Virtual travel: How to experience art and culture beyond Seattle during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Even though we’re all in the midst of isolating ourselves at home, there’s no excuse not to travel the world for an amazing assortment of arts and culture thanks to online streaming, live webcams and special recordings released during the coronavirus pandemic.

Cultural institutions like The Met Opera and National Gallery of Art are intent on keeping arts enthusiasts active and appreciative of what our artists have to offer. And aquariums and zoos are inviting virtual guests to take an intimate look at animal lives through interactive sessions with zookeepers.

While you’re in the virtual travel mode, why not go as far as you can with a nighttime visit to the Aurora Borealis or a daytime daydream to Waikiki’s soothing beaches?

Scroll down and click through the gallery above to see a host of free virtual cultural sites for immersive experiences at home, and be sure to bookmark your favorites for when travel restrictions lift and you’re free to wander again.

Museums

The Louvre

Explore one of Paris’s finest treasures with a virtual tour of Musée du Louvre. Virtual visitors can explore Egyptian antiquities, exhibitions with artists like Rembrandt, decorative ceilings and a tour around the Louvre’s historic fortress moat. For interactive fun, take a workshop tour of the Louvre with a former director. The animated Adobe Flash workshop offers hidden stories found by clicking on responsive objects within the platform.

The Guggenheim

Take a Google Street View tour through New York’s iconic Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. This virtual tour provides access throughout the museum, while the Guggenheim YouTube page offers tours of past exhibits, guided architecture tours and other recorded art talks. Or watch one of the museum’s artist profile videos of recent exhibitors. For even more art inspiration, the Guggenheim Digital Guide is available in the Apple App Store or in the Google Play Store and provides audio guides on exhibitions.

National Gallery of Art

Take a virtual trip to the nation’s capital for two virtual tours of the National Gallery of Art. In partnership with Google Arts & Culture, culture seekers can tour two free online exhibits at the National Gallery. Explore the visual artistry of Dutch Baroque painter Johannes Vermeer or navigate through historic American fashion from 1740 to 1895. Even more arts immersion is available on the NGA YouTube feed where visitors can tune in to arts lectures or watch an insider view of larger-than-life art installations.

Van Gogh Museum

Head to Amsterdam with another Google Arts & Culture partnership providing virtual tours, this time inviting visitors into the popular Van Gogh Museum. The museum houses the largest collection of artist Vincent Van Gogh, including hundreds of paintings and drawings, along with personal artifacts. The official museum website also provides free activities families can do at home, like coloring print-outs and at-home art lessons for kids.

Aquariums and Zoos

Cincinnati Zoo

Immediately after Cincinnati Zoo closed their doors temporarily to aid in social distancing, the zoo began offering daily animal streams on Facebook Live. Each day at 3 p.m. EDT, zoo staff highlight a specific critter with accompanying activity ideas for families to do at home. Thus far, meerkats, giraffes, lions and sloths have been featured during these live sessions, with many more interactive streams to come. Live sessions are archived for later viewing on the Cincinnati Zoo Facebook page, so you can connect with their family of animals any time of day. View the upcoming schedule online.

Houston Zoo

Take a daily break to visit with a variety of animals at the Houston Zoo. Their website always offers live streams of elephants, gorillas and more, but now the Houston Zoo Facebook page is home to daily zookeeper sessions with educational talks and the option for live viewers to send in questions about the featured animal of the day.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Watch live streams of aquatic creatures on YouTube with Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, or tune in to their Morning MeditOceans on Facebook. These fun meditation sessions make a great start to the day, or recordings can equally fuel an afternoon pick-me-up while watching jellyfish accompanied by calming music. Live streams on YouTube include access to sharks, penguins, sea otters and more.

The Smithsonian National Zoo

It’s hard to resist the playful nature of pandas, especially when Smithsonian National Zoo offers free live streaming of zoo favorites, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang. The two panda cams operate 24 hours around the clock, so guests can observe pandas devouring bamboo, climbing trees and rolling around in their grassy home. Toggle between the two cameras, and keep in mind pandas do like to take their naps so try again later if there’s not a lot of activity when you first log on.

WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo

Join live feeding and cuddle sessions with the zoo staff at the WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo. In addition to these permanent live cams on the zoo website, join live daily discussions on the zoo Facebook page for interactive chats with zookeepers as they highlight kangaroos, koalas and crocodiles. To enhance the educational factor of these presentations, viewers can download activity sheets or join quizzes hosted by zoo staff.

Cultural Performances

The Grammy Museum

Music fans are flocking to the Grammy Museum’s daily releases of free digital content. The series provides access to never-before-released content like sit-down interviews and intimate performances with musicians ranging from pop, rock and country. View current videos on Museum at Home, where emerging artists can also tune in for free music and video production mini-lessons.

Lincoln Center

No need to travel to New York to take in a variety of performances hosted at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Instead, take advantage of Lincoln Center At Home, a free collection of musical quartets, quintets and more. The whole family can enjoy free programming online with pop-up classrooms and activities for kids taking place live every weekday at 2:00 p.m. EST, via Facebook Live.

The Metropolitan Opera

The Met Opera in New York has been offering free nightly opera streams for several weeks now. Each evening offers a recording of a past performance with online presentations beginning at 7:30 p.m., with an additional 20 hours of online available thereafter. Watch on the official Met Opera website or on the Met Opera apps. Upcoming performances include Verdi’s Macbeth, Gounod's Roméo et Juliette and Mozart's Cosi fan tutte.

Staatsoper Unter den Linden

Go across the world to virtually visit Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden, where daily on demand videos provide access to symphony concerts and operas. Experience musical classics from Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Wagner and more, all from the comfort of home. On demand videos are available 24 hours once posted.

The Great Outdoors

National Parks

Ever wanted an unlimited free access pass to all the National Parks? Access granted! With Google Earth, you can virtually tour dozens of your favorites like Arches National Park in Utah, Everglades National Park in Florida, Washington’s own Mount Rainier National Park, the Virgin Islands National Park and top favorite Grand Canyon National Park. Google Earth tours are accessible around the clock.

Northern Lights

It’s the perfect time of year to take in the magnificent natural color show of the Northern Lights. Virtual visits are enabled through the Aurora Borealis Northern Lights cam provided by Churchill Northern Studies Center in Churchill, Manitoba. Prime live viewing takes place nightly when the night sky provides a backdrop to this atmospheric phenomenon.

Waikiki Beach

Wouldn’t it be great to head to the beach for a day of sunshine? The next best thing right now just might be daydreaming during live streams of your favorite beachfront. Visit the live feed on Waikiki Beach to watch waves roll in and palm trees sway in a gentle tropical breeze. Turn up the sound to hear lulling waves whisk you away. #WishYouWereHere never felt so real.

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