The museum from your sofa


Coronavirus has closed many museums and is preventing us from traveling the world. Fortunately, many museums today offer the opportunity to view their collections online or even take virtual tours of the museum. So, go to the museum, even from your own couch!

Below we have listed a number of museums around the world that you can access online. They are grouped into three categories: Art and Design, History and Culture, and Science and Technology. Within each category, museums are listed in alphabetical order. The list is by no means exhaustive, and Google Arts & Culture, for example, offers a huge amount of exploration from around the world.


Art and Design

Alvar Aalto Foundation, Helsinki, Finland

The Alvar Aalto Foundation takes care of the material and intellectual heritage of world-renowned architect and designer Alvar Aalto, and promotes awareness of Aalto's work and the ideas behind his design. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual images of different buildings and objects and visit the museum virtually.

The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA

World-renowned art museum with the largest collections in the United States. The museum's collections cover a wide range of different eras and art forms. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual works and visit the museum virtually.

Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland

The Ateneum is the most famous art museum in Finland and the home of Finnish art. The collections cover the era from the 19th century to the modern. Google Arts & Culture allows you to view individual works in a virtual way. Ateneum's works can also be viewed on the National Gallery's collection pages. You can make a virtual visit to the main hall of the Finnish Art Story exhibition on your mobile device. The virtual tour is done with the Arilyn application. Instructions can be found on the Ateneum website.

Dalí Theater-Museum, Figueres, Spain

The Salvador Dalí Museum of Art presents virtual tours of the museum and some of its exhibitions on its website.

EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland

EMMA is an art museum of strong, artistic experiences and spatial experiences that showcases contemporary and modern art exhibitions, design and experimental art. Google Arts & Culture allows you to view individual works in a virtual way.

Gallen-Kallela Museum, Espoo, Finland

Designed and built by artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931), the Tarvaspää studio was opened to the public in 1961 as the Gallen-Kallela Museum. In its changing exhibitions, the museum presents the art, life and contemporary art of Gallen-Kallela and his contemporaries. Take a virtual tour to explore Tarvaspää.

Guggenheim Museum

(Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, United States / Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy / Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain)

The collections of the Solomon R. Guggenhiem Foundation include a wide selection of works from the 19th century to the present, and are on display in four museums around the world. The museum's virtual collections provide access to about 8,000 works from three Guggenheim museums. You can also visit the Guggenheim Museum in New York on Google Arts & Culture.

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, United States

The Getty Museum presents art from the 18th century to the present day. The museum is also unique in its dramatic architecture, stunning gardens and breathtaking views across Los Angeles. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual works and visit the museum virtually.

Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland

Kiasma is a museum of contemporary art in the center of Helsinki and part of the National Gallery. Kiasma Online Art is an online collection of Kiasma’s art. It's an internet experience and a tribute to today's artists. You can also visit other collections on the National Gallery Collections website.

Louvre, Paris, France

Perhaps the world's most renowned art museum offers virtual tours to various parts of its collections. The site also offers access to individual works through different sections of the museum or selected works of art.

MASP - Museo de Arte de Sao Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, Sao Paulo, Brazil

MASP is Brazil's first modern museum, with collections of works from many different eras and from all over the world. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual works and visit the museum virtually.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States

The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The MET is also known for its fashion-related exhibitions. On its website, the museum offers a variety of options for exploring the museum. In addition, Google Arts & Culture lets you both view individual works and visit the museum virtually.

Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France

The Parisian Museum of Art, is in its own right, like a work of art. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual works and visit the museum virtually.

Musei Vaticani, Vatican City State

The Vatican Museum presents the art collections of the Vatican, as well as historic buildings. The virtual tours will take you to seven different parts of the museum.

The National Gallery, London, United Kingdom

The United Kingdom National Gallery has more than 2,300 works in its collection, including many internationally renowned, such as Van Gogh's Sunflowers. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual works and visit the museum virtually.

National Gallery of Art, Washington, United States

The United States National Gallery collections include a wide selection of art from different eras. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual works and visit the museum virtually.

