For many reasons, people are unable to travel – whether you have a disability that prevents far flung travel, simply feeling poorly and are temporarily house-bound and bored, or just don’t have the resources to actually visit these great places in person. So what can home travelers do to scratch that itch? Institutions all around the world are pulling together to give people the resources to learn and explore from home.

Museums

Many travelers abroad relish in visiting places where they can learn about the culture of the place they are visiting as well as experiencing iconic works of art, design, and more. Many Museums are making the wonderful decision of making their exhibits accessible online. In a time where we are forced to stay at home, it is an opportune moment to learn and experience spaces around the world that will leave you inspired and moved. Here are a few of our favorites: The Louvre is one of the museum lover’s dream galleries to travel to. Through their online tours be able to see the Mona Lisa behind glass, Apollo Slaying the Serpent Python and more! The Smithsonian has an amazing How to Travel Virtually section with multiple spots all over the world that you can travel virtually. Explore stories of Van Gogh’s life virtually with the Van Gogh Museum website. The MOMA has done a beautiful job providing for online art lovers with free courses exploring art. Explore tons of exhibitions and artworks on their Youtube. The Sistine Chapel can even be viewed in the virtual tour on The Vatican Museum site. Take the time to see a virtual tour of The Anne Frank House. Explore the incredible building, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum through a Google Arts and Culture virtual tour.

The London National Gallery has a virtual tour of 18 galleries showcasing over 300 paintings.

Historic Monuments

Although traveling to see the historic marvels is not allowed at this moment, we can still enrich ourselves with history virtually. Traveler’s everywhere love traveling to historic sites to get a feel for what people long ago may have experienced or felt. Just because we all must stay home during this time, we can still take this moment to learn a little bit more about the history of our world. Being one of the most acclaimed historic sites in China, at 3,000 miles long, The Great Wall of China is a great place to explore virtually and learn about this history associated with the beautiful 2,000 year old site. Virtually visit the incredible Pyramids of Giza using Google Maps traveling back to 5,000 years ago! If you are a die-hard Indiana Jones you for sure have seen this iconic facade in its films, Petra is one of the great wonders of the world, explore it with Google Maps. The Temples of Angkor are legendary. They are known to be the single largest religious monument, dating back to approx. 9th – 15th century AD. If you want to keep doing a deep dive into the history of the world, check out this database of ancient cave paintings.

National Parks

While visiting national parks in person isn’t advised right now, you can take an online tour thanks to Google Earth’s expansive collection. It’s the perfect opportunity to scout out potential future roadtrips. Badlands National Park of South Dakota is jagged and desolate, just as the name would suggest. Arches National Park in Utah features sandstone cliffs and picturesque cutouts in the rock. Death Valley National Park in Nevada and California is the hottest, driest and lowest national park. Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, the aftermath of the Colorado river, is a beautiful red canyon over a mile deep and 277 miles long. Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas has permian fossil reefs and the four highest peaks in the state. Redwood National Park in California is home to redwood trees that are thousands of years old. Sequoia National Park of California houses giant sequoia trees, some of the largest and oldest forms of life on Earth. You can also see the comprehensive list of national parks on Google Earth here.

Zoos

Have you ever wondered what happens at zoos when the visitors are all gone and the animals are left on their own? The following zoos are giving us a glimpse with their live cams. The San Diego Zoo has the most options of live cams by far, but our favorite is their penguin cam. Zoo Atlanta has a panda cam to bring panda joy all around the world. Those who prefer more aquatic animals will appreciate the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s featured animals. Don’t miss out on the moon jellyfish. While not a live cam, the National Aquarium does have an interactive tour you can access with multiple education resources. When it’s time to travel again, we’ll be there to assist you. Until then, enjoy these virtual travel experiences!