Museum virtual tours: 10 best online visits

As early as 1989, Bernard Miège - a French media theorist and academic administrator - stated that new technology created exciting possibilities for cultural industries, in turn increasing the commodification of culture. This analysis, which was put forth in his book Toward a Political Economy of Culture, is now taking on a whole new dimension, especially in the museum industry. Virtual museum tours are not new inventions but the COVID-19 pandemic has made them increasingly appealing. The following article brings you Artalistic’s list of 2020’s best virtual museum tours.

Museum virtual tours: Top five must-see sites

With countries all over the world self-quarantining, virtual museum tours provide us with the virtual opportunity to leave our four walls for an immersive cultural outing. Many galleries and museums are offering free online visits. Here are the ones that caught our attention.

The Louvre in Paris: A virtual museum tour that shouldn’t be missed

The Louvre is the world’s largest museum and it has been one of the forerunners in sharing its collections virtually. Now it is shifting gears by offering extended content of its online galleries. New and exciting features are now available on their virtual museum tours: images, videos, podcasts, tutorials and even cartoons. This wealth of information makes this tour a must-see. Plus there’s no need to wait in the museum’s world-famous lines.

The British Museum in London

Another institution, the British Museum, invites you to take a stunning tour of its virtual museum. Its rich and extensive database takes you on a journey through the history of art and gives you precise information about the pieces and artists, including informational sheets retracing the history and provenance of the presented works. The museum’s online collection is quite simply magnificent.

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Via its Museum Plus user interface, the Staatliche Museen in Berlin (inaugurated in 1876) presents a massive collection of 19^th century German and French paintings. This thematic virtual museum tour is very well constructed. We also highly recommend checking out the tour of the German Romantic period, featuring stunning paintings like The Monk by the Sea by Caspar David Friedrich.

The Belvedere Museum in Vienna

A virtual museum tour featuring Gustav Klimt

The Belvedere Museum’s online collection is also worth enjoying during a virtual visit. The museum was the former summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy and it houses the world's largest collection of pieces by Gustav Klimt, including The Kiss and Judith. Also worth seeing: paintings by Egon Schiele and Oscar Kokoschka.

Museo del Prado in Madrid

This famous Spanish museum has the largest collection of Iberian painters in the world. You can admire their collection via their virtual museum tours featuring masters including Velázquez, Goya and others. The thematic content is very well organized. The site also offers interesting educational videos.

Virtual museum tours: five must-see collections

Some museums hopped on the virtual tour bandwagon far before the coronavirus pandemic. This is a great way to bring the public a new and easy way to enjoy art. The following lists five establishments that are considered to be the pioneers of virtual museum tours.

The National Gallery in London

A virtual museum tour collaborating with Google Street View 

Imagine using Google Street View to go on a 360° tour of a museum. The National Gallery’s virtual tours have made this possible. You can easily navigate through specific wings of the museum with this fully immersive technology. Each piece is also accompanied by information about the artist.

The Frick in New York

Now you can visit the Frick’s collection of distinguished Old Master paintings and outstanding examples of European sculpture and decorative arts from the comfort of your home. The collection is housed in Henry Clay Frick’s former Gilded Age mansion on Fifth Avenue. You can experience masterpieces along with the entire mansion, its grounds and stunning collections by clicking on a map that leads you on an impressive virtual tour of the museum. 

The MoMA & the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

Imagine seeing two of New York’s most famous museums without getting off your couch. Fans of contemporary art will enjoy MoMA’s virtual tours. The Met has also provided a very thorough journey through art history with its chronological tour of works through the ages that allows you to select a time period and geographical region to explore. The site provides you with a view of the works along with detailed information about the pieces and artists.  

The Courtauld Gallery in London

The virtual museum tour of The Courtauld in London is very well produced. The site features unparalleled technology that allows you to zoom in and zoom out of each piece, giving the impression that you can reach out and touch the paintings. You can zoom in so close that you can see each brushstroke. You can also read the information panels next to each painting. 

Faces of Frida on Google Arts & Culture

The website Google Arts & Culture takes you on a tour of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo’s work. Faces of Frida gives you a chronological look at her life and also features her poetry, 800 of her paintings and articles about her.