Smarthistory – Virtual visits

In Austria

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Vienna — once the center of the Habsburg Empire— has it all: prehistoric art, medieval copes, art nouveau, and some of the earliest modern architecture.

Andrea Mantegna, Saint Sebastian, c. 1456-59, oil on wood panel (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna)

At the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

The Story of Jacob, Vienna Genesis, folio 12 verso, early 6th century, tempera, gold and silver on purple vellum, cod. theol. gr. 31 (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna)

At the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna

In China

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The Shanghai Museum holds a number of national treasures, and make sure to check out China's provincial museums as well.

Master of the (Fishing) Nets Garden, Suzhou

Ladies Wearing Flowers in Their Hair, Shenyang

Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, Hangzhou

In Egypt

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See the world-famous pyramids at Giza and more!

Temple of Amun-Re and the Hypostyle Hall, Karnak

Harry Burton, Howard Carter with Innermost Coffin of Tutankhamun, 1922 (Tutankhamun Archive, Griffith Institute, University of Oxford)

In France

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When you get outside Paris, you will find Romanesque and Gothic churches of astounding beauty. In Paris, there's the Louvre, but make time for smaller museums, like the Musée Moreau.

Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris

Blue Virgin window, Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres, c.1145 and 1194-c.1220, Chartres (France)

In Germany

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The museums in Berlin and Munich contain ancient and modern masterpieces, and on the streets one is absorbed in the history of modern Germany.

Giotto, The Entombment of Mary, 1310, tempera on poplar, 75 x 179 cm (Gemäldegalerie, Kaiser Friedrich-Museums-Verein, Berlin)

At the Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin

Thutmose, Model Bust of Queen Nefertiti, c. 1340 BCE, limestone and plaster, New Kingdom, 18th dynasty, Amarna Period (Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection/Neues Museum, Berlin)

The Palast der Republik, Berlin

In Greece

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Nothing can compare with climbing the acropolis in Athens and visiting Delphi (one of our favorite places in the world). The museums in Athens, and at the various archaeological sites in Greece are filled with treasures.

Cycladic period figures, marble, (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)

At the National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Ionic Column (North Porch), Erechtheion on the Acropolis, Athens, marble, 421-407 B.C.E., Classical Period (British Museum, London). Mnesicles may have been the architect.

At the Acropolis Museum, Athens

Iktinos and Kallikrates (sculptural program directed by Phidias), Parthenon, Athens, 447–432 B.C.E.

The Parthenon, Athens

Kamares ware in the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion

On the Island of Crete

At the Eleusis Archeological Museum

In India

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Temples as the realm of the gods, breathtaking garden tombs, and awesome stories in stone — there is much to see and learn in India.

Great Stupa at Sanchi

The Taj Mahal, Agra

Durga (detail), Warrior (detail), Mahishasuramardini Mandapa, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, India, ca. 7th century, granite (photo: © Arathi Menon, all rights reserved)

Durga Slays the Buffalo Demon, Mamallapuram

Bodh Gaya

The Meenakshi Temple at Madurai

In Italy

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From the Colosseum to the MAXXI (National Museum of 21st Century Art).

Sandro Botticelli, La Primavera (Spring), c. 1481–82, tempera on panel, 203 x 314 cm (Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence)

At the Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Michelangelo, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, 1508–12, fresco (Vatican, Rome)

At the Papal Palace & Sistine Chapel, Vatican City

At the Roman Forum

Cathedral of Florence

Zaha Hadid, MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Arts, 1998–2009 (opened 2010), Via Guido Reni, Rome

The MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Arts

In Japan

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Buddhist temples and gardens of astounding beauty, and museums filled with national treasures.

Haniwa: Tomb Sculpture of a Seated Warrior, Japan, late Tumulus period, c. 500–600 C.E., coil-built earthenware with applied decoration, 78.7 x 36.5 x 38.1 cm (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)

Haniwa Warrior, Tokyo National Museum

Sesshu Toyo’s Winter Landscape, Tokyo National Museum

Ryōan-ji (Peaceful Dragon Temple), Kyoto

Shōsōin Repository (photo: Roman SUZUKI, CC BY 3.0)

Shōsōin Repository, Nara

Ogata Kōrin's Red and White Plum Blossoms, Atami

In Mexico

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In Mexico City, visit the Anthropology Museum to see the amazing art produced by all the diverse ancient cultures of (what is today) Mexico, and a short distance away, the amazing ancient city of Teotihuacan, and an early mission church with gorgeous frescoes and an Atrial cross at Acolman.

