Friday newsletters always feature luxury travel contests, tips, series, or news.
Today (March 27, 2020): How to explore the world in times of lockdown?
Three months ago, reports surfaced out of China that a cluster of pneumonia cases in the central city of Wuhan may be due to a new type of coronavirus. Since then, COVID-19 has spread to all continents barring Antarctica and has dramatically changed our way of life. Countries are in lockdown and impose the most stringent restrictions seen since the end of World War II. People around the world are being asked to practice social distancing – to stay home and avoid crowded places – in order to help “flatten the curve” of the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. Also, global travel came to a standstill, with major airlines grounding their fleet and hotels closing their business. But even when you are quarantined or had to cancel your trip, you can still go on incredible virtual journeys – all of which are free:
- Go on a virtual museum tour
- Take a virtual safari trip
- Virtually explore the world’s most famous landmarks
- Go on a virtual hike in the USA’s National Parks
- Attend a virtual concert or show
Go on a virtual museum tour
While major museums across the globe – such as the Louvre in Paris and the MoMa in New York – are closed until further notice due to the coronavirus outbreak, you can still explore parts of these art institutions with insanely good virtual tours. Here are some of the best virtual museum tours:
- Virtual tour of the British Museum (London)
- Virtual tour of the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum (Spain)
- Virtual tour of the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam)
- Virtual tour of the Musée d’Orsay (Paris)
- Virtual tour of the Uffizi Gallery (Florence)
- Virtual tour of the MASP (Sao Paolo)
- Virtual tour of the Picasso Museum (Barcelona)
- Virtual tour of the Museum of Modern Art (New York City)
Go on a virtual safari trip
Singita – widely considered one of Africa’s best safari companies – has launched Virtual Game Drives: live wildlife sightings broadcast on Instagram by Singita’s Resident Photographer, Ross Couper. For example, during a Virtual Game Drive near Singita Sabi Sand in South Africa, an impressive array of wildlife was spotted: a leopard and her cubs, rhinos and buffalos sharing a waterhole, a bull elephant paddling in the Sand River, a pod of hippos, a herd of zebra and a pack of endangered wild dogs finishing off a kill. The Virtual Game Drives remain available for 24 hours after the live stream. Singita is also posting daily Instagram Stories from the wilderness in an effort to transport you to Africa through your phone and immerse you in the incredible landscapes under our care.
Go on a virtual tour of the world’s most famous landmarks
Several iconic sights and attractions of our planet have set up incredible virtual tours dream to help you dream of your next extravagant getaway. Here are some of the best tours:
- Virtual tour of the Great Wall (China)
- Virtual tour of Machu Picchu (Peru)
- Virtual tour of Petra (Jordan)
- Virtual tour of the Acropolis (Greece)
- Virtual tour of the Taj Mahal (India)
- Virtual tour of the Great Pyramid of Giza (Egypt)
- Virtual tour of the Palace of Versailles(France)
Go on a virtual hike in the USA’s National Parks
You can still get your fill of the great outdoors, even if you have to stay inside. The United States of America is fortunate to have an abundance of gorgeous places to visit, with the majestic National Parks featuring on the bucket list of most travelers. Whether you are enjoying the shorelines of the East Coast, traveling along the magnificent West Coast, or hiking in the majestic Rockies, there are more than enough opportunities to explore the great outdoors in one of these spectacular parks. All National Parks, 58 in total, represent an extraordinary variety of pristine natural environments and ranking them would be unfair since they all offer different experiences. And while it might take a while before we can start exploring these parks again, Google Street allows us to explore them in a virtual way. Here are some of the best tours:
- Virtual tour of Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii)
- Virtual tour of Bryce Canyon National Park
- Virtual tour of Kenaj Fjords National Park (Alaska)
- Virtual tour of Yellowstone National Park
- Virtual tour of Yosemite National Park
- Virtual tour of Grand Canyon National Park
- Virtual tour of Everglades National Park
Attend a virtual concert or show
Several cultural institutions offer virtual experiences you can explore from the comfort of your home:
- New York City’s Metropopolitan Opera is putting on nightly opera streams. The “Nightly Met Opera Streams” begin at 7:30 p.m. each night on the Met’s homepage and remain available for 20 hours. The performance will also be available on the Met Opera’s On-Demand apps.
- Want more live streamed arts? A theater artist has created The Social Distancing Festival, which gathers live streams and videos of all different types of performances in one place, on one calendar.
- With a special limited-time code, you can enjoy a treasury of online performances from the Berlin Philharmonic, one of the best orchestras in the world.
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Also possible to stream the Northern Lights.
I haven’t checked to see if it’s still up but Safari Live is fantastic.
Thanks for these tips!
Dear Expert! We need you more than ever! The pace of the Covid-19 is much quicker than bookings, plannings and travelling (especially that matter is much faster than the booking and the planning) this means that you, like all other inspirers need to be ahead – and now it is time to reflect and try to visionize
Where will Covid-19 (the infection) lift first – because that will be the desired first places to visit first after the THING. – I just deleted three rows, understanding that there are no predictions. We don’t know ZIP….
Thank you very much for remaining “on the job.” Many of us truly benefit from, not just the locations and experiences you offer, but your personal delivery style. Your reports are very well received and we appreciate your dedication in this time of”social distancing.” Thank you again.
This is a terrific list as we have all come to expect from your excellent blog site. I particularly enjoyed the Hawaiian volcano! During this time and as we open up again we followers will continue to be interested in your experiences with travel in the new age post covid-19. I have watched your videos repeatedly. Thank you!