I love visiting museums, but there are far more museums in the United States than I could ever fit into my trips. And even when I do visit one in person, there is usually more to see than I have time for.
That’s one of the reasons I like exploring museums online. A virtual visit gives me time to go back to a painting, zoom in on details I couldn’t see properly in the gallery, discover rooms I missed or simply explore a museum that’s thousands of miles away.
And there are some wonderful free virtual art museum tours in the USA. You can explore famous institutions such as The Met, MoMA, the Getty and the Guggenheim, but I’ve also included smaller museums, university collections, sculpture museums and places you may not have considered before.
The experiences aren’t all the same. Some museums have genuine 360° or 3D virtual tours that let you move through galleries. Others offer Google Arts & Culture visits, video tours, interactive exhibitions or enormous online collections where you can zoom closely into individual artworks.
I’ve identified the type of online experience for every museum, so you’ll know what you’ll find when you open the link.
If you’d also like to cross the Atlantic, continue later with my guide to European art museums with free virtual tours.
1. Metropolitan Museum of Art Virtual Tour – New York City
Let’s start with one of the giants.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art covers thousands of years of art and culture, from ancient Egypt and Greece to European painting, sculpture, decorative arts, fashion, photography and modern works.
The Met 360° Project is particularly fun if you’re interested in the museum itself as well as its collections. Its immersive videos take you through some of the building’s best-known spaces.
Google Arts & Culture adds another way to explore. Don’t miss the Temple of Dendur experience. Seeing it online isn’t the same as standing inside that enormous glass wing, but you can take your time examining details without trying to look around other visitors.
Online experience: 360° video experiences + Google Arts & Culture.
Explore The Met 360° Project →
Explore The Met on Google Arts & Culture →
Planning a real visit to New York someday? My New York City guide includes plenty more places to add to your itinerary.
2. Art Institute of Chicago Virtual Tour – Chicago, Illinois
I love Impressionism, so naturally the Art Institute of Chicago immediately gets my attention.
Its collection includes Monet, Renoir, Degas and many other artists, but there are famous American works here too, including Grant Wood’s American Gothic and Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks.
The museum has its own virtual resources and can also be explored through Google Arts & Culture.
Online experience: Official virtual museum resources + Google Arts & Culture.
Visit the Art Institute of Chicago virtually →
Explore the Art Institute on Google Arts & Culture →
And if this makes you want to visit the city itself, here’s my Chicago travel guide.
3. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art Virtual Tours – Hartford, Connecticut
The Wadsworth Atheneum has a long history and a wonderfully broad collection, from European and American painting to decorative arts and modern works.
You can explore its virtual tours directly through the museum and then continue through its Google Arts & Culture collection.
Online experience: Official virtual tours + Google Arts & Culture.
Take the Wadsworth Atheneum virtual tours →
Explore the Wadsworth Atheneum on Google Arts & Culture →
4. MoMA Virtual Visit – New York City
MoMA is one of those museums where you can recognize masterpiece after masterpiece.
Van Gogh’s The Starry Night is here, along with major works by Picasso, Matisse, Warhol and many other artists who shaped modern art.
One advantage of seeing paintings online is the zoom. In a real museum, you can’t put your face a few centimeters from a masterpiece to examine the brushstrokes. Online, you can zoom in far more closely.
I always find that fascinating.
Online experience: Online exhibitions + Google Arts & Culture.
Explore MoMA’s online exhibitions →
Explore MoMA on Google Arts & Culture →
5. Dallas Museum of Art Online – Dallas, Texas
The Dallas Museum of Art has an encyclopedic collection spanning thousands of years and cultures.
You’ll find ancient Mediterranean objects, European and American painting, African art, Asian art, decorative arts and contemporary works.
Google Arts & Culture provides free digital access to museum material and collections.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Dallas Museum of Art online →
6. Getty Museum Virtual Tour – Los Angeles, California
The Getty is famous not only for its collections but also for its architecture, gardens and hilltop setting overlooking Los Angeles.
Its art ranges from ancient objects and European decorative arts to paintings, drawings, sculpture and photography.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture virtual museum material.
Explore the Getty Museum online →
7. Barnes Foundation Online Collection – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Barnes Foundation has one of those collections that can keep an Impressionism and Post-Impressionism lover occupied for a very long time.
There are numerous works by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse, alongside Picasso, Modigliani and other major artists.
