50+ museums you can visit online for free

June 23, 2022

By Kim Komando

It’s been a while since the pandemic first hit, but there are still lasting effects around the globe. You may not be free to travel wherever you like this summer, but you can still gain access to beautiful, educational, curious and historical sites from around the world.

Ever wanted to visit London, Tokyo or Paris? While pictures and videos online can’t convey the experience of being there, we found the next best thing. Tap or click here to take a virtual drive around your favorite city.

Many museums have gone virtual, so you can enjoy the experience from the comfort of home. The beauty of these virtual tours is they give you a chance to access galleries you might never be able to view otherwise. If there’s a collection you’ve been waiting to see, or if you love learning and seeing new things, check out these 50+ virtual museums you can “visit” absolutely free.

1. The Louvre – Paris, France

There’s plenty more to the Louvre than Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The Louvre is among the most important landmarks in Paris and the most visited museum in the world. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art – New York, USA

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, often called the MET, offers 200,000 works of art on its Google Arts & Culture page alone. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

3. The British Museum – London, UK

Check out this iconic museum, which features a permanent collection of 8 million works. Tap or click here for the virtual tour via Google Maps.

4. The National Gallery of Art – Washington, USA

Enjoy beautiful works of art or stroll through the attached Sculpture Garden at this national art museum in Washington, DC. This virtual tool consists of a series of photos on the museum’s website. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

5. Vatican Museum – Rome, Italy

If you’ve always wanted to see the famous Sistine Chapel, now’s your chance. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

6. Museum of Modern Art – New York, USA

The Museum of Modern Art, also known as MoMa, is one of the largest and most influential modern art museums in the world. Explore more than 90,000 pieces from the museum’s online gallery. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

7. Uffizi Gallery – Florence, Italy

The Uffizi Gallery features a gorgeous collection of Italian renaissance art. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

8. Rijksmuseum – Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam is among the top 10 cities in the world that boast the most museums in a single city. Enjoy more than 150,000 works from this impressive museum. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

9. J. Paul Getty Museum – Los Angeles, USA

The J. Paul Getty Museum, also called The Getty Center or simply The Getty, is known for its architecture, gardens and beautiful views overlooking Los Angeles. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

10. Musée d’Orsay – Paris, France

This museum boasts French art from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture and photography. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

11. Prado Museum – Madrid, Spain

The Prado Museum is known for housing the world’s most comprehensive collection of Spanish paintings. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

12. The Dalí – Florida, USA

Check out the museum that houses Salvador Dalí’s surrealist paintings, including The Persistence of Memory. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

13. Dalí Theatre-Museum – Girona, Spain

Wondering how deeply the Dalí Theatre-Museum is dedicated to its legendary namesake? Dalí’s crypt is located beneath the theater. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

14. NASA – Ohio, USA

A virtual museum at NASA should come as no surprise. NASA has been posting photos and information online for a long time. Explore innovative technology and learn a little more about space exploration. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

15. NASA – Virginia, USA

There is more than one NASA museum, and this one is based in Virginia. This is NASA’s oldest field center and it borders Langley Air Force Base. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

16. Pinacoteca di Brera – Milan, Italy

This museum is home to a public painting gallery. It is known for hosting Italian paintings dating from the thirteenth to the twentieth century. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

17. State Hermitage Museum – St. Petersburg, Russia

This museum features art and culture. It was founded in 1763 and is the largest art museum by gallery space in the world. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

18. National Women’s History Museum – Virginia, USA

Learn about trailblazing women throughout history at this museum. Women have contributed to everything from the arts to math and science and have not received the credit they’re due. Pay your respects and educate yourself at this fantastic museum. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

19. Egyptian Museum – Turin, Italy

This museum specializes in ancient Egyptian archaeology, anthropology, history and culture. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

20. Guggenheim Museum – Bilbao, Spain

The Guggenheim Museum is considered “a monument to modernism.” The breathtaking architecture draws crowds from around the world, and now you can see it on your computer screen. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

21. The Guggenheim Museum – New York, USA

There are 5 Guggenheim museums located around the world, but when people mention “The Guggenheim,” they are usually referring to the one in New York. This location boasts modern and contemporary sculptures and paintings. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

22. Natural History Museum – London, UK

This museum dates back to 1881 and is commonly referred to as “the Natural History Museum.” Learn about natural history and explore the gorgeous architecture in this 360 tour. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

23. Van Gogh Museum – Amsterdam, Netherlands

Play a Vincent van Gogh board game or print color pages of the Dutch master’s works through this virtual museum experience. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

24. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History – Washington, USA

The Smithsonian is among the most popular destinations on the planet and is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex. It’s dedicated to preserving heritage, discovering new information and sharing resources. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

25. National Museum of the US Air Force – Ohio, USA

Want to learn more about the United States Air Force? Visit the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

26. The Spy Museum – Washington DC, USA

This museum documents the role that espionage has played throughout history. It includes a public display of artifacts that were used by historical and contemporary spies. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

27. Tate Modern – London, UK

The Tate Modern houses the UK’s national collection of international modern and contemporary art. Enjoy pieces from modernism in the early 1900s to the works created today. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

Looking for pro photography shots or inspiration, tips and advice to drive your own photography goals? Check out Dreamstime for all the pro images and inspiration you need.

