli Gardens, part of the Pitti Palace, is the largest garden in Florence, built by Duke Cosimo I de Medici as a gift for his wife, Eleonora di Toledo. The Boboli Gardens resemble a hippodrome and are decorated with sculptures of Roman mythological figures. They became a model for many other beautiful gardens across Europe, including those of the Palace of Versailles. Today, they are part of an open-air museum and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Your movements may be limited in virtual space, but you can almost see the entire Boboli Gardens. After wandering around museums all day, why not soak up some fresh green?
Machu Picchu, Cusco, Peru
Located in the Urubamba Valley, Peru is the city of Machu Picchu, a symbol of the glorious Inca Empire that has now faded and been forgotten for centuries. The ancient beauty that contains many mysteries that have yet to be explained of Machu Picchu has attracted many tourists who love to explore and scientists to come here to learn. This relic is also ranked among the seven new wonders of the world, a suitable place for those who are passionate about culture and archaeology.
Virtual experiences will never be quite as immersive as the real thing, but wouldn't it be cool to be able to walk through the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru on a computer screen?
São Paulo Museum of Art
The São Paulo Museum of Art (Museu de Arte de São Paulo) in Brazil houses the largest and most comprehensive collection of Western art from Latin America and the entire Southern Hemisphere, with more than 8,000 works including paintings, sculptures, artifacts and costumes from various periods and other artistic cultures from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas from the 13th century to the present. The collection is expanded through exchanges of works with several museums around the world and sponsoring companies, creating a comprehensive contemporary vision of all art forms. Temporary exhibitions present a variety of themes, including national and international exhibitions of contemporary art, photography, design and architecture throughout the year, providing a treasure trove of valuable artistic materials to the public.
But what really sets it apart from other art museums is the way the works are displayed. Mounted in concrete and glass, these works of art look like they are floating in mid-air.
Dolores Olmedo Museum, Mexico City
A virtual tour through Mexico's Dolores Olmedo Museum will bring you to archaeological finds that highlight Mexico's history and exhibitions featuring works by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago, featured in the classic teen movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," is one of the world's most beloved museums. This virtual tour will take you through a vast art collection that includes works by Monet, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Cézanne.
Palace of Versailles, France
The Palace of Versailles is known as the most magnificent palace in Europe and the most beautiful in the world because of its massive scale, sophisticated architecture and lavish decoration... The Palace of Versailles is also a symbol of the supreme power of the French feudal dynasties. Your house may not be a palace, but you can sit in front of your computer screen at home and walk through the French Palace of Versailles, including the famous Hall of Mirrors, through this virtual tour. In addition to its lavish and magnificent architecture, the Palace of Versailles is also famous for its beautiful murals.
Tokyo National Museum
The Tokyo National Museum is the oldest museum in Japan, opened in 1872. The museum holds about 114,000 items. In addition to Honkan, the museum is divided into 10 other large exhibition areas such as: Heiseikan, Hyokeikan, Toyokan... Among the items stored here, there are 87 items that are national treasures, 634 items recognized as valuable cultural assets of the country and countless rare documents. The works of art and antiquities displayed in the museum are not only from Japan, but also from neighboring Asian countries. In this virtual tour, you can observe each historical artifact, as well as the world's most famous works such as "The Great Wave off Kanagawa".
Sintra National Palace, Portugal
The Royal Palace of Sintra is the best preserved medieval royal palace in Portugal and was a favorite of Portuguese nobles. This minimalist Gothic castle is a wonder to behold in its rooms. The National Palace is a tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The architecture is stunning and well worth seeing on Google Street View.