The arrangement is unusual too. Albert Barnes grouped paintings with furniture, metalwork and decorative objects rather than presenting them in a conventional chronological museum display.
Online experience: Online programs + searchable digital collection.
Explore the Barnes Foundation online →
Browse the Barnes Foundation collection →
If Philadelphia is on your future travel list, my Philadelphia visitor guide has plenty of practical ideas for the trip.
8. Museum of Fine Arts Boston Virtual Visit – Massachusetts
Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts has an enormous collection, from Egyptian and ancient objects to Asian art, European painting, American art, photography and contemporary works.
And yes, there are Impressionist masterpieces too.
The Google Arts & Culture material gives you plenty to explore, so don’t open this one when you only have two minutes.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture virtual galleries and collections.
Explore the Museum of Fine Arts Boston online →
For a future trip, my Boston city guide covers attractions, accommodation and practical tips.
9. Philadelphia Museum of Art Virtual Visit – Pennsylvania
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is one of America’s major encyclopedic museums, covering European masters, American art, Asian collections and modern works.
And yes, its famous steps have a pop-culture life of their own thanks to Rocky.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Philadelphia Museum of Art online →
10. Meadows Museum 360° Virtual Tour – Dallas, Texas
If you love Spanish art, the Meadows Museum is one of the strongest specialist museums on this list.
Its collection includes works by El Greco, Velázquez, Goya and other Spanish masters.
Unlike many collection-only entries, the Meadows also offers a genuine 360° experience.
Online experience: Free 360° museum tour.
Take the Meadows Museum 360° virtual tour →
11. Guggenheim Museum Virtual Tour – New York City
At the Guggenheim, the building is part of the experience.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s spiral architecture makes this one of the most recognizable art museums in the United States, while the collections include modern and contemporary art by artists such as Kandinsky and Picasso.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture virtual exploration.
Explore the Guggenheim Museum virtually →
12. National Gallery of Art Online – Washington, D.C.
The National Gallery of Art has one of America’s great collections of Western art.
Leonardo da Vinci, Monet, Degas, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rothko and Calder are only a few of the names you’ll encounter.
I saw so many wonderful paintings while exploring it online that my advice is simple: give yourself time.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture galleries and collection exploration.
Explore the National Gallery of Art online →
13. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Virtual Visit – Bentonville, Arkansas
Crystal Bridges concentrates on American art, covering a broad period from colonial portraiture and landscapes to modern and contemporary works.
The museum’s setting and architecture are interesting in their own right, but its digital material gives you an easy way to start with the art from home.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture.
Explore Crystal Bridges online →
14. LACMA Online Collection and Virtual Visit – Los Angeles, California
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has a huge collection spanning ancient objects, Asian and Latin American art, European painting, photography and contemporary works.
You can search the museum’s own online collection and use Google Arts & Culture for another digital route into its art and exhibitions.
Online experience: Official online collection + Google Arts & Culture.
Explore LACMA on Google Arts & Culture →
15. Minneapolis Institute of Art Virtual Visit – Minnesota
The Minneapolis Institute of Art covers thousands of years of art, with particularly strong Asian, African, American and decorative-art collections.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Minneapolis Institute of Art online →
16. Morgan Library & Museum Online Exhibitions – New York City
The Morgan is perfect if your interests extend beyond painting into drawings, illuminated manuscripts, rare books and historical documents.
You can explore dedicated online exhibitions through the museum itself and continue with its Google Arts & Culture material.
Online experience: Official online exhibitions + Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Morgan’s online exhibitions →
Explore the Morgan on Google Arts & Culture →
17. Smithsonian American Art Museum Virtual Experiences – Washington, D.C.
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is devoted to American art across several centuries and includes painting, sculpture, photography, folk art, modern art and contemporary works.
Its own website has an extensive digital collection, while Google Arts & Culture offers another way to explore.
Online experience: Official digital collection + Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection →
Explore SAAM on Google Arts & Culture →
18. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Virtual Visit – Boston
This museum is almost an artwork in itself.
Its Venetian-palazzo atmosphere, courtyard and intimate galleries create a completely different feeling from a conventional encyclopedic museum.
It’s also inseparable from the story of the famous 1990 art theft. The empty frames left behind remain part of the museum.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture + official online collection.
Explore the Gardner Museum online →
Browse the Gardner Museum collection →
19. Museum of Fine Arts Houston Virtual Visit – Texas
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has an enormous collection covering civilizations and artistic traditions from around the world.
