Take a Virtual Tour from Your Home

We explore the world’s best Museums, Art Galleries, and Historic Sites across the world. There are over 60,000 museums and historic sites around the world, and we aim to share Virtual Tours of the very best of these.

Ancient Artifacts

Artifacts are objects shape by humans that are of archaeological, historical, or cultural interest. Examples include tools, pottery, metal objects, weapons, and items of personal adornments, such as jewelry or death masks. These artifacts shed light on the lives of our ancestors and our heritage.

Mythological Art

Mythology in Art started in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt and was established as a popular art form by the Greeks in their sculptures.
Mythological Paintings emerged in popularity during the Renaissance when the great Renaissance masters added the humanist dimension to Greek and Roman mythology.

Famous History Paintings

History Paintings are defined by their subject matter and usually depict a moment in a narrative story.
Before the 19th century, the most common subjects for history paintings included religious, mythological, and allegorical themes, representing the broadest view of history painting.

Famous Sculptures

The earliest Greek word for a statue meant “delight,” and since the beginning of time, sculptors have tried to create forms that inspire delight.

Christian Art and Biblical Paintings

Christian Art uses themes and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups have used art to some extent, although some have had objections to religious images. There have also been many periods of iconoclasm in which icons and other images or monuments were deliberately destroyed.

Buddhist Art

Buddhist Art is the artistic practices that are influenced by Buddhism. Buddhist art originated on the Indian subcontinent following the historical life of Siddhartha Gautama, 6th to 5th century BCE.

Ancient Egyptian Art and Artifacts

Our Tour of Ancient Egyptian Art includes any sculpture, architecture, paintings, ceramics, drawings on papyrus, faience, jewelry, ivories, burial artifacts, or objects produced by the civilization of ancient Egypt.

Mesopotamian Art and Artifacts

Mesopotamian Art starts from early hunter-gatherer societies in the 8th millennium BC, followed by the Bronze Age cultures of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian empires.

Islamic Art

Islamic Art encompasses the visual arts produced in the Islamic world and covers a wide range of lands, periods, and genres. Islamic Art includes Islamic architecture, Islamic calligraphy, Islamic miniature, Islamic glass, Islamic pottery, and textile arts such as carpets and embroidery

Public Art

Public Art refers to a specific art genre in any media whose form, function, and meaning are created for the general public through an open process. Public art is visually and physically accessible to the public; it is installed in public space, usually outside. Public art embodies universal concepts, and it has aesthetic qualities in form or theme.

Ancient and Historical Maps

The earliest known world maps date to classical antiquity, the oldest examples of the 6th centuries BC were based on the flat Earth paradigm. World maps with a spherical Earth first appear in the Hellenistic period. The developments in Greek geography culminated with Ptolemy’s world map in the 2nd century, which would remain authoritative throughout the Middle Ages.

National Museums in the United States

National Museums in the United States are museums that are authorized by Congress. Some of these national museums are operated and funded by the federal government. Some are designated as National Museums but are privately operated and financed.

Maritime Museums and Museums Ships

Maritime Museums specialize in the exhibition of objects relating to all types of ships and naval history.

Natural History Museums

A natural history museum is a scientific institution with natural history collections. The collections may include records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. A primary role of a natural history museum is to improve our understanding of the beauty and wonder of the natural world

Science and Technology Museums

A science museum is devoted to exploring and explaining science and increasingly emphasizing technology, and are, therefore, are also technology museums.

Automotive Museums

Automotive Museums explore the history of automotive-related transportation and sport. These museums celebrate Automotive Industry milestones and Sporting achievements and its famous people. The word automotive comes from the Greek “autos” (self) and Latin “motivus” (of motion), referring to any form of self-powered vehicle. This term first came into use regarding automobiles in 1898.

Famous Artists, You Should Know

An Artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The word art derives from the Latin “ars,” which means “skill method,” but also conveys a connotation of beauty.

Famous Women in the Arts

Women artists have been making art throughout history; unfortunately, their work has often been overlooked and undervalued. Historical stereotypes about the sexes have caused certain media, such as textile or craft arts, to be primarily associated with women and were demoted below the “fine art.”

Military and War Museums

A Military and War Museum is an institution that cares for collections related to military history and in remembrance of sacrifices made during wars and conflicts. The types of museums vary from large institutions to smaller institutions focusing on specific subjects.

Air and Space Museums

Air and Space Museums exhibit the history and artifacts of aviation and space exploration. In addition to aircraft and space vehicles, exhibits include photographs, maps, models, dioramas, clothing and equipment used by aviators and astronauts.

Archaeological Museums

An Archaeological Museum is an institution with collections that include artifacts shaped by humans that are of historical or cultural interest. Examples of artifacts include tools, pottery, metal objects, weapons, remains from historic sites and structures plus items of personal adornment such as jewelry or death masks.

Interest in museums, art galleries, and historical sites reflect the economic, intellectual, and social health of a city and a community.

Take a Virtual Tour with us of the very best of the world’s Museums, Art, Artifacts, and History.

Museums & Historical Sites – Virtual Tours

Specific Museums, Artworks, Artifacts, and Historical Sites can be found by searching for museums by region and country in the top menu, or by exploring the categories above or by using the search function on the sidebar.

