As cases of the novel coronavirus continue to rise globally, people around the world are asked to stay home and practice social distancing to help stop the spread and flatten the curve.  It’s not a surprise that any non-essential travelling should also be postponed and discouraged during this time.

Work from home if possible and Facetime your friends if you need some face-to-face connections, but in the end we are all in this together.  If you’re itching to travel or escape your home (we get it! Cabin fever is real but hang in there!), check out some destinations you can visit right now in the comfort of your own home.

We’ve chosen the top 8 best museums, national parks, and live performances you can see virtually:

• Trajan’s Market (Italy): Walk through this museum, filled with artifacts from ancient Rome: http://tourvirtuale.mercatiditraiano.it/indexEng.html

• The Louvre (France): Walk through a virtual tour at one the most famous museums in the world. From Egyptian antiques to the Gallery of Apollo, you’ll be captivated. https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne

  

• The Museum of the World (UK): Go through an interactive experience through time, continents and cultures, featuring some of the most fascinating objects in human history. https://britishmuseum.withgoogle.com/

• San Diego Zoo (United States): Watch some of your favorite zoo animals through the San Diego Zoo’s live cams – those pandas can be quite a hoot. https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/live-cams

• The Metropolitan Opera (United States): Dream about going to the MET Gala? Instead, you can stream their world-renown operas and theatre performances for free. https://www.metopera.org/

• The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks (United States): Follow rangers on a journey to places most people never go in stunning 360° video. https://artsandculture.withgoogle.com/en-us/national-parks-service/

• The Vienna State Opera (Austria): Catch their daily livestreams of their famous opera and ballet performances. https://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/en/staatsoper/news/detail/news/the-wiener-staatsoper-is-closed-but-continues-to-play-daily-online/

• The Vatican Museums (Italy): Discover the immense collection of art collected by the popes from the seventeenth century onwards in a virtual tour. http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/tour-virtuali-elenco.html

Remember this is only temporary! Soon we will be able to travel again and cross items off our bucket list. When that time comes, remember to sanitize and avoid germs when flying on airplanes!