CAPE TOWN - The national lockdown may feel like it has been going on for ages and although restrictions are easing we still aren’t able to move around as freely as we would like.
Although there are certain parts of the domestic tourism scene opening up, here is an opportunity to visit famous museums from around the world for free and from the comfort of your own home.
Louvre Museum
A monument in Paris, France, the Louvre is the world's largest art museum established on 10 August 1793. The website offers multiple tours where you navigate through the parts of the museum with the option of viewing art pieces on display.
Van Gogh Museum
Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Van Gogh Museum was founded on 2 June 1973. This tour showcases the various historical art pieces allowing viewers to take an up-close look.
Visit: https://artsandculture.google.com/streetview/van-gogh-museum-groundfloor/
Musée d’Orsay
Paris, France. Established in 1898, this museum mostly showcases French art from between 1848 to 1914. The museum also displays the work of Claude Monet and a few pieces of Van Gogh too.
Visit: https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/musee-dorsay-paris
The British Museum
London, United Kingdom. This museum was founded in 1753. The British Museum boasts one of the largest historical collections with around 8 million pieces of art, culture and artefacts. The tour is set up in a unique way visually with the viewer navigating down a timeline able to select various pieces for a closer look.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York, United States of America. Established on April 13, 1870. This is the largest art museum in the USA with over 2 million works of art. The tour is part of the Google Arts and Culture collection, sharing the same navigation style used in Google Maps street view.
Visit: https://artsandculture.google.com/streetview/metropolitan-museum-of-art/
Rijksmuseum
Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 1800. This is a Dutch national museum dedicated to historical arts from Amsterdam. Just like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this museum is part of the Google Arts and Culture. With free navigation throughout the museum, art pieces are palace in a strip at the bottom of the screen for quick close up looks.
Visit: https://artsandculture.google.com/streetview/rijksmuseum/
The Vatican Museum
Vatican City. Established in 1506. This is one of the oldest and most heard of museums. This museum contains a major collection of historical artefacts and art collected by the Catholic church and the papacy. There are multiple tours available allowing viewers to navigate manually and offer a VR experience too.
Visit: http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/tour-virtuali-elenco.html
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