Visiting a museum is an enjoyable and enlightening way to invest your precious time. However, many of us rush through Museums, Art Galleries, or Historical Sites, as we rush through life, without appreciating the full significance of the experience.

“Joy of Museums” (JOM) offers you an opportunity to take a Virtual Tour to find understanding and meaning in the history, beauty, and the wonder to be found in Museums, Art Galleries & Historical Sites.

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This website is dedicated to sharing and exploring with Virtual Tours the beauty, understanding, and meaning in all types of Museums, Art Galleries, and Historic Sites across the world.

Museum Facts (prior to recent restrictions)

In developed economies, about 25% of the population would visit a museum or historical site in 12 months.
More Women than Men visit museums.
Some of the most visited encyclopedic museums worldwide are:
Museums contributed $50 billion to the U.S. economy each year.
There are about 850 million visits each year to American museums.
Museums are considered the most trustworthy source of information in America. They are rated higher than news media, researchers, the U.S. government, or academics.
The UK has one of the most significant creative and cultural economies in the world, relative to Economic Size.
International Museum Day (IMD) is celebrated every year on or around 18 May

Virtual Tour on the Art of Everything

How to avoid Museum Fatigue

Start with a Virtual Tour on “Joy of Museums” (JOM).
Purchase tickets in advance of your visit and skip the long lines when possible.
Do your research and visit during non-peak hours or seasons, so that you can get close and personal with a masterpiece.
In the large encyclopedic museums, accept the fact that you’re not going to be able to see everything in one day — plan to re-visit.
Guided tours of the museum’s highlights are generally a good option for a museum that is new for you.
Bring comfortable shoes and leave the extra clothing and bags in the locker — travel light within the museum walls.
Take advantage of a courtyard and museum café or restaurant, for hydration and nourishment.
Ask the staff for directions and advice.
Collect a Museum Map and Highlights Guide at the front desk.
Use the Museum’s WiFi to connect to “Joy of Museums” (JOM).

The History of Museums

The word “museum” has classical Greek origins. It meant “seat of the Muses” and was used to identify a philosophical institution or a place of contemplation.

The Greek form was “mouseion,” and it was translated into the Latin form, “museum.” “Museum” was used in Roman times to nominate places of philosophical discussion or a building devoted to learning or the arts.

By the 1600s, the term “museum” was being used in Europe to describe “collections of curiosities.”

The earliest use of the word “Museum” in English was in reference to institutions such as libraries where objects were displayed, and the term started being recorded in writing during the 1680s.

Today, a museum is a place where objects of historical, artistic, or scientific interest are exhibited, preserved, and studied.

The modern museum can trace its origins to private collections established by wealthy individuals during the Renaissance.

Prominent figures such as the Catholic Popes in the Vatican accelerated the interest in antiquities and art masterpieces, and National leaders such as Kings followed the practice.

These collections were symbols of power and prestige. However, in time, a spirit of inquiry led to a different purpose and broader participation, not necessarily limited to religious or national rulers and leaders.

These new collectors were mainly focused on the study and advancement of knowledge. Essential to that focus was the education of the public. Institutes were established with this aim, as their public mission.

As the prestige of these institutions increased, private collections found their way into public or corporate institutions, which provided greater security and accessibility.

The first institution to be granted a significant private collection was the University of Oxford. The conditions of the gift included that a suitable place is built to receive it.

The Ashmolean Museum opened in 1683, based on Elias Ashmole’s private collection. The Ashmolean Museum later relocated to another building near the University of Oxford.

The original 1683 building is now occupied by the Museum of the History of Science at the University of Oxford.

Soon after, the British Museum was established in 1759 as a public institution. Followed by the Louvre in 1793.

Today, the purpose of Museums vary from institution to institution.

Some focus on education and academic study others on conservation and others on commercial endeavors.

There are many different types of museums. Some of the categories of Museums include:

History museums
Art museum (or art gallery)
General museums or multidisciplinary museums
Natural history and natural science museums
Museums of science and technology

Museums are dedicated to preserving and interpreting objects created by humans or the environment.

With the increasing interest in museums, we see an explosion of niche museums. Below is a list of just some of the many different specialist museums.

Aerospace Museums‎
Anthropology Museums‎
Archaeological Museums‎
Automobile Museums‎
Bank Museums‎
Ceramics Museums‎
City Museums‎
Dinosaur Museums‎
Fossil Museums‎
Geology Museums‎
Historic House Museums‎
Lighthouse Museums
Military and War Museums‎
Medical Museums
National Museums‎
Performing arts Museums‎
Postal Museums‎
Police Museums
Prison Museums‎
Religious Museums‎
Museum Ships‎
Technology Museums‎
University Museums‎
Wax Museums‎
War Museums or Memorial
Zoology Museums‎

Over 1 million Virtual Tours

“Joy of Museums” (JOM) started in 2017 and we have had over one million visits from people who have taken a VIRTUAL TOUR.

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A country that has few museums is both materially poor and spiritually poor …
museums, like theatres and libraries, are a means to freedom.”
– Wendy Beckett

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Photo Credit: JOM; Attribution: Wikipedia Content under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License 1) Oxyman [CC BY-SA 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons 2) By Sarah Casey (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons 3) By Sam from Canberra, Au