Its strengths include European painting, Impressionism, Latin American art and decorative arts.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Museum of Fine Arts Houston online →
20. Cincinnati Art Museum Online Exhibitions – Ohio
The Cincinnati Art Museum’s collection spans thousands of years, covering European and American painting, ancient objects, decorative art, photography, fashion and much more.
The museum has its own online-exhibition material as well as Google Arts & Culture access.
Online experience: Official online exhibitions + Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Cincinnati Art Museum’s online exhibitions →
Visit the Cincinnati Art Museum on Google Arts & Culture →
21. Dalí Museum Virtual Tour – St. Petersburg, Florida
Salvador Dalí deserves a museum that’s a little unusual, and the building in St. Petersburg certainly fits.
The collection explores Dalí’s career in depth, from early works to the Surrealist paintings most people immediately associate with him.
Better still for this article, the museum offers its own virtual tour.
Online experience: Official virtual museum tour.
Take the Dalí Museum virtual tour →
22. Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery Virtual Visit – Washington, D.C.
The National Portrait Gallery tells American history through people rather than events alone.
Presidents, writers, actors, activists, scientists, athletes and other figures appear throughout the collection.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture + official online portrait collection.
Explore the National Portrait Gallery on Google Arts & Culture →
Browse the National Portrait Gallery collection →
23. Madison Museum of Contemporary Art Virtual Tours – Wisconsin
MMoCA concentrates on modern and contemporary art, including regional artists alongside nationally and internationally known names.
Its virtual-tour program is one reason it belongs on this list rather than being included only for its digital collection.
Online experience: Official virtual tours + Google Arts & Culture.
Explore MMoCA’s virtual tours →
Explore MMoCA on Google Arts & Culture →
24. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Virtual Visit – Richmond
VMFA’s collections cover art from around the world, with highlights including Fabergé, European painting, decorative arts and South Asian art.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts online →
25. Nasher Sculpture Center Online – Dallas, Texas
The Nasher Sculpture Center is devoted to modern and contemporary sculpture, making it a good change after so many painting-heavy museums.
Its collection includes major sculptors and can be explored through the museum’s database and Google Arts & Culture.
Online experience: Official collection + Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Nasher Sculpture Center collection →
Explore the Nasher on Google Arts & Culture →
26. SFMOMA Virtual Visit – San Francisco, California
SFMOMA is one of the major modern-art museums on the West Coast, with strong photography, painting, sculpture, design and contemporary-art collections.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture.
Thinking about seeing San Francisco in person? My San Francisco guide covers the city’s main attractions, lesser-known places and practical tips.
27. Detroit Institute of Arts Virtual Visit – Michigan
The Detroit Institute of Arts is particularly famous for Diego Rivera’s monumental Detroit Industry murals, but its collection reaches much further.
You’ll also find European masters, African art and American painting.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Detroit Institute of Arts online →
28. Whitney Museum of American Art Online Collection – New York City
The Whitney concentrates on American art, particularly modern and contemporary work.
If you prefer 20th- and 21st-century artists to Old Masters, this is one of the museums to open.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture collection.
Explore the Whitney Museum collection online →
29. Cleveland Museum of Art Online Collection – Ohio
The Cleveland Museum of Art has an encyclopedic collection that includes Egyptian objects, Asian art, European paintings, American decorative arts and much more.
Its own collection database gives you direct access to artworks, while Google Arts & Culture offers another way to explore.
Online experience: Official online collection + Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Cleveland Museum of Art collection →
Explore Cleveland Museum of Art on Google Arts & Culture →
30. High Museum of Art Online – Atlanta, Georgia
The High Museum’s collection includes American and European art, photography, decorative arts and contemporary works.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the High Museum of Art online →
31. Portland Art Museum Virtual Visit – Oregon
Portland Art Museum is one of the oldest art museums on the West Coast and is particularly interesting for Native American, Northwest and Asian art alongside European and contemporary works.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture.
Explore Portland Art Museum online →
32. Denver Art Museum Virtual Visit – Colorado
The Denver Art Museum has broad global collections, with especially strong Indigenous North American and Western American art.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Denver Art Museum online →
33. Toledo Museum of Art Virtual Visit – Ohio
Toledo is particularly famous for glass, but its collection also includes European and American painting, sculpture and decorative arts.
Online experience: Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Toledo Museum of Art online →
34. Seattle Art Museum Online Collection – Washington
Seattle Art Museum brings together Asian, Indigenous, African, European, American and contemporary works.
