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While regular travel may be off the cards for the foreseeable future, virtual escapism is open to everyone with an internet connection.
Some of the world’s leading galleries, museums and national parks are all just a few clicks away. Here is a selection of the best VR travel experiences to keep you sane during lockdown.
Le Musee du Louvre, Paris
The Louvre, the world’s largest art and antiques museum, was forced to close its doors as Paris went into lockdown. While you can no longer waltz into its famous glass exterior, you can learn something of the phenomenal collection via a number of virtual tours, charting everything from Egyptian antiquities to the Galerie d’Apollon.
British Museum, London
The UK capital’s famed museum has hooked up with Google Arts & Culture, along with more than 2,000 other leading institutions, to offer an interactive tour. Wander through time and click on different artefacts to see them up close, read up on their history, and hear more information with an audio guide.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Stuffed with masterpieces from the Dutch Golden Age, the Rijksmuseum is one of Amsterdam’s most popular attractions. Online, it offers the chance to explore 11 “exhibits”, where you’re able to interact with various works from the museum, read about their history and see close-ups of the pieces. They include Vermeer’s The Milkmaid and a breakdown of the work of Jan Steen.
artsandculture.google.com/partner/rijksmuseum
Musee d’Orsay, Paris
Housed in the fabulous former Orsay railway station, the Musee d’Orsay displays art dating from 1848 to 1914. An online tour goes through the history of the building, first constructed for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. Viewers can also explore some of the most famous pieces in the collection, including one of Van Gogh’s self-portraits, and take a virtual wander through the galleries.
artsandculture.google.com/partner/musee-dorsay-paris
Guggenheim, New York
New York City’s iconic gallery has a Google Street View tour where you can “amble” along its winding corridor and view works up close, such as Catherine Opie’s daring Self Portrait/Pervert triptych; Ivan Navarro’s installation Homeless Lamp, the Juice Sucker; and Ovitz’s Library by Jonas Wood. On top of that, you can also simply gaze upon the building’s remarkable architecture.
artsandculture.google.com/streetview/solomon-r-guggenheim-museum-interior-streetview
Uffizi Gallery, Florence
This gallery houses the art collection of the Medicis inside a 16th-century building. Online, there are four exhibitions that take viewers through various works, explaining their significance and showing close-ups of important details within the paintings. See such works as Piero di Cosimo’s Perseus Freeing Andromeda like never before.
artsandculture.google.com/partner/uffizi-gallery
Central Park, New York
NYC’s green centrepiece is available to tour online. Not only does it show you the sites, it also comes with a guide who talks you through significant events in Central Park’s history as you “travel” from the West 72nd entrance.
The Royal Parks, London
If the government decides to implement a full lockdown in the UK, it might not be as easy to get out to the capital’s green spaces. The Royal Parks offer a virtual tour of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens courtesy of Google Street View. Take a turn about the grounds at your leisure.
There are plenty of pictures of the famed canyon online, but get a little deeper with a VR archaeological tour. This allows armchair travellers to explore and learn more about the history behind the canyon’s formation by clicking on different geological features.
nps.gov/features/grca/001/archeology
Yosemite National Park, California
Experience this natural wonder in real time by clicking through to its webcams. The views include Yosemite Falls, the view of the Half Dome from the floor of Yosemite Valley, and vistas from the High Sierra captured at 8,000 feet.
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
One of the best things about being in the great outdoors is the way you experience it with all your senses. Rocky Mountain National Park has allowed virtual visitors to use their ears rather than their eyes, with an online “sound library” that features an array of birds and wildlife found in the park.
