Coronavirus self-quarantine. Virtual tours in Russia while you stay home.
Pandemic took us all by surprise, but we sincerely hope that all your friends and relatives stay safe and healthy. Meanwhile, many travelers had to postpone their holidays and stay isolated in their homes. If this sounds like your story, do not get upset or disappointed. Thanks to modern technologies you can explore the world even when staying in one room via a virtual tour.
Check out our list of fascinating places in Russia that you can visit a virtual tour just in a couple of mouse clicks. Watch out though! After checking all these places online, you may want to reconsider your travel plans and come to Russia instead!
Virtual museums tours
Cultural heritage and museum collections are enormous in Russia. If you want to spend just 1 minute looking at every exhibit in the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, you will have to spend 13 years there. If you want to just pass by all the rooms there, this will take 5 hours. As for Moscow, there are more than 450 museums in the Russian capital. To visit them all also sounds like a very time-consuming challenge. But here is good news, you can start already now!
The State Hermitage Museum
You have already understood the scale of this museum, and if you want to start getting ready for the visit in advance, there is such an opportunity. You can have a virtual tour through the rooms of the museum, be careful it may take quite a lot of time. Click here for the tour.
Another great way to explore this magnificent museum is actually to watch a movie made in one shot on iPhone 11 Pro. 45 halls and 588 works are presented with beautiful soundtracks. You probably have never seen 5 hours 19 minutes long of so much beauty. Click here for the film.
Museum of Cosmonautics
We all dream about space but happen to be staying at home at the moment. If you are dreaming big and still want to explore more about space and life of the cosmonauts, go on a virtual tour to the Museum of Cosmonautics. There you can see some real pieces of space travel equipment. Museum of cosmonautics virtual tour.
Peterhof
If you check Saint Petersburg’s palaces ratings, Peterhof is always on the top of any list. During winter it is worth going there to check the palace itself, but when the fountains start functioning (every year since May, 1) you cannot help spending most of the day in the gardens and watching water dances on every corner. If you still hesitating whether it is worth visiting, check Peterhof’s videos on the official website.
The State Tretyakov Gallery
The Tretyakov Gallery is one of the oldest museums of Russian art in the country. It started as a private collection of Pavel Tretyakov, who founded a museum in 1856 and opened it for the public in 1867. When the private museum became a state museum in 1892, there were 1276 paintings, 471 drawings, 10 sculptures, and 84 paintings of foreign artists. Today the museum’s collection includes more than 180,000 pieces.
Take a walk through museum halls here or here.
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts
Unlike the Tretyakov Gallery, the Pushkin museum was started as a collection of foreign art in 1912. Ivan Tsvetaev started this art fund as a research collection first, but in 1917, after the revolution, it was transformed into a proper museum. Today the collection includes more than 700,000 art pieces.
The virtual tour through the museum’s hall is available here.
The State Russian Museum
The Russian Museum, which is based in Saint Petersburg, has one of the largest collections of Russian art in the country. The museum consists of 5 buildings, making this museum also one of the largest in the country. The total exposition area is more than 30 hectares. Imagine walking through all of them? Actually, you can do it without leaving your couch. Just click here.
Wondering around
Lake Vodlozero, Karelia region
Those, who traveled around our beautiful country with Explorussia, already know that Karelia region is worth visiting. It is a land of thousands of lakes and the scenery there is breathtaking.
Vodlozero is a large freshwater lake in Karelia. It is 322 sq km and there are 20 types of fish in this lake. There are also 196 islands on the lake.
Check the scenery of Vodlozero here.
Baikal lake, Irkutsk region
There is very little chance that you have not heard about the biggest freshwater lake in the world. If you see these amazing pictures on see-through ice on Instagram, 90% chances they were taken on this lake. If you want to visit this place, get ready for a 5 hours flight from Moscow. Or just click this link.
Altay Nature Reserve
Altay Nature Reserve is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Golden Mountains of Altay. High biodiversity and mountainous scenery make this reserved land unique. Access to the nature reserve is quite restricted. If you decide to travel to this area, check organized tours.
Or click the link here to have a virtual look around.
There are so many online possibilities these days. You can join virtual tours in museums, watch live online performances and concerts, and participate in various activities. However, we would like to remind that nothing is more exciting than actually doing these things in real life. And once the quarantine is over, we will be happy to show you around! Till then, stay safe!