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travle If you’ve never heard of the saying ‘travel is a state of mind,’ the last year may give you a proper lesson on that, since the only destinations we’ve been visiting were castles in the air.

Even though more and more countries are starting to open their borders to welcome foreign tourists, some of us will still put traveling aside for some better days. 

Thus, we came up with a list of the best ways to travel the world from your couch through virtual travel applications and TV shows.

The best ways to explore the world in 2021 and beyond

Streaming a travel program

Those who like the idea of traveling the world snuggled in bed with a box of chocolate chip cookies have a ton of options. Our TV series of choice is Travel Man: 48 Hours in – an exciting show where comedian and actor Richard Ayoade and a celebrity guest spend 48 hours in a famous city around the world to discover unique and peculiar tourist attractions. 

If you’re into more of an edgy type of fun, Netflix has a real treat for you – Dark Tourist follows a journalist David Farrier in his attempt to visit some of the most bizarre and obscure destinations around the world like the Fukushima power plant or Mexico’s death worshiping cult. However, if you struggle with accessing some of the content, consider searching through the Netflix catalog with a VPN. A VPN will replace your actual IP address with a new one and grant you access to any Netflix catalog you want; choose the country whose catalog you wish to explore, change the country setting on your VPN app, and there you have it!

Virtual travel

We know that virtual travel just isn’t