28. The National Gallery – London, UK

The National Gallery is an art museum that keeps more than 2,300 paintings from the mid-13th century to the year 1900. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

29. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum – Madrid, Spain

This museum is known as part of the “Golden Triangle of Art,” which includes the Prado and Reina Sofía national galleries. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

30. Vienna State Opera – Vienna, Austria

The Vienna State Opera is an opera house that seats more than 1,700 guests. It is one of the world’s leading opera houses and is known for the performances of works by famous playwrights such as Richard Wagner and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

31. Capitoline Museums – Rome, Italy

Also known as the “Musei Capitolini,” the Capitoline Museums of Rome are several connected museums designed by Michelangelo. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

32. Peleș Castle – Sinaia, Romania

This Neo-Renaissance castle is designed with intricate carvings and features rooms inspired by Turkish, German, Italian and Spanish designs. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

33. Raffaello Exhibition – Roma, Italy

This exhibition was in March 2020 created to honor the 500 anniversary of Raphael’s (Raffaello’s) death. Though the pandemic interrupted the exhibition, it’s still available for viewing online. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

34. The Art Institute of Chicago – Illinois, USA

The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the oldest and largest museums in the world and is known to see 1.5 million visitors each year. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

35. Museo Napoleonico – Rome, Italy

See Count Giuseppe Primoli’s collections at the Museo Napoleonico. Count Primoli is the great-grandson of Lucien Bonaparte (Napoleon’s younger brother). Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

36. Berardo Museum – Libson, Portugal

The Berardo Collection Museum, also called the Museu Colecção Berardo, is Portugal’s main modern and contemporary art museum. It was created in 2007 to display nearly a thousand pieces of Berardo’s collection and offers free entry. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

37. Cluny Museum – Paris, France

This museum contains famous sculptures, stained glass, ivories, paintings, enamel, tombstones, tapestries and other forms of art from the 1st to the 15th centuries. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

38. The Palace of Parliament – Bucharest, Romania

The Palace of Parliament is the heaviest building in the world, weighing more than 9 billion pounds. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

39. Calouste Gulbenkian Museum – Lisbon, Portugal

Calouste Gulbenkian was an Armenian oil magnate who was known for collecting “only the best.” He collected one of the world’s most important and impressive private art collections that includes masterpieces from different periods and areas. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

40. The Acropolis of Athens – Athens, Greece

The Acropolis of Athens has served as a home to kings, a citadel, a mythical home of the gods and a religious center. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

41. The Benaki Museum – Athens, Greece

The Benaki Museum is the only museum in the country that keeps exhibits from all eras of its culture and history. It has a focus on foreign influences and provides a wealth of historical education. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

42. Frick Collection – New York, USA

The Frick Collection is composed of paintings and other art pieces from Europe, and is internationally recognized as a premier museum and research center. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

43. The Frida Kahlo Museum – Mexico City, Mexico

The Frida Kahlo Museum, also called The Blue House, was once the legendary artist’s home. It exhibits the personal belongings, paintings and other art pieces that inspired Frida. The museum also houses a garden, pictures, sculptures, documents, books and furniture. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

44. Museum of Broken Relationships – Zagreb, Croatia

If the name of this museum isn’t intriguing enough, take a look at the pieces in the virtual tour. The collection is dedicated to failed romantic relationships and exhibits personal items left behind by former lovers. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

45. National Museum of China – Beijing, China

The National Museum of China hosts a collection of the Qing-era imperial treasures, which spans from 1644 to 1912. It focuses on China’s imperial history, World War II, the Communist victory and China’s modern history. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

46. National Palace Museum – Taipei, Taiwan

This museum boasts one of the world’s largest collections of ancient Chinese artifacts that were brought from the mainland in the late 1940s. This includes paintings, porcelain and calligraphy. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

47. Luxembourg City History Museum – Luxembourg, Paris

The Luxembourg City History Museum, or the Lëtzebuerg City Museum, illustrates the thousand-year history of the city of Luxembourg. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

48. National Museum of Natural History Grigore Antipa – Bucharest, Romania

Visit this museum to learn more about the world around you. It attracts scientists, children and adults from around the world. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

49. The National Museums of Ireland – Ireland

There are four national museums in Ireland, each of which offers free admission. The museums offer different experiences, so be sure to check them all out. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

50. Titanic Experience Cobh – Cork, Ireland

This is more of an attraction than a museum, but it focuses on the ill-fated journey of the Titanic. The exhibit includes the original White Star Line offices and is the point of departure for the last passengers who boarded the Titanic. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

51. Pacific Museum of Earth – Vancouver, Canada

The Pacific Museum of Earth tour includes fossils, a main gallery, minerals, a globe and gem gallery and more. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

52. A collection of museums and landmarks – Dubai, United Arab Emirates

There are several museums in this collection, which include the Museum of Illusions, The Dubai Heritage Village, Dubai Museum and Al Fahidi Fort. Tap or click here for the virtual tour.

Keep reading

You can see shipwreck sites on Google Maps — including the Titanic

See a famous work of art in incredible detail with a 10-gigapixel scan