Lockdown is becoming the norm and we’re all thinking of more and more things to do at home – how about experience London museums virtually?

Like Blackpool Grand during coronavirus, many of London’s cultural institutions have closed their doors for the time being. But that isn’t going to stop us enjoying them is it?  NO, all great places are offering virtual tours, and you can appreciate some of the capital’s adored museums, galleries and historic buildings without leaving that comfy sofa… and best of all… it’s FREE!

Our choice of London Museums Virtually

British Museum

There’s not just one version but two of the British Museum. Take a tour though Google Street View, enjoy the museum’s exterior, and one featuring several exhibition rooms. You’ll see a particular exhibit highlighted with links for more artefact information.

On the other hand, there’s this rather ingenious offer. Alternatively, rather than taking you through the physical museum, the Museum of the World a multi-sensory experience tour allows you to peruse exhibits by century, continent or themes — like art and design, trade and conflict, or maybe religion and belief. There’s lots of added benefits too – a top choice

Virtual tours of the British Museum here and here.

The Courtauld Gallery

The Courtauld Gallery virtual tour uses a new photographic technique showing exceptional close-up quality.

Allowing you to roam each room of the Gallery (before it temporarily closed in Sept 2018), zoom in and look closely at masterpieces from the collection like Vincent van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear or Édouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, from individual brush strokes to the texture of the paint.

Virtual Tours by room:

• Room Two archive (view one)
• Room Two archive (view two)
• Room Three archive (view one)
• Room Three archive (view two)
• Room Four archive (view one)
• Room Four archive (view two)
• Room Five archive
• Room Six archive
• Room Seven archive

Take a full virtual tour of the Courtauld Gallery.

Houses of Parliament

We’re all seen the Palace of Westminster on television during debates and interviews haven’t we? Created with Aardvark 360, this is one of London’s most remarkable virtual tours. Explore spectacular rooms, including the House of Commons chamber, Royal Gallery, The Central Lobby and the St Stephen’s Hall. Don’t forget to look up at the glorious ceilings, a sight to behold.

Virtual tour of the Houses of Parliament

National Gallery

Take in panoramic views of the National Gallery access to over 300 Renaissance masterpieces, along with description on individual art works on a Google Street View tour.

The tour covers 18 rooms in the gallery, as well as its Central Hall.

Virtual tour of the National Gallery

Natural History Museum

A Google Arts and Culture tour of the Natural History Museum is a great way to keep kids entertained (more importantly educated) during the current lockdown, offering a huge array of incredible animal exhibits. Each of the rooms featured in the tour has brilliant links to trivia, great for a history lesson at home for the family to take part in.

Don’t miss the chance to get a sight of ‘Dippy the Dinosaur’. Maybe get the kids to try and find him!

Virtual tour of the Natural History Museum

Royal Air Force Museum

Explore the RAF Museum’s Bomber Hall, Historic Hangers, and past airfield controller — AKA Grahame White Watch Offic. Just remember to enable Flash.  Defiantly one for the aviation enthusiasts!

Virtual Tours by room:

• Grahame White Watch Office
• Hangar 4
• Hangar 5
• Google Street View of London Site (Grahame White Factory excluded)

Royal Academy of Arts

This is one of our favourites, a stunning virtual tour by Eye Revolution. The tour takes you through the acclaimed 2014 architecture exhibition, Sensing Spaces.

Acclaimed architecture exhibition featured work by Pezo von Ellrichshausen, Kengo Kuma, and more. Each installation features great detailed descriptions.

Virtual tour of the Royal Academy of Arts Tour.

Blackpool Grand Theatre

Of course no virtual tour list would be complete without viewing the local arts venue Blackpool Grand Theatre – Built in 1894 by architect Frank Matcham. View the Blackpool Grand tour here.

Looking for more

Enjoyed all that, curious and eager for more? Then there are plenty of museums around the world that you can visit, including; Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and MoMa New York and the following;

The National Museum

Musée d’Orsay

Uffizi Gallery

The J. Paul Getty Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Georgia O’Keefe

Detroit Institute of Arts

Metropolitan Museum of Art

La Casa Azul

The Tate

La Galleria Nazionale

Rijks Museum

The Guggenheim

Check out the full collection on Google Arts and Culture here.

Blackpool Grand

Take a look at what’s on at Blackpool Grand Theatre this Autumn / Winter 20/21

Blackpool Grand set out a COVID-Community Communication Programme (CCCP) during the Coronavirus pandemic. Our aims were simple, to CONNECT, COMFORT and UPLIFT. We would Connect people by offering tutorials on communication tools like Zoom and conduct community face-to-face meetings (book readings, youth groups and more). Comfort through stories of heritage, memories and storytelling, and to Uplift visitors spirits through laughter and exercise. Please do enjoy and if you can afford to donate please do.

The information in this story is accurate as of the publication date. While we are attempting to keep our content as up-to-date as possible, the situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic continues to develop rapidly, so it’s possible that some information and recommendations may have changed since publishing. For any concerns and latest advice around COVID-19, visit the World Health Organisation. If you’re in the UK, the National Health Service can also provide useful information and support, while US users can contact the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.