If you’re feeling the urge to travel, but can’t go far, let CenturyLink be your virtual tour guide. We’ll introduce you to virtual vacation options, from national parks to theme parks. With the rise of virtual reality and online experiences, you can explore the world from the comfort of your living room. All you need is a fast internet plan.

Museum trotting virtual vacation

Thanks to the internet, the unique experiences offered by museums are more accessible than ever. While viewing art or fossils on a screen is undoubtedly different from seeing them in real life, virtual museum tours open a world of wonder that you would ordinarily need expensive tickets or travel to see. Check out the popular options below or see if your favorite museum offers virtual events.

Art museums

See masterworks of paintings, sculpture, installations, and film around the world. No more fighting the crowds to get up close and personal with the Mona Lisa, Van Gogh’s Starry Night, and many others.

• The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City has more than 90,000 works of modern and contemporary art, film, and sculpture on their website. Check out MoMA’s Virtual Views page for specific events, including guided tours from museum curators and artists.
• The Louvre Museum in Paris offers a number of virtual tours and activities. Notably, there’s a virtual reality (VR) experience of the Mona Lisa through a free app that includes an immersive experience of Leonardo da Vinci’s life.

Natural history and science museums

Take a virtual tour of a natural history museum to learn about human history, animals, oceans, geology, and more.

• The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. offers digital tours of current and past exhibits, plus webinars and activities for all ages.
• The Natural History Museum in London offers unique virtual tours, such as a guided exploration of their Hintze Hall exhibit (with Sir David Attenborough narrating!) or 3D models of fossils found by Charles Darwin.

Science museums

Many science museums offer not only virtual tours and lessons, but also include fun experiments that you can try at home.

• The Smithsonian National Space and Air Museum has on-demand options including a vast video library, live events, story time, podcasts, and more.
• The National Museum of Computing presents a 3D virtual museum tour to explore the world’s largest collection of working historic computers.

Other virtual museum tours

Google Arts & Culture. Google Arts & Culture takes virtual tours a step farther, providing unique online experiences around the world. Go beyond museums to explore UNESCO World Heritage sites, cities, parks, and more. Plus, try unique virtual activities like coloring your own version of famous works of art, taking art selfies, and playing games.

Social media. Many museums share one-of-a-kind videos, images, and more on their own social media profiles. For instance, the Broad Museum YouTube account includes interviews, videos of exhibits, and DIY art projects. The Pinterest board of the Fashion and Textile Museum in London displays their most inspirational patterns and colors. And the Carnegie Mellon institute has its own TikTok.

Explore the great outdoors on your virtual vacation

If the great outdoors suits you more than a museum, try a virtual visit to a national park. Not only does this save on travel costs, but virtual visits also lessen the impact of millions of visitors to the nation’s parks. A great place to start is the National Park Foundation website,. From activities for kids to 360-degree views of iconic spots, you’ll find amazing online experiences for the whole family.

You can check out national parks through Google Arts and Culture’s The Hidden Worlds of National Parks. You’ll get 360-degree views of your chosen park using Google Maps functionality.

Take your adventure overseas with these virtual highlights from around the world:

• Mr. Everest, Nepal
• Machu Picchu, Peru
• The Northern Lights, Sweden
• Son Doong cave, Vietnam

Virtual wildlife

Many zoos, aquariums and wildlife parks around the country offer live animal footage, allowing you to see animals up close and personal from your home.

Live animal webcams

Keep up with your favorite wildlife from livestream webcams.

• What’s black and white and watched all over? The panda-cam at the Atlanta Zoo!
• The San Diego Zoo has all the animals. From apes to vultures, view them all online.
• See the so-ugly-it’s-cute naked mole-rat on the Smithsonian National Zoo site.
• Browse animal cams all over the world on EarthCam Animal Cams.

Aquarium tours

If you prefer a watery experience, visit an aquarium on the web.

• View jellies, sharks, otters, and habitats at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
• Go on a floor-by-floor virtual tour of the National Aquarium.

Visit a theme park, virtually

Even if you can’t visit in person, get the thrill of the rides through virtual reality and videos.

• Take a virtual tour of Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.
• Choose your favorite ride and there’s likely to be a video tour of it on YouTube.

Whew, what a whirlwind tour! Virtual vacations offer a fun and easy way to explore the world, whether through museums, national parks, zoos, or daring rides. With so many virtual options to satisfy your wanderlust, why not start planning your virtual vacation today?