IDEAL ESCAPISM: VIRTUAL TOURS AROUND 10 AMAZING EUROPEAN MUSEUMS

Needing to cancel travel plans, reorganise your daily routine and stay at home? In order to combat the cabin-fever that has already set in for so many of us as a result of being cooped up at home with cancellations all over the calendar, why not continue to stay curious and explore some places that you haven’t managed to visit yet? 

We’ve teamed up with Holidu, the search engine for holiday rentals, to give you a little IDEAL escapism today. Here are the best virtual tours around 10 amazing European museums.

LE MUSÉE DU LOUVRE, PARIS

We begin our online travels in the City of Light. Even if Paris has lost its status as the most visited city in the world in recent years, its museums remain immensely popular.

The Louvre is the world’s largest art and antiques museum, holding world famous pieces such as the Mona Lisa and the Victory of Samothrace, and is actually the most popular museum in Europe on Instagram, exceeding 4 million posts! Take a look around the Louvre from the comfort of your sofa, and begin planning your Paris trip when this thing cools down! 

Website: louvre.fr

STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM, ST. PETERSBURG

Next up, we fly east over Europe in our lovely little virtual plane and land in St. Petersburg. The imperial capital of Russia for nearly two centuries, Peter’s Ciyy is also home to the largest museum in the world in terms of exhibits. The State Hermitage collection comprises more than three million works of art and artefacts of world culture, all of which can be viewed virtually on their extensive online platform.

Website: hermitagemuseum.org

BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON

London might look pretty barren right now, save for those forced to keep working by an inept government, but the museums are looking pretty great virtually. Is this the future? We hope not. 

Anyway, what better way to dive into history than by using the resources on offer at the British Museum. Older than the United States itself, this museum contains one of the most important collections in the world, illustrating the evolution of humankind from its beginnings to the present day. Scroll through the ages as you explore art, history, religion, conflict and more. Then reflect on how modern day greed may laste waste it all. 

Website: Britishmuseum.withgoogle.com

RIJKSMUSEUM, AMSTERDAM

Hop on a ferry and we’re off to the Netherlands, more specifically to Amsterdam, where the Rijksmuseum is located. If you’re finding the name difficult to pronounce, it simply means “Amsterdam State Museum” and is the most important museum in the country, both in terms of the number of visitors and the number of works on display. It is dedicated to the fine arts, crafts and history of the country. 

Website: google.com/partner/rijksmuseum

MUSÉE D’ORSAY, PARIS

Our second trip to the French capital (sorry for the logistical nightmare; we should’ve done this in the same visit) brings us to the Musée d’Orsay, a museum which holds the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist works in the world. The online collection allows you to feast your eyes upon a variety of pieces, from oil paintings to canvas works, to themes surrounding impressionism and French history. 

Website: google.com/partner/musee-Dorsay-paris 

MUSEI VATICANI, VATICAN CITY

No art lovers’ trip around Europe is complete without a visit to ‘Musei Vaticani’. The Vatican Museums, located in The Vatican City, a city-state located in the heart of the Italian capital of Rome, hosts a grand collection of public art and sculpture which was gathered by the Roman Catholic Church over the centuries. Whilst many of us might be finding God during uncertain times, we’re happy enough exploring the Vatican virtually instead.

Website: Museivaticani.va

MUSÉE D’ART MODERNE DE LA VILLE DE PARIS, PARIS

Oops, here we are again. Actually, it’s hardly surprising that Paris offers us three wonderful museums to explore, considering its such a cultural heavyweight. Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, or MAM Paris for short, holds a collection of 20th and 21st century modern and contemporary art. Browse the online archives to view the works of the most prominent of artists, such as Henri Matisse, Robert Delaunay and many others. 

Website: mam.paris.fr

TATE BRITAIN, LONDON

If British art is your kind of thing, then Tate Britain is the ideal art museum for you. Well, you’re in luck! The online portal offers virtual tours around the rooms showing a chronological display of Britain’s greatest artists of all time. Easily click your way through the collection in order of decade, allowing you to see a clear overview of British art from 1545 to the present day.

Website: tate.org.uk

VAN GOGH MUSEUM, AMSTERDAM

Back to the land of the Nether, and here we visit the art museum named after one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art – Vincent van Gogh. Dedicated to the works of the great artist, this museum has an amazing online section allowing you to access resources including the life and works of van Gogh and a wide variety of child-friendly resources to keep the younger ones entertained and educated! 

Website: vangoghmuseum.nl

MUSEO NACIONAL CENTRO DE ARTE REINA SOFÍA, MADRID

Finally, we end our cultural European tour in Madrid, the beautiful capital of Spain for our final foray. The Museo Reina Sofía is Spain’s national museum of 20th century modern art, named after and dedicated to Queen Sofía. The online website offers a wide array of online content, including a multimedia section with hundreds of videos and audio pieces which give you visual and audio tours of the exhibitions from within the museum. 

Website: museoreinasofia.es

For an extra dose of escapism, check out the 7 IDEAL destinations we can’t wait to visit once this thing’s all over. Bon voyage!