If you dream of strolling through Rome’s museums but can’t travel, this article is just for you. You’ll discover a carefully curated list of Roman museums offering free virtual tours with 360-degree images, high resolution, and the feeling that you’re really there. You’ll get clear access instructions, without unnecessary clicks or wasted time.
Nothing compares to the experience of physically being in a museum, observing an original work of art, right?
Sometimes, however, we simply can’t do it, as recent events have shown very clearly (we still remember the times when we stayed home because of coronavirus, right).
If that’s the case, you don’t need to give up entirely on the idea of “visiting” a museum.
Some Roman museums, following the example of other cultural institutions around the world, offer virtual visit options, and while this isn’t at all like walking through their beautiful corridors, it’s still better than nothing!
These “tours” aren’t video clips but 360-degree panoramas that you can tilt and move with your mouse cursor. The feeling is as if you’re in the museum and exploring it (almost).
The images are really great and are a very different experience from watching a documentary with masterpieces selected by a curator. This is a more personal experience, closer to walking through the museum yourself.
Due to the nature of the technology that makes the visit beautiful but slow, I think the best way to use these virtual tours is to choose a specific room or work of art.
If you’re planning a trip to Rome, these virtual tours of Roman museums are also a good way to assess whether it’s worth adding a particular museum to your itinerary.
I found several articles with lists of museums offering virtual tours, but I also noticed that many of the suggested links lead to tours that don’t actually work, or just to a list of photos from the museum.
So in this article I compiled a list of Roman museums that offer virtual tours that actually work.
Here they are.
Museums in Rome with Virtual Tours + Easy-to-Follow Visit Instructions
Vatican Museums Virtual Tour
The Vatican Museums, physically located in the center of Rome, have 360-degree video tours on their website of several parts of the museums, including the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. These aren’t video clips but 360-degree images you can move through with your cursor. The feeling is that you’re inside the halls themselves and as if you’re moving around.
Centrale Montemartini Museum Virtual Tour
Centrale Montemartini is less well-known than the Vatican Museums but is wonderful and I recommend it not only to adults but also to families with children. In fact, it’s one of my favorite museums for kids in Rome!
It has a beautiful collection of ancient mosaics and Roman statues. The masterpieces are housed in an old power plant, which means the backdrop for these works of art is industrial machinery!
The tour is offered through Google Arts and Culture.
Click the link below and then click on the little yellow person figure to start. Here you can also find our guide to the Montemartini Museum.
Capitoline Museums – Virtual Tour of One of Rome’s Most Famous Museums
Musei Capitolini, the huge and beautiful art museum atop Capitoline Hill, also offers a virtual tour.
You have a choice between two options.
The first is again through Google Arts and Culture, for which you only need an internet connection.
To access, click here, then click again on the yellow person in the right corner of the main image. A new page will open with selected images from the museum – click on an image that catches your attention to view it up close!
If you have Flash Player installed, you can also see the virtual tour offered by the museum itself here.
Personally, I find this second way of visiting the museum much more enjoyable: However, it may take an extra minute to download Flash Player to your computer if it’s not installed (it wasn’t on mine).
Fortunately, Flash Player downloads and installs quickly. You can easily download it from the museum’s page itself. When given a choice, follow the link and follow the instructions. I promise it’s very easy!
Trajan’s Markets Museum Virtual Tour – Mercati di Traiano Rome
Trajan’s Markets are one of the most beautiful and interesting archaeological areas in Rome and one of the most underrated. I always recommend tourists visit them and was pleased to discover that Trajan’s Markets also have an excellent quality virtual tour option.
You can visit them virtually by taking a tour from the museum’s website or through the Google Arts and Culture site.
The links are respectively:
- Virtual tour offered by the museum (requires flash player, follow the prompt from the museum page to install it if needed, free and easy)
- Tour offered by Google Arts and Culture – click on the little yellow figure and then on each image to view it up close.
The Markets give a wonderful overview of the history of the Roman Empire’s expansion and shed light on some aspects of architecture that’s different from typical Roman architecture but equally beautiful, like that of the Roman Forum, for example.
Museo dell’Ara Pacis Virtual Tour
Ara Pacis is a huge altar (“Ara”) dating from 13-9 BC. It was built to honor Augustus’s return from his military campaigns in Gaul and Spain as he wanted to mark the beginning of a long period of peace (pax, pacis in Latin, from which comes the name “ara pacis,” Altar of Peace).
The altar is a beautiful example of Roman sculpture and the virtual tour is a wonderful way to view it, as it allows you to see the details up close.
Access to the altar is possible in two ways:
- Through Google Arts and Culture here (not a true virtual tour but a selection of images you can move and view up close)
- Through the museum itself here. This is a much better and more enjoyable option, but it requires using Flash Player, which not all computers have. You can download it safely and free by following the instructions on the museum page.
Napoleon Museum Virtual Tour in Rome (Museo Napoleonico)
Quite different from the above museums but worth visiting is the Napoleon Museum in Rome, dedicated to Napoleon himself!
Besides its good collection, I also like this museum for its elegant interior, which you can see clearly with the virtual walk. Check it out here. Aren’t the Napoleon Museum’s halls beautiful?
Like the above museums, Flash Player is required – just follow the on-page instructions for free download (no computer skills required!)
Carlo Bilotti Museum Virtual Tour in Rome
An extremely underrated but important museum in Rome is the Carlo Bilotti Museum, located in the stunning Villa Borghese, which is an absolute must-visit in Rome.
The museum owns masterpieces by De Chirico, Warhol, and Manzu and is a true hidden gem worth viewing both virtually and when you’re in Rome!
You can visit it using this link to Google Arts and Culture. Click on the yellow figure to see a set of images, then click on any of them to view it up close.
Villa Torlonia Museum Virtual Tour (Museo di Villa Torlonia)
Villa Torlonia is one of Rome’s most beautiful parks, containing important historical buildings with richly decorated interiors.
The villa is located a bit away from Rome’s center and you might not be able to include it in your walks if you only have a day or two in Rome, but it’s still worth seeing and the virtual tour may be the most convenient way to do it!
You can join the tour through the Museo di Villa Torlonia’s own website by clicking here (flash player required, follow the prompt to install it if needed, it’s free) or simply online at the Google Arts and Culture site here.
I hope you enjoyed this overview of virtual tours of Roman museums that you can take from the comfort of your own home, and that the instructions for accessing them are easy to follow.