Social distancing and quarantine in the age of coronavirus mean significant life changes around the world. Staying home includes missing out on many things, including our beloved cultural institutions. Major and minor museums and galleries around the world are shuttered for the foreseeable future to ensure the safety of both staff and visitors. Luckily, even when their doors are closed, there are ways to access their priceless collections from home.
For nearly twenty years, the Google Arts & Culture project has been meticulously documenting museums and cultural sites around the world. Their high-quality images of artworks let you examine canvasses as if through a microscope, while their virtual tours allow you to stroll the halls of some of the finest museums in the world.
Now may be a great time to take yourself on a tour of famous museums in countries you’ve never been able to visit. Or perhaps take a deep dive into a favorite artist’s oeuvre, gaining a new, intimate knowledge of their work. The offerings on Google Arts & Culture are extensive enough to get you through the next weeks or months of tiring of the art hanging on your own walls. Here are a few of our favorite museums to virtually visit.