The museum’s own collection database lets you explore its holdings online.
Online experience: Official digital collection.
Explore the Seattle Art Museum collection →
35. Yale University Art Gallery Online Collection – New Haven, Connecticut
Yale University Art Gallery is a university museum, but don’t let that make you expect a small academic collection.
Its holdings cover ancient art, European painting, American art, modern works and art from numerous cultures.
Online experience: Official searchable collection.
Explore the Yale University Art Gallery collection →
36. Frick Collection Online – New York City
The Frick has long been known for the combination of great European art and an intimate historic setting.
Rembrandt, Vermeer, Goya and Whistler are among the artists you can discover here.
Online experience: Official online collection + Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Frick Collection online →
Explore the Frick on Google Arts & Culture →
37. Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Online – Santa Fe, New Mexico
This museum gives you the chance to explore one artist in much greater depth.
Georgia O’Keeffe’s flowers and New Mexico landscapes are the obvious starting point, but the digital collection gives you a broader look at her work and career.
Online experience: Official digital collection + Google Arts & Culture.
Explore the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum collection →
Explore the museum on Google Arts & Culture →
38. Norton Simon Museum Online Collection – Pasadena, California
The Norton Simon Museum is known for European painting and sculpture alongside important South and Southeast Asian art.
Rembrandt, Degas, Picasso and many other major artists are represented.
Online experience: Official digital collection.
Explore the Norton Simon Museum collection →
39. Chrysler Museum of Art Virtual Tour – Norfolk, Virginia
The Chrysler Museum of Art is one of the additions I was very happy to find while updating this guide because it offers exactly what many people mean when they search for a virtual museum visit.
You can virtually walk through its galleries and stop to examine selected works from the collection. If you want to continue after the virtual walk, the museum has also digitized tens of thousands of objects.
The collections range from European and American art to photography, ancient objects and an especially large glass collection.
Online experience: Virtual gallery walk + extensive online collection.
Explore the Chrysler Museum from home →
40. Baltimore Museum of Art Virtual Tours – Maryland
The Baltimore Museum of Art is another worthwhile addition, particularly if you love modern art.
Its collection includes an exceptional number of works by Henri Matisse as well as art by Picasso, Cézanne, Monet, Gauguin and many others.
The museum maintains virtual-tour resources alongside a large searchable online collection and digital guides.
Online experience: Virtual tours + online art collection + digital guides.
Explore the Baltimore Museum of Art virtual tours →
41. McNay Art Museum Virtual Tours – San Antonio, Texas
The McNay combines modern art with a beautiful historic home, so here the building itself is part of what you’ll want to explore.
Its free digital guide can be accessed from anywhere and includes virtual tours of Marion Koogler McNay’s historic home and museum exhibitions, along with collection highlights, commentary and an interactive map.
Online experience: Virtual tours and collection material through a free digital guide.
Explore the McNay Art Museum digital guide and virtual tours →
42. Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth Virtual Tours – Texas
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth adds a different type of online experience to this list.
Its virtual tours are prerecorded docent-led videos built around works from the permanent collection. They aren’t a self-guided 360° walk, but they give you the advantage of having someone explain and discuss the artworks as you go.
These tours are particularly useful for students and families. Registration is required, but the virtual tours are free.
Online experience: Free prerecorded docent-led virtual art tours.
Explore the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth virtual tours →
43. Hood Museum of Art 3D Virtual Tours – Hanover, New Hampshire
The Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth has created several genuine 3D museum experiences using Matterport.
These are much closer to walking through an exhibition than browsing a conventional online collection. You can move through the galleries, choose your direction and open additional information about artworks as you explore.
Several past exhibitions remain accessible in this format, which also means virtual visitors can still experience installations that are no longer physically on view.
Online experience: Interactive 3D Matterport exhibition tours.
Explore the Hood Museum’s 3D virtual tours →
44. Crocker Art Museum Virtual Art Visits – Sacramento, California
The Crocker Art Museum has a broad collection that includes California art, European art, Asian art, ceramics and works from many other cultures.
Its online approach is particularly useful for families, teachers and students. Gallery Bytes lets you virtually drop into museum galleries and explore selected artworks through conversations with museum staff, docents and guests.
It’s not a self-guided 360° walk, so I wouldn’t label it as one. It is, however, a free way to virtually spend time with the museum and its art.
Online experience: Free virtual gallery visits + educational digital resources.
