The 11 Best NYC Virtual Tours and Concerts
Tour the city from the comfort of your home!
Are you stuck inside and missing New York City? We’ve got you! Despite widespread closures, there is a way for you to experience New York from the comfort of your home! Enjoy these virtual tours, exhibits, and concerts of cultural institutions for free.
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1. The Met 360° Project
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has offered virtual tours since 2016. The Met 360 Project lets you explore The Great Hall, the Temple of Dendur and even the Met Cloisters Garden from your couch. While the videos are playing, you are invited to actively participate. Instead of just watching a video, you can change the direction of the camera by clicking or tapping your finger and explore at your own leisure.
2. American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History lets you explore different halls through Google. Seeing the American Museum of Natural History like this will remind you of “Night at the Museum” because you’ll have it all to yourself!
3. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
In the same way that the American Museum of Natural History lets you tour the museum, New York’s Guggenheim Museum has also partnered with Google to bring you into the museum using the “Street View” mode. You can also walk the famous snail-shell-shaped corridor from the entrance to the very top!
4. Nighly Met Opera Streams
Live events, including concerts, are affected by current regulations and cannot take place at all – kind of! Until the Metropolitan Opera reopens, it will stream its award-winning live-in HD series “Nightly Met Opera Streams” on their website. Attend the concerts live at 7:30 pm EDT or watch them within 20 hours.
Here’s the program:
- March 19: Verdi’s La Traviata
- March 20: Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment
- March 21: Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor
- March 22: Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin
- March 23: Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde
- March 24: Wagner’s Das Rheingold
- March 25: Wagner’s The Valkyrie
- March 26: Wagner’s Siegfried
- March 27: Wagner’s Twilight of the Gods
- March 28: Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
- March 29: Wagner’s Tannhäuseren
5. Grand Central Terminal
The Grand Central Terminal is truly one of the most impressive buildings in New York and the whole world. It’s full of secrets, too. If you want to explore the famous train station yourself, you can do so with this interactive, virtual tour anytime.
6. MoMA Online Exhibit
The Museum of Modern Art shares exhibits with you online. Sculptures, contemporary art, modern art, cubism – what are you going to admire first?
7. Online Exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York has now exhibited many of his works online, which you can view here. If you’ve already explored the MoMA, you should already be an expert at navigating Google Arts and Culture.
8. Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Video Gallery
The aircraft carrier U.S.S. Intrepid does not offer a virtual tour in the same way that other cultural institutions do but their website offers a comprehensive video gallery. Some of the videos feature tour guides and behind-the-scenes footage.
9. Audio Tour of the 9/11 Memorial Museum (narrated by Robert de Niro)
A virtual tour of the 9/11 Memorial Museum is available to members only and a membership costs $75 a year. If you do not want to spend the money but still explore the museum, there is another option. I just downloaded their audio guide via the app (190 MB). It guides its listeners through the most important parts of the museum. The app is available for both iOS and for Android.
10. Watch & Listen by Lincoln Center
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center has decided to live stream concerts to audiences at home. You can access a variety of concerts, even after they have been broadcast. Check out the list below.
11. Stars in the House
As Broadway went dark, The Actors Fund quickly acted and created a mini-show called “Stars in the House” on Youtube. Every day, you get insight into Broadway actors’ lives and careers. Of course, the streams wouldn’t be complete without a live performance.
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