Even as life begins to acquire a patina of normality, as we are let loose from the limitations of lock-down, it will be a long time yet before we can start travelling as freely as we once did, but we can still dream about it and more importantly prepare for it.
One of the items higher up on my bucket list is to visit the great art museums of the world. In Amsterdam The Van Gogh Museum and The Rijksmuseum (The Milkmaid, pictured, is one of the many great works there), the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. The Musee d’Orsay in Paris. Been there once but could easily spend at least a whole day there again. Same with the National Gallery in London. Been there, done that . . . would do it again anytime. And at least a dozen more spread across America and Europe.
There’s just one problem with all this ambition (apart from the cost): We are currently living in a no-fly zone. Near enough to it.
So start planning.
It greatly improves your enjoyment and the richness of the experience if you already know a lot about whatever it is that you will visit. It puts the experience in context. Gives you clues on what to look for so that you come away with a greater understanding of it all. Enhancing the richness of the experience means that it will still be with you, more strongly, in later life.
One way to do that while you are stuck at home is to take virtual tours of places that interest you.
There’s an old military saying: “Time spent on reconnaissance is never wasted”.
So here are 25 virtual tour possibilities that might pique your desire to see them for real.
Anne Frank Museum (Amsterdam)
Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam)
Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam)
Picasso Museum (Barcelona)
Guggenheim (Bilbao)
Faroe Islands Virtual Tour (Denmark)
Salvatore Dali Museum (Figueres)
Uffizi Gallery (Florence)
The Giants Causeway (Ireland)
British Museum (London)
Buckingham Palace (London)
National Gallery (London)
Natural History Museum (London)
Tate Britain (London)
Metropolitan Museum (New York)
Coliseum (Rome)
Catacombs (Paris)
Louvre (Paris)
Musée d’Orsay (Paris)
Machu Picchu (Peru)
Ruins of Pompeii (Pompeii)
Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg)
Sweden Virtual Tour (Sweden)
National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC)
US Holocaust Memorial Museum (Washington, DC)
I’m sure there are a lot more options so if you know of one let’s hear about it.
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