Explore the Crocker Art Museum’s virtual programs →
45. Ackland Art Museum Online – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
The Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina is another museum whose online resources are worth knowing about even though it doesn’t offer a conventional full-building 360° walk.
You can search a collection containing thousands of objects, explore digital art guides and even interact with 3D models of selected objects, rotating and zooming them to examine their form and surface.
For students and anyone interested in looking closely at art rather than simply scrolling through photographs, those 3D models are a particularly nice addition.
Online experience: Online collection + digital resources + interactive 3D object models.
Explore the Ackland Art Museum from home →
Which U.S. Art Museums Have Real 360° or 3D Virtual Tours?
Not every museum in this guide lets you freely move through rooms, and I’ve deliberately avoided pretending otherwise.
If you’re specifically looking for the closest thing to walking around an art museum from home, start with the Meadows Museum, the Dalí Museum, MMoCA, the Chrysler Museum of Art and the Hood Museum of Art.
The Hood Museum’s Matterport experiences are particularly interesting because you can choose where you move and open extra content inside the exhibition. Chrysler also lets you virtually walk through galleries rather than simply browse an image database.
The Met’s 360° Project is slightly different. Those experiences are immersive 360° videos rather than a conventional click-your-way-through-the-building tour, but they are excellent if you want to experience some of the museum’s architecture and famous spaces.
Best Virtual Art Museum Tours for Students, Kids and Homeschoolers
You certainly don’t have to be a student to enjoy any of these museums, but several have particularly useful educational material.
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth created its virtual tours specifically around guided discussion and visual literacy, making it one of the strongest options for a classroom or homeschool setting.
The Crocker Art Museum is another good place to start because its virtual education resources combine museum art with lesson ideas and guided conversations. The Baltimore Museum of Art has virtual options for students, while The Met and Smithsonian collections give older students an enormous amount of material to explore independently.
For younger children, I wouldn’t open a huge digital collection and tell them to “look at art.” Give them a mission.
Ask them to find their favorite animal in a painting. Let them choose one artwork they’d put in their bedroom. Ask them to find the strangest portrait, the happiest painting or the work they would most like to see in real life.
You can also choose a museum based on something they’re already interested in. Portraits? Try the National Portrait Gallery. Sculpture? Open the Nasher. Surrealism? Head straight to Dalí. American art? Crystal Bridges or Smithsonian American Art Museum gives you plenty to explore.
Best Online Art Collections in the USA
A 360° tour is fun when you want the feeling of moving through a museum, but a good online collection can actually be better when you want to examine art closely.
The Barnes Foundation, LACMA, Cleveland Museum of Art, Yale University Art Gallery, Seattle Art Museum, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and Norton Simon Museum all let you go directly into their collections rather than following a predetermined museum route.
That’s particularly useful if you’re researching an artist or looking for a specific painting.
And then there’s zoom.
I’ve mentioned it already, but it’s still one of my favorite advantages of looking at art online. In a museum, there’s a point beyond which you’re not allowed to get closer. Online, a high-resolution image can reveal individual brushstrokes, texture and tiny details you might easily overlook in the gallery.
Famous Artworks You Can See Online in U.S. Museums
If you’re more interested in a famous painting than a particular museum, this list has plenty of places to start.
At MoMA, look for Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night. The Art Institute of Chicago has Grant Wood’s American Gothic and Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks.
Washington’s National Gallery of Art is home to Leonardo da Vinci’s Ginevra de’ Benci, while the Cleveland Museum of Art has a famous cast of Rodin’s The Thinker.
Then there are entire museums centered around an artist. Dalí’s museum in Florida and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum are obvious choices when you want to move beyond one masterpiece and explore an artist’s career more deeply.
Why Explore an Art Museum Online If You Can Visit in Person?
I don’t see virtual museums as replacements for physical museums.
Standing in front of a painting and seeing its real scale is different. Walking through rooms, noticing the architecture and discovering something unexpectedly on the next wall is different too.
But virtual visits have their own advantages.
You can explore a museum before a trip and decide which galleries matter most to you. You can return after a visit and look again at something you rushed past. You can zoom far closer to a painting than a security barrier would ever allow.
And, of course, you can visit museums you may never reach physically.
Distance, travel costs, health, mobility, time and dozens of other things can stand between someone and a museum. I am grateful that so much art is now available to people who couldn’t otherwise see it.
