23 Virtual Tours That’ll Transport You To All Corners Of The Globe

In the time of COVID-19 many of us find ourselves at home yearning for the days when we were able to jump on a plane and head to a far away land. Nowadays the closest we can get to that is by hopping on to our computers and taking part in some virtual tours from all over the globe. While it definitely sucks to tour this way it’s much safer and a whole lot cheaper!

Macqueripe Bay, Trinidad

There are many different formats for these virtual tours. Some of them allow you to  “walk” wherever you like, while others have a set path laid out. Here are 23 Virtual Tours that will take you from Toronto, to London, Trinidad, Australia and quite a few other places in between.

Museums

Museums are some of the biggest tourist attractions anywhere. They collect and preserve objects that are of historical and cultural importance and help educate their visitors. Some museums tours allow you to immerse yourself and “roam” its halls, while others present virtual pieces from their collections that you can click on and learn about. A couple of the ones listed below have partnered with Google so you would need to install the Google Arts & Culture app to experience some or their virtual tours.

1. The Royal Ontario Museum – The ROM is housed in a very eye catching building in Toronto. It’s Canada’s largest museum and one of the largest in North America. Virtual tours allow visitors to either “walk” through the exhibits, or, spend time going through their extensive collection of art and historical objects.
   

   Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto

2. British Museum, London –  This museum is located in the heart of London and is dedicated to art, culture and human history. The virtual tour in this iconic museum allows visitors to  explore The Great Court and it’s collection of Egyptian mummies.
3. The Louvre – This is one of the most famous museums in the world and also houses one of the most famous paintings in the world: The Mona Lisa. In the online tours visitors can experience the Louvre’s moat, their Egyptian antiques, The Galerie d’Apollon and others.
   

   The Louvre Museum, Paris

4. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History – On a normal day this museum, along with the other Smithsonian museums in Washington D.C. are free of charge. Their virtual tour allows visitors to take a self guided, room-by-room tour of select exhibits and areas within the museum.
5. Museum of Art of São Paulo (MASP) – The museum itself is housed in an iconic concrete and glass structure and has one of the finest collection of European art in the world. They are known for displaying their paintings in crystal easels which makes it look like they’re floating.
   

   Sao Paulo Museum Of Art

6. Bytown Museum, Ottawa – The museum is housed in Ottawa’s oldest stone building and the virtual tour will take you through three floors of exhibitions. Visitors can also explore its unique artifacts.

The Great Outdoors

These days we can’t head outside but there are some amazing outdoor virtual tours you can take while we wait for this self isolation to end.

1. As some of you know I was born and grew up in Trinidad and Tobago so when I heard that there are virtual tours of parts of the country I knew I had to include them in this list. On the north coast of the island you can hop aboard a drone and take a tour of Blanchisseuse Beach, or, you can go over to the sister isle of Tobago to explore  Fort King George in the hills above Scarborough.
   

   Fort King George, Tobago

2. Yosemite National Park – This interactive tour will bring you right into the  park and allow you to experience over 200 different locations. You can take look up in awe at the giant sequoias, take in the breathtaking view from Glacier Point, or head indoors and explore the Ahwahnee Hotel.
3. Gombe, Tanzania – Head over to Africa to see Jane Goodall’s chimpanzee reserve in the Gombe forests.
4. Travelling to Japan may not be in the cards anytime soon but Google can help you climb Mt. Fuji without getting off of your couch.
5. Costa Rica has it all: Beautiful beaches, rain forests teeming with wildlife, untouched nature and five volcanoes that you can visit all in one day. The volcanoes are Arenal, Rincón de la Vieja, Poás, Irazú, and, Miravalles. Costa Rica is a very unique country whose environmental practices are the envy of many other countries. It’s the first tropical country to reverse deforestation, it’s home to more than 5% of the world’s known biodiversity, and ,its waters contain 3.5% of the world’s marine life.
   

   Paos Volcano, Costa Rica

6. If the volcanoes of Costa Rica weren’t enough you can join this ranger led tour of  Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. You’ll see the rippling black rock formations and the lava flows that feed them. You also get to explore a rainforest, tour a lava tube and soar above an active volcano in a helicopter.
7. Down in Australia, Chef Dan Churchill takes you on a 360-degree tour starting with a bird’s-eye view of the Great Barrier Reef then onto a boat cruise up the Daintree River. You wont believe how gorgeous this land is.

Landmarks

I’m sure a lot of you have heard about the following landmarks, but how many have actually visited them?

1. Toronto is home to quite a few famous buildings but one of the most unique is The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre. This is the last surviving Edwardian stacked theatre in the world.
2. When visiting Stonehenge, you have to stay behind a rope, but there are ways to get closer to the stones. Visitors may not have time in their schedules for one of these special tours but this virtual tour will get you behind the rope anytime you’d like.
   

   Stonehenge

3. The Catacombs in Paris holds the remains of over six million bodies in a network of tunnels that stretches over 200 miles. The  Catacombs were created to help with the overcrowding of the city’s cemeteries by transferring remains to the tunnels.
4. One of the most recognizable buildings in the world is The Colosseum in Rome. The ancient amphitheatre played host to gladiator battles, executions, and many other grisly acts.
5. One of the most beautiful buildings in the world is the Taj Mahal in India. This magnificent mausoleum was commissioned by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to honor his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. You will never find a more beautiful show of love anywhere.
   

   Taj Mahal, India

6. Head over to France and explore the Palace Of Versailles. Take a stroll through the Hall of Mirrors or head outside and explore the grounds. Afterwards you can click on the online exhibits to learn about life in the castle.
7. This is a very unique tour of the Sydney Opera House. The tour chronicles a day in the life of the opera house where you wander the halls accompanied by a cellist and an opera singer.

Theme Parks

Roller coasters, carnival style eats, exciting shows and fun themed restaurants. These are common things at a theme parks but here we don’t have to stand in line for two hours.

1. The most famous theme park in the world is Disney World and they’ve teamed up with Google Maps and Street View to take you through The Magic Kingdom.
   

   Disney World, Florida

2. Want to know what it’s like to ride Yukon Striker, the world’s tallest, fastest, and longest dive coaster? Head over to the Canada’s Wonderland page to experience it and quite a few of their other rides.
3. Tampa is on Florida’s west coast and it’s there that you’ll find the famous Busch Gardens. Attend an elephant’s birthday party, ride a roller coaster, or join a group of flamingos for a walk.

Have you taken any virtual tours either before or during this lockdown? If so please let me know and I’ll update this list. I’m sure there a lot more out there.