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon-si, South Korea

The museum presents Korean modern and contemporary art. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual works and visit the museum virtually.

Nationalmuseum Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden

The National Museum of Sweden is the most significant art and design museum in our neighboring country. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual works and visit the museum virtually.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The Dutch National Museum of Art, with collections of world-famous works including The Golden Age of the Netherlands. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual works and visit the museum virtually.

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The Van Gogh Museum Collection is the world's largest collection of Vincent van Gogh's works. In addition to the permanent exhibition, the museum has temporary exhibitions by other artists of the same era. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual works and visit the museum virtually.


History and culture

Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece

The museum presents archaeological findings from the Acropolis of Athens. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual works and visit the museum virtually.

The British Museum, London, United Kingdom

The British Museum is one of the world's largest museums presenting the history and culture of mankind. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual images of different buildings and objects and visit the museum virtually. In addition, the museum's own pages also provide access to its collections.

Helsinki City Museum, Helsinki, Finland

The Helsinki City Museum is the only museum in the world dedicated to Helsinki. At the centre, the personal experiences of the townspeople and the everyday life are reflected in the museum's objects and photographs. Google Maps gives you access to the museum from home. In addition, you can visit the museum's website. museum's extensive photo collection.

Pergamonmuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Pergamonmuseum main attractions are impressive reconstructions of the great archaeological buildings such as the Pergamon altar. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual objects and exhibit parts and visit the museum virtually.

Police Museum, Vantaa, Finland

Explore the police museum virtual tour! The Police Museum also offers two different web exhibitions on its website: From Pants to Coveralls - Police uniform in Finland, and Police of Independent Finland.

Finnish Hunting Museum, Riihimäki, Finland

The Finnish Hunting Museum collects and records Finnish hunting history and hunting traditions. Google Maps gives you access to the museum from home. You can also visit the museum's collections.

Workers' Housing Museum, Helsinki, Finland

In Alppila, at the foot of Linnanmäki, is the Workers' Housing Museum, which can be used to take a peek into the history of everyday life in Helsinki. The 360 ° Workers' Housing Museum offers a virtual tour of the museum.

Sports Museum, Helsinki, Finland

The Finnish Sports Museum's home is normally connected to the Helsinki Olympic Stadium, but it has been evacuated from normal premises for a few years. The museum's collections include several important objects from the history of Finnish sports, which can also be viewed in the Museum's 3D Objects gallery.

Wolkoff House, Lappeenranta, Finland

Located in the city center, near the Town Hall, the Wolkoff House is one of the oldest preserved wooden buildings in Lappeenranta, built between 1826 and 1905 and served as the home of the Wolkoff family from 1872 to 1983. In the virtual tour you can explore a significance that has been developed over four generations.


Science and technology

Finnish Museum of Natural History, Helsinki, Finland

The exhibitions of the Museum of Natural History show the diverse nature of Finland and the rest of the world. Google Maps gives you access to the museum from home. You can also visit the museum's collections.

NASA Langley Research Center, Virginia, USA

NASA Glenn Research Center, Ohio, USA

NASA's two research centers are also opening their doors to those interested in space, virtually.

Salon Electronics Museum, Salo, Finland

Since 1994, the electronics collections of the City of Salo have been collecting and storing equipment manufactured by the domestic and foreign electronics industry. Google Maps gives you access to the museum from home.

Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Washington, United States

The world's largest collections of aerospace items can be found at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual items in the collection and visit the museum virtually.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, United States

Through its exhibitions, the US National Museum of Natural History seeks to understand nature and our place in it. With Google Arts & Culture, you can both view individual parts of the collection and visit the museum virtually. There are also virtual tours on the museum's website.

Finnish Air Force Museum, Tikkakoski, Finland

The museum presents the history of Finnish aviation from its beginning to the present day. There is also a virtual museum on the museum's website to access its collections.

See also: Read, listen and watch online


List compiled by: Riikka Utriainen, Sello Library

Translation: Alan Wallace

Photo: Michał Parzuchowski / Unsplash