Virtual Museum Tour, Google Arts & Culture or Online Collection: What’s the Difference?
A 360° or 3D virtual tour usually lets you look around a physical gallery or move from one point to another.
Google Arts & Culture varies by museum. In some places, you can walk through rooms using technology similar to Street View. In others, the museum page focuses more heavily on digitized artworks, stories and exhibitions.
An online collection is closer to a searchable database. You choose the artist, object or subject you want and open individual records.
A video virtual tour guides you through the experience rather than letting you choose every movement yourself. That’s what you’ll find with some of The Met’s 360° material and the docent-led experiences offered by museums such as the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.
I don’t think one format is inherently better. It depends on what I want at that moment.
Conclusion: Explore America’s Art Museums From Anywhere
One of the things I like most about putting a list like this together is discovering how different the experiences are.
You can move through a 3D gallery in New Hampshire, examine Spanish masters in Texas, zoom into modern paintings in New York, explore American art in Arkansas, visit a historic mansion in Boston or spend an afternoon discovering a museum you’ve never heard of before.
Some of these museums may already be on your travel wish list. Others might end up there after you explore them online.
And sometimes the virtual visit is the visit. There’s nothing wrong with that either.
If you want to continue exploring, you can virtually cross the Atlantic with my guide to free virtual art museum tours in Europe.
Or move away from art completely and discover science, history, technology and other European museums you can visit online.
If the virtual tours have made you want to travel instead, continue with these must-visit U.S. cities, discover some of the most iconic buildings in America, or test yourself with my U.S. travel trivia questions.
You can also go around the world with this travel trivia challenge.
Questions About Free Virtual Art Museum Tours in the USA
Can you visit U.S. art museums online for free?
Yes. Many American art museums provide free online access through 360° tours, 3D walkthroughs, Google Arts & Culture, video tours, digital exhibitions and searchable online collections. The type of experience varies considerably from museum to museum.
Are all 45 museums in this article full virtual walkthroughs?
No. Some have genuine 360° or 3D virtual tours, while others offer guided video experiences, Google Arts & Culture visits or detailed online collections. I’ve identified the type of experience under every museum so you know what to expect.
What are some of the best 360° virtual art museum tours in the USA?
The Meadows Museum, Dalí Museum, Chrysler Museum of Art and Hood Museum of Art are good places to start if you specifically want an experience where the virtual environment is an important part of the visit.
Can I virtually visit The Met for free?
Yes. The Met 360° Project provides free immersive video experiences of several famous museum spaces, and The Met also has extensive material available through Google Arts & Culture.
Can I visit MoMA online for free?
Yes. MoMA offers free online exhibition material, and you can also explore artworks and museum content through Google Arts & Culture.
Can virtual art museum tours be used for homeschooling?
Yes. Several museums in this article have resources aimed specifically at students, families and teachers. The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Crocker Art Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art are particularly useful starting points, while large online collections such as The Met and Smithsonian American Art Museum can support more independent research.
Do I need a VR headset?
No. The majority of these online museum experiences can be used on a normal computer, tablet or phone. Some 3D experiences may also work with VR equipment, but a headset isn’t required for most visitors.
What’s the difference between a virtual tour and an online art collection?
A virtual tour is designed to recreate some sense of moving through a museum or exhibition. An online collection lets you search individual works, artists or categories. For close study of one artwork, an online collection can be more useful than a virtual walkthrough.
Can a virtual museum tour help me plan an in-person visit?
Yes. I use online museum resources to identify the galleries, artists and artworks I most want to see. They can be particularly helpful with very large museums where trying to see everything in one visit can become exhausting.
Photo sources: 1, 2, 3, 4 public domain, Wikipedia, 5 public domain, Wikipedia, 6 public domain, Wikimedia Commons, 7, 8 public domain, Wikipedia, 9 public domain, Wikipedia, 10 public domain, Wikipedia.
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Violeta-Loredana Pascal is a communications expert, business mentor, and the founder of Earth’s Attractions and PRwave INTERNATIONAL. A pioneer in the Romanian digital PR landscape since 2005, she holds a degree in Communication and Social Sciences from SNSPA Bucharest. Violeta is a senior trainer at AcademiadeAfaceri.ro, where she leverages over 20 years of experience to teach professional courses in PR strategy and workplace productivity. By blending high-level business consulting with a passion for holistic travel and wellness, she empowers solopreneurs to overcome procrastination, build profitable brands, and design a life of purposeful adventure.
