Modern Art Museums that Offer Virtual Tours that You Can Enjoy

While some areas have less stringent quarantine restrictions thanks to lowered rates of cases and the rising rate of people getting vaccinated, some areas still have strict quarantine restrictions due to the new threat led by the Omicron variant. Unfortunately, this means that we need to be extra careful once more and touring museums might be closed in some areas until further notice. However, there is a way to acquire some knowledge about arts and culture when you're stuck at home. Based on this, Google Arts & Culture collaborated with over 2500 museums and galleries worldwide since 2020 to deliver to art lovers and alike the much anticipated virtual tours and online displays of some of the world's most famous museums and beloved paintings. This art library of Google Arts & Culture features the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the British Museum in London, the Guggenheim in New York City, and literally over hundreds of different locations where you may learn about the arts, history, and even science. This collection is ideal for art enthusiasts who want to remain on top of their artistic venture while stuck at home. We've compiled a comprehensive list of world-class museums that provide virtual tours that you may attend from the comfort of your sofa or bed!

The worldwide crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus became the main hindrance to so many aspects of our lives, particularly our travel plans, prompting many people to cancel scheduled trips. But the thing is,  just because we're locked indoors doesn't mean we can't still have some fresh adventures while at home. So in this article, let’s take a look at some of the modern art museums that offer virtual tours that you can enjoy at home with your family, friends, or even alone. Time to enjoy, relax, get educated and cultured!

Art enthusiasts around the world are finally allowed to view thousands of paintings, sculptures, installations, and new works online – many in minute detail – as well as visit museums without buying tickets, traveling, or queueing up in lines. There are a variety of platforms available, ranging from interactive, 360-degree video tours and full walk-through exhibit tours with vocal descriptions to slideshows with zoomable photographs of the world's most famous artworks as if you're having a full-on experience on touring.  They also allow the users or visitors to get closer to the paintings, sculptures, etc. than they actually could in person.

Modern Art Museums in Your Perspective

    1.  Musei Vaticani (The Vatican Museum):

Virtually tour in 360 degrees FOR FREE around one of the greatest modern art museums in the world which is Musei Vaticani, which includes Raphael’s Rooms, and the most beloved Sistine Chapel where the famous fresco paintings of Renaissance master painter, Michelangelo, is located. The Vatican's museums are creatively rich in history and artistry, complete with soaring vaulted ceilings, elaborate paintings, and tapestries. When moving through the seven areas in the museum's virtual tour, don't forget to glance up to see the exquisite ceiling paintings. Thus, you are allowed to explore the remainder of Vatican City with a "You Visit tour" that allows you to travel around Saint Peter's Basilica and Square. This virtual tour comes with a tour guide who narrates each interactive area to make you feel like you're in the actual place yourself.

Click museivaticani.va to start touring.

    2.  Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois):

The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and biggest art museums in the United States, attracting roughly 1.5 million visitors around the world each year. Its art collection includes more than 5,000 years of human expression from different civilizations all over the world, with over 300,000 pieces of art housed in 11 curatorial departments. The online tour gives you access to key works from the museum's collection, such as Grant Wood's American Gothic, Georges Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, and Edward Hopper's Nighthawks. You can either browse the collections individually or tour interactively in the museum’s spaces.

Click here to virtually visit the museum and start your journey.

    3.  Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) (located in New York City):

Known as one of the most popular museums in the world, this museum will bring its galleries without leaving the comfort of your home! Join moma.org for Virtual Views, which starts on selected dates, and if you missed it, don't worry because you can still explore their archives at any time to learn about their prior art events. Recent exhibitions feature Cezanne’s drawings, a virtual view of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, Surrealist Women, Beirut at a Crossroad, and many more. The virtual views are taking you behind the scenes of their numerous shows, spotlighting beloved works showcasing various artists and collections, and sharing artists' voices through live dialogues with curators and creatives, video narratives, literature, music, and so much more.

    4.  Rijksmuseum (located in Amsterdam):

With the tagline, discover the possibilities of the masterpieces, this magnificent museum displays an extensive collection of art and historical masterpieces spread across 80 galleries. Thus, a 10-year refurbishment project that combined aspects of 19th-century splendor with modern lighting, as well as interiors and a new glass-roofed atrium, was finished in 2013. The interactive tour allows visitors to get up and have a virtual personal look with artworks of great Dutch master painters such as Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt, and other Dutch artists while touring the Great Hall and beyond. Complete with Rijksstudio, you can browse over 741,532 works of art and 619,899 Rijksstudios and even create your own Rijksstudio.

Click here to virtually visit the museum.

    5.  Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze ( located in Florence, Italy):

You may take a brief, video-guided virtual tour of the beloved museum, which includes 360-degree viewing that allows you to get a close look at everything the museum has to offer despite being at home. The Galleria dell'Accademia, which opened in 1784 and is smaller in size than the other museums included, is nonetheless the second most visited museum in Italy, thanks in large part to its presentation of possibly the most renowned sculpture in history which is Michaelangelo's iconic statue of David, among the other statues by the artist included in their gallery. 

Click here to visit the museum virtually.

Final Insights

All these virtual tours of some of the world’s renowned modern art museums are free of charge and very accessible to everyone. We hope that you take advantage of the technology that we have today to explore, learn, and discover about the rich culture worldwide despite the pandemic. While the pandemic is not yet over and most of us surely miss traveling, the closest thing to teleportation that we have for now is the internet’s variety of virtual tours.

Have fun exploring modern art museums and don’t forget to share your cultural and artistic experience on the couch or in your bed!