Diego Durán, illustration of the Templo Mayor, from The History of the Indies of New Spain, 1579 (Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid)

Templo Mayor Museum, Mexico City

Coatlicue, c. 1500, Mexica (Aztec), found on the SE edge of the Plaza Mayor/Zocalo in Mexico City, basalt, 257 cm high (National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City)

National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City

José María Velasco, The Valley of Mexico from the Santa Isabel Mountain Range (Valle de México desde el cerro de Santa Isabel),1875, oil on canvas, 137.5 x 226 cm (Museo Nacional de Arte, INBA, Mexico City)

Museo Nacional de Arte, Mexico City

Teotihuacan

Acolman

In the Netherlands

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It doesn't get better than Rembrandt, Hals, and the artists of the Dutch Golden Age.

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Night Watch (Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq), 1642, oil on canvas, 379.5 x 453.5 cm (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)

At the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, 1632, oil on canvas, 169.5 x 216.5 cm (Mauritshuis, Den Haag)

At the Mauritshuis, The Hague

Paul Gauguin, Self-Portrait with Portrait of Émile Bernard

At the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Huis ten Bosch (House in the Woods)

Royal Palace of Amsterdam

In the Pacific

Works of art that call New Zealand, Australia, and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) their home.

Gottfried Lindauer, Tamati Waka Nene, Auckland

Terracotta fragments, Lapita people, Auckland

Michel Tuffery, Pisupo Lua Afe (Corned Beef 2000), 1994, flattened cans of corned beef (Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Collection) ©Michael Tuffery

Michel Tuffery, Pisupo Lua Afe, Wellington

Presentation of Fijian mats and tapa cloths to Queen Elizabeth II during the 1953-54 royal tour

Fijian Mats and Tapa Cloths for Queen Elizabeth II, Wellington

Ambum Stone, Canberra

Easter Island Moai

Voyage to the moai of Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

In Peru

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The UNESCO World Heritage sites of Machu Picchu and the Nasca Geoglyphs — plus much more.

City of Cusco

Machu Picchu, Cusco

Parish of San Sebastián, in the Procession of Corpus Christi series, c. 1680

Parish of San Sebastián, Cusco

Nasca Geoglyphs

Luis de Riaño and Indigenous collaborators, The Paths to Heaven and Hell, c. 1626 (San Pedro Apóstol de Andahuaylillas, Peru)

Church of San Pedro de Andahuaylillas

In Russia

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Virtually explore Moscow and Saint Petersburg's museums.

Picasso's Three Women, St. Petersburg

Antonio de Pereda, Still Life with Ebony Chest, 1652, oil on canvas, 80 x 94 cm (The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg)

Still Life with Ebony Chest, St. Petersburg

Henri Matisse's Goldfish, Moscow

Varvara-Stepanova-The-Results-of-the-First-thumb

The Results of the First Five-Year Plan, Moscow

Ilya Repin, Krestny Khod (Religious Procession) in Kursk Gubernia, 1880-83, oil on canvas, 175 x 280 cm (State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)

Krestny Khod (Religious Procession) in Kursk Gubernia, Moscow

Art in South Korea

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At the National Museum of Korea

Gold and jade crown, Silla Kingdom

Korean Celadons of the Goryeo Dynasty

Hwaseong Fortress

Royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty

In Spain

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The Prado in Madrid has one of the great collections in Europe, but don't miss the remarkable MNAC — it's filled with Catalonian art, most remarkably the 1000-year-old Romanesque frescoes removed from churches in remote regions for protection.

At the Prado, Madrid

At the MNAC (National Museum of Catalan Art), Madrid

El Escorial, begun 1563, near Madrid, Spain

El Escorial, near Madrid

Antoni Gaudí, Church of the Sagrada Família or Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família Basilica, 1882– (consecrated 2010, but still under construction), Barcelona, Spain

Sagrada Família, Barcelona

The Tomb of Juan II of Castile and Isabel of Portugal, near Burgos

In Turkey

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Istanbul might be our favorite city in the world. Where else can you see Justinian's Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia, mosques by Sinan that will take your breath away, and be transported back to the time of Constantine?