Can’t Travel? Virtual Tours for Seniors

Winter traveling is hazardous even for the young, but especially for seniors. Every year, there are over 100,000 car accidents caused by icy roads (1), causing injuries to tens of thousands of people and hundreds of deaths. Winter weather can also lead to cancelled flights, closed roads, and disruption of public transportation services. Add the increased likelihood and spread of illness, and traveling during the winter can be downright dangerous for any senior citizen. But staying home all winter can be boring, lonely, and even depressing, which is not healthy either. You might be able to get your travel fix without leaving your home through virtual tours! Check out these virtual tours for seniors so you can see the world without leaving your couch.

What Are Virtual Tours?

Virtual tours are digital recordings or live camera footage of different places all over the world. You view these videos on your phone, computer, or tablet, and it feels almost like you’re there. They allow you to experience new cities and countries from a first-person camera view of someone walking, driving, or flying. You can also get virtual tours of museums, amusement parks, and other destinations. 

Virtual tours can be paid or free. They are typically recorded by travel guides, agencies, travelers, or travel companies. 

Best Virtual Tour Sites and Apps

There are lots of virtual travel apps and sites out there. Here are a few of the best.

Virtual Vacation 

Virtual Vacation offers you walking, driving, and flying tours of more than 100 cities all over the world. You can also play a City Guesser game, view live street camera footage, and look out virtual windows. This site is free, safe, and was created by a generous programmer during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Louvre

The Louvre Museum, located in Paris, France, posts amazing high-definition virtual tours of many of its exhibits, free of charge. View some of the most incredible works of art in the world from your computer–and feel like you’re really there!

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

A world-class museum in Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History generously allows you to virtually visit most of the museum. Travel back in time, look at dinosaurs, mammals, birds, and more. While you might not be able to read the museum plaques, interactive features help you still learn about the amazing exhibits from afar.

The Met 360 Project

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, informally known as “The Met,” has created several immersive videos allowing you to view the architecture and parts of the museum from home. While you can’t see all of the incredible art housed inside, you can get a behind-the-scenes and birds-eye view that you wouldn’t be able to experience in person.

The British Museum

The British Museum in London, England offers you a unique virtual tour of both the inside and outside of this iconic space. This museum delves into over two million years of human history–there is so much to see, not to mention the incredible architecture of this structure, which was originally built in the early 1800’s and has seen many additions and renovations throughout hundreds of years. In addition to the tour, they offer a number of online exhibits, where you can experience the world without ever leaving your home.

Vatican Museums

The Vatican City, itself its own sovereign country located within Rome, Italy, contains buildings originally constructed during the Roman Empire, as well as over 20,000 artworks encompassing more than five centuries of Catholic history. This includes some of the most famous Renaissance works in the world–and you can view them at home! Get a 360 degree view of the Sistine Chapel and many more breathtaking works here.

Google StreetView

Google Earth offers a unique way to explore the entire world with StreetView. These eye-level panoramic shots allow you to take a virtual walk almost anywhere in the world. View the Jardin Des Tuileries in Paris, France on a beautiful sunny day. Take a walk around a neighborhood in London. You can also explore many parts of theme parks like Disneyland, or the San Diego Zoo! To access Google Earth, simply follow this link. Click “Explore Earth” in the upper righthand corner of the screen. From there, you can type in any location in the world into the search bar. Click the person icon on the bottom right corner of the screen to enter StreetView, and then click wherever you want to go on the blue highlighted parts of the map. Once you’re on a street, use the arrows to navigate around wherever you want to go.

Travel Anytime through Virtual Tours!

As you can see, there are so many options to travel without having to leave home. Of course, it would be ideal to travel in person, but when that’s not an option, virtual tours are a great way to “get out” for seniors who are unable to. If and when you are able to travel, did you know that many senior living communities offer short-term stays? It’s a great way to explore the United States while still getting all the safety, comfort, and healthcare benefits of senior living! Call a Stellar Living Community near your destination and see if short-term stays are available today.