15 places to visit without leaving your home

15 Places to Visit Now Without Leaving Your Home

Virtual Travel: Tour of Museums, Art Gallery, and Free Opera

As people across the globe is practicing social distancing, a lot of public places are temporarily closed. Nevertheless, many museums and art galleries are taking part in #museumfromhome initiative in this challenging time. It brings the art gallery and collection to your home as a virtual tour, so you can enjoy them without leaving your house. Apart from that, orchestras and operas are also giving free streaming and free pass (up to 30 days) for you to enjoy the performances. I know that visiting the places in person will be so much satisfying, but for the mean time it can cure your travel itch.

*main photo via unsplash

Here's the list of the places and free things to do from the comfort of your home.

Vatican: Sistine Chapel

While Vatican is the smallest country in the world, but there are thousands pf people flock to the country to visit Sistine Chapel monthly. While it is closed at the moment, you still can gaze at the beautiful Sistine Chapel painted by Michaelangelo.  The ticket for the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel costs Euro 21.

Florence, Italy: Uffizi Gallery

No visit to Florence will complete without visiting the Uffizi Gallery. Visit the 45 rooms on the second room that displays variety of paintings and sculptures date back from the 14th century. My favourite is the Leonardo room and the Michaelango and Florentine painters room. There is also a detailed explanation of the artwork, so don't worry you won't get lost. The Ticket to the museum entrance itself costs Euro 24. You can also view the live view of Piazza della Signoria, the famous square in front of Palazzo Vecchio located near the art gallery.

Amsterdam, Netherlands: Rijksmuseum and Canal Walk

I guess visiting an art museum virtually never seem this fun. The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, is having its own mobile app where you can explore room per room and see different paintings. The application is also equipped with an audio guide. See the legendary Night Watch by Rembrandt or the Self Portrait by Vincent can Gogh in details by downloading the application in your phone. You can also save your favourite artwork then the app will create your personalised route, ready to be used when you are visiting the museum in person. The ticket for the museum costs Euro 20. Aside from that, explore their museum from home page where you can see the masterpiece up close sand see different comments from the curators. After exploring art, don't forget to explore Amsterdam neighbourhood and see the canal walk through this video.

Paris, France: Louvre museum

Wander through the Louvre Museum Petite Galerie. At the moment they are having The Advent of the Artist exhibition that consists of works from Delacroix, Rembrandt, and Tintoretto. These exhibitions has a zoom in on the artworks as well as the explanations. Other exhibitions you can view include Egyptian Antiquities, Remains of Louvre's Moat from the 1190 and the Galerie d'Apollon. The Ticket to the museum entrance itself costs Euro 17 and it's better to get the specific time ticket to avoid queueing.

Paris,France: Palais Garnier

Paris de Opera located at at Palais Garnier is giving a free streaming to various Opera shows, like the Don Giovani. After watching the opera you also can roam to its different rooms and corridors to view Palais Garnier intricate details.

Madrid, Spain: Thyssen Bornemisza Museo Nacional

Thyssen Bornemiza Museo Nacional is currently holding a special exhibition of Rembrandt and Amsterdam Portraiture 1590-1670 that lasts until May 24th. As the museum is closed at the moment, public can view the virtual tour that has HD images of the paintings that can be viewed using a VR too. They also have the online museum shop, so don't forget to check it out. The Ticket to the museum entrance itself costs Euro 13.

Berlin, Germany: Berliner Philharmonie

Listen to full orchestra music performances by Berliner Philharmoniker free for 30 days just by registering an account. One of my favourite performances is by Simon Rattle who conducts Strauss and Beethoven. Connect your smart tv or laptop to your favourite home speaker and there you go, your own home orchestra!

Stockholm, Sweden: Royal Swedish Opera

Watch Madame Butterfly Opera from the Royal Swedish Opera in your living room. Madame butterfly is one of the famous Opera telling a story of a Japanese Cio-Cio San who fell in love with the American Marine Officer Pinkerton. You canals see the team story and behind the scenes of this opera. Other than the Madam Butterfly, other things to watch include short story and ballet performance.
*photo via Royal Swedish Opera

New York, U.S.A: Met Opera and Times Square

Met Opera can be one of the places to visit without leaving your home. Watch your favourite Opera at the comfort of your home as Metropolitan Opera launches free streaming daily. Opera like Das Rheingold and Macbeth will be shown for free on their website. Don't forget to check out their 2020-2021 season that will be showing Carmen, Hansen and Gretel, Don Giovanni and many more. After watching the Opera, take a stroll through the Times Square at night. Enjoy the immersive video with the ambience sound that will transport you to the heart to New York.

Washington, D.C, U.S.A: Smithsonian Natural History Museum of Natural History

Another night at the museum, eh? Explore the Smithsonian Natural History Museum of Natural History through the virtual tour that gives you an overview of the ground floor, first, and second floor of the museum. See fossils from the beginning of life in earth, different types of animals, gemstones, and many more.human origins, and more. The experience will be great if you have VR glasses too!

London, United Kingdom: The British Museum

I have always love an interactive exhibition, and the virtual version of the British Museum enable me to do so! Hover through different years, regions, and topics and click on each dot to see the artefact dated back from the 5000 BC. The explanation comes in both text and audio. Learning history is never as fun! For those who miss walking in London at night, watch this London video to see the ambience.

South Africa: Madikwe Game Reserve

For those who love animal and wildlife, check out this live version of National Geographic. You can see deers, zebras and other animals roam freely in this Madikwe Game Reserve located in South Africa. The cam also has sound so it gives you the sound of nature. Of course, seeing the safari in person will be so much satisfying, but for the mean time it will be on the list of places to visit without leaving your home.

Nagano, Japan: Ueda Castle Cherry Blossom

March means Cherry Blossom Season in Japan, but unfortunately there is rapid decrease on visitors flocking to Japan this year. If you want to see the real live blossoming of Cherry Blossom in Japan, take a peek at the one in Ueda Castle. There are several live cam in the area that will show you the current condition of the Cherry Blossom trees. Remember that Japan's timezone is GMT+9. If you want to see more of Tokyo, see the live view of Shibuya intersection and don't forget to check my post about the Things to do in Shibuya.

Also Read: Japan Travel Guide
*photo via Unsplash

Gwacheon, South Korea: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea and Bukchon Hanok Village

Learn about art in South Korea and neighbouring countries by visiting the visiting the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea. The museum itself has four locations (Gwacheon, Daeksugung, Seoul, and Cheongju), with the first one being at the Gwacheon-si. At the moment, the museum is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a special exhibition from Lee Kyungsung. You can also see their entire collection here. Besides that, enjoy to walk through the Bukchon Hanok Village through this video and plan your trip after the situation gets better.
*photo via Melbourne Art Critic

Singapore, Singapore: Singapore Philatelic Museum

Last but not least, Singapore also has its own virtual tour at the Singapore Philatelic Museum. Browse through the archive of past exhibition happened here including the details, like this Little Prince exhibition. Learn the underlying theme and occasions celebrated by the special version of the stamps. Other interesting things to do is to browse the artwork collection of the National Gallery of Singapore.
*photo via Singapore Philatelic Museum

So what's your favourite place to go virtually? Any other things to do that you would recommend for us while staying at home?


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tags:art,berlin,europe,florence,home,japan,london,madrid,new york,paris,singapore,south korea,stockholm,things to do at home,united states,washington