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1/15 Regents Park, London
A park fit (and designed) for a king. Regents Park is home to a flower display rivalled only by that of nearby St James' Park and hosts over 100 species of bird. If you think that isn't quite enough wildlife, there's always London Zoo in the upper west side of the park
Getty
2/15 Beaumont Park, Huddersfield
A park of tremendous variety. A large open space closes on to a pleasant mall that leads from the more well-kept side of the park towards the wild forest area that winds down a cliff face and features some curious Victorian architecture
Darren Wright
3/15 Holyrood Park, Edinburgh
An urban park that is pointedly rural. Here you do not stroll but ramble and in doing so are treated to exciting historical sites and some spectacular views
Getty
4/15 Platt Fields, Manchester
Sitting at the junction of Rusholme, Fallowfield and Moss Side, Platt Fields is the best that inner-city Manchester has to offer. Beside the abundant green space, there are plenty of facilities such as a skate park, BMX track and a boating lake
Sharaf
5/15 Nunhead Cemetery, London
Might not sound like a park but it is perhaps the most pleasant walk to be had among the dead in all of England
Kotomi
6/15 Wollaton Park, Nottingham
A history lover's park. Not only is it home to a well preserved Elizabethan manor: that manor now houses an industrial and natural history museum
Getty
7/15 Brandon Hill, Bristol
Oldest park in Bristol offering great views of the city and harbour to those who brave the steep incline
Getty
8/15 Brynmill Park, Swansea
Plenty to do in this park with a play area, bowling green and the lake. However it is best enjoyed at a stroll
Phil John
9/15 Saltwell Park, Gateshead
Saltwell Park has all the fittings of a great British park: a manor house, a boating lake and trees galore. What sets it apart is that each of these features are the pinnacles of their sort
Getty Images
10/15 Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow
Classic Victorian park with plenty of facilities and some fancy terraces to admire
Getty
11/15 Hylands Park, Chelmsford
Another manor estate opened into a public park. Lots of trees and plenty of open space, so much so that Hylands Park was host to V music festival
Andy Sedg
12/15 Greenwich Park, London
A varied park to walk around, from the rose garden to the observatory to the seldom seen deer in the lower east side. Greenwich Park also offers outstanding views of Canary Wharf
Getty
13/15 Sefton Park, Liverpool
Great for a nature stroll and home to a vibrant tropical palm house
Psyche Delia
14/15 Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh
One of the smaller parks on the list albeit one that is home to a hilltop castle
Getty
15/15 Richmond Park, London
Famed for its deer, sprawling Richmond Park is a dog walker's paradise
Getty
1/15 Regents Park, London
A park fit (and designed) for a king. Regents Park is home to a flower display rivalled only by that of nearby St James' Park and hosts over 100 species of bird. If you think that isn't quite enough wildlife, there's always London Zoo in the upper west side of the park
Getty
2/15 Beaumont Park, Huddersfield
A park of tremendous variety. A large open space closes on to a pleasant mall that leads from the more well-kept side of the park towards the wild forest area that winds down a cliff face and features some curious Victorian architecture
Darren Wright
3/15 Holyrood Park, Edinburgh
An urban park that is pointedly rural. Here you do not stroll but ramble and in doing so are treated to exciting historical sites and some spectacular views
Getty
4/15 Platt Fields, Manchester
Sitting at the junction of Rusholme, Fallowfield and Moss Side, Platt Fields is the best that inner-city Manchester has to offer. Beside the abundant green space, there are plenty of facilities such as a skate park, BMX track and a boating lake
Sharaf
5/15 Nunhead Cemetery, London
Might not sound like a park but it is perhaps the most pleasant walk to be had among the dead in all of England
Kotomi
6/15 Wollaton Park, Nottingham
A history lover's park. Not only is it home to a well preserved Elizabethan manor: that manor now houses an industrial and natural history museum
Getty
7/15 Brandon Hill, Bristol
Oldest park in Bristol offering great views of the city and harbour to those who brave the steep incline
Getty
8/15 Brynmill Park, Swansea
Plenty to do in this park with a play area, bowling green and the lake. However it is best enjoyed at a stroll
Phil John
9/15 Saltwell Park, Gateshead
Saltwell Park has all the fittings of a great British park: a manor house, a boating lake and trees galore. What sets it apart is that each of these features are the pinnacles of their sort
Getty Images
10/15 Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow
Classic Victorian park with plenty of facilities and some fancy terraces to admire
Getty
11/15 Hylands Park, Chelmsford
Another manor estate opened into a public park. Lots of trees and plenty of open space, so much so that Hylands Park was host to V music festival
Andy Sedg
12/15 Greenwich Park, London
A varied park to walk around, from the rose garden to the observatory to the seldom seen deer in the lower east side. Greenwich Park also offers outstanding views of Canary Wharf
Getty
13/15 Sefton Park, Liverpool
Great for a nature stroll and home to a vibrant tropical palm house
Psyche Delia
14/15 Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh
One of the smaller parks on the list albeit one that is home to a hilltop castle
Getty
15/15 Richmond Park, London
Famed for its deer, sprawling Richmond Park is a dog walker's paradise
Getty
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Fancy climbing a mountain? You can try out an e-climb with Grand Teton National Park, navigating your way to the 13,770-ft summit (minus the effort). Viewers can also discover the geology and history of the Grand Teton massif along the way, and learn more about the native plants and wildlife.