European Museums Without Travelling

Although virtual tours allow you to experience many cultural events and museums, physically visiting these places is far more exciting. With the growth of the aviation industry, travelling worldwide, specifically around Europe, is far more accessible and increasingly versatile.

These virtual visits also allow you to know several European Museums better. As a plus, you get to pick the ones you can’t help visiting in person. You can afterwards book your holiday destination with more awareness, knowing that you will enjoy somewhere you want to go. With so many good possibilities, the tricky part will be where to begin.

All this without even mentioning the sense of déjà vu once you step into these European museums yourself.

Located in the city with the highest density of museums in the world, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is one of the best virtual European Museums. Here you can find several masterpieces by famous artists. Amongst them are Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Vermeer. You may also admire the famous Rembrandt painting “The Night Watch” during the virtual tour.

The National Museum receives over 2.5 million visitors annually and is one of the most popular virtual museums. Here, you can imagine yourself walking around the different floors, viewing unique masterpieces, Baroque painting, Asian collections and much more. Without a doubt, one of the best visits to a European Museum without travelling.

The Archaeological Museum of Athens is a must-see for those travelling to the capital of Greece. The online visit is also very worthy of your time. The space preserves most of the remaining ornaments from the Acropolis in Athens. Here you may also see other essential constructions and works of art to the country and the entire western civilization.

The modern museum has several beautiful galleries, including one exhibiting five Caryatids and mummies and marvellous Egyptian funerary masks. The virtual tour also provides access to photos and descriptions of the collections and exhibits. You’ll find it available in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek and German, among other languages.

One of the oldest museums in the world, the British Museum in London, opened in 1753. Currently, it has over eight million items stored, housing one of the largest collections in the world. Thanks to the museum’s partnership with Google Arts and Culture, most of them are accessible online. There’s something for everyone, from the ancient Islamic world to Egyptian mummies.

On the virtual tour, you can appreciate unique pieces in detail. Don’t miss the famous Rosetta Stone, a part of granite found in 1799 in Egypt and essential for understanding hieroglyphics. You can also access antiquity collections from the Middle East, Greece and Rome.

Wander through the different rooms and explore individual exhibitions, travel across specific eras and discover pieces depending on the continent and the theme. Texts, pictures and audios explain the exhibits in more detail. If you find the large number of expositions a little overwhelming, check out one of the stories curated by the museum team. Highlights include a whistle-stop tour of Iron Age Celtic art and an insightful look at the Rosetta Stone.

The Vatican Museums are a conglomerate of European museums established in 1503, one of the world’s major complexes. With long queues and exhausting hallways, the Vatican Museum houses an immense art collection. It is truly unique and amassed by popes from the 17th century onwards.

The Vatican Museum virtual visit is much more relaxed, as you’d expect. Here you can thoroughly enjoy the magnificent halls and calmly appreciate every detail of the famous Sistine Chapel. This is one of the mandatory stops for those wishing to admire Michelangelo’s masterpiece. Among the works of art, you can admire the genius of Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci, Caravaggio and others.

Several works, chapels and buildings can be visited in 360º videos and photos. The available languages in the virtual museum are English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.

It may be of no surprise that The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world and the largest in France. With over 35,000 works of art permanently exhibited, it houses countless treasures and collections. The famous “Mona Lisa” painting by Leonardo da Vinci is surely one you won’t want to miss.

You can appreciate the high-resolution artworks in rich detail through the virtual tour. These include Egyptian, Oriental, and Roman Greek antiquities, paintings, sculptures and many others. Available themes include the connection between art and political power and even a curious link to Darth Vader. The virtual museum is available in French, English, and Spanish, among others.

The Anne Frank House Museum recounts the story of the little Jewish girl that took refuge with her family in the house of neighbours. They selflessly protected them during the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands in 1942.

On the virtual tour, you can watch several videos about Anne Frank’s life and diary. You can also see the room where Anne and her family stayed in hiding for more than two years, during the Second World War. You may also visit the house where they lived before the great war.

The online museum is available in English, Spanish, Dutch and German. Virtual reality glasses can be used in a special session. There is a dedicated gallery in 19 languages, and the museum can also be accessed via Google Arts & Culture.

Florence is a city surrounded by art, and the Uffizi Gallery is an absolute highlight for discovering works by great Italian geniuses. The museum contains numerous sculptures from the 12th and 17th centuries and works by artists such as Michelangelo, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Rafaello.

Initially, the gallery intended to serve as an office for ministries and authorities in Florence. Still, since its conclusion around 1580, the exquisite Galleria Degli Uffizi has been home to renowned works of painting and sculpture.

From antiquity to the late Baroque, the main attractions are in the Botticelli Room, where the paintings The Spring and The Birth of Venus can be seen. In the room dedicated to the emblematic Leonardo da Vinci are the works Annunciation and Adoration of the Magi. As for the Caravaggio room, we find the well-known Medusa.

In the virtual tour, you can walk through the museum halls and check online exhibitions and some of the most important works in high-resolution photos, where you can view every detail.

The virtual museum is available in English and Italian and can be visited through Google Arts & Culture.

Pergamon Museum was severely damaged during World War II. Some exhibits even had to be placed in security or surrounded by walls. After the war, some objects were handed over to the Russian Red Army, and it was not until the 1950s that the building was gradually rebuilt.

The Museum is located in Berlin’s historic centre and houses, among many other exhibits, the Berlin Antiquities Collection. Its most notable feature is the Pergamos Altarpiece, a magnificent construction commissioned by the ancient Greek king Eumenes II in the 2nd century BC. This excellent online gallery exhibition tells the story of the altar in all its glory.

The Kunsthistorisches Museum is one of the most important museums in the world, with rich collections comprising works of art from seven millennia, from Ancient Egypt to the end of the 18th century. Together with the opposite building of the Natural History Museum, these two European museums create a unique surrounding space.

The Renaissance and Baroque art collections are particularly important. From the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities to the Picture Gallery and the Art Chamber, there are numerous highlights on this virtual tour.

An additional elegant feature is the circular opening in the ceiling of the entrance hall that offers visitors their first glimpse of the dome hall. A wealth of neo-Baroque decorations throughout the museum creates one of the most solemn and splendid interiors in late 19th century Vienna, probably unmatched by any other European Museum.

Its location is already idyllic since The Musée d’Orsay was established in a magnificent former railway station in Orsay, built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition. The museum presents art in France, Europe and the United States from 1848 to 1914, with digital paintings by Van Gogh, impressionist works by Manet and modern art by Bach, among many more high cultures on view.

Virtually, it is possible to learn more about the collection and history of art in several educational videos and also tour the hallways seeing in detail the main works of art through Google Arts & Culture. The virtual museum is available in French, English, Spanish, German and Italian.

Not all museums are dedicated to the masters of Renaissance or modern art. Some take an equally creative approach to the knowledge on offer. There’s much to discover within the next section, and perhaps a mandatory stop if you find yourself in any of the following cities anytime soon.

If you have any questions about the places you can visit virtually, please take a look at our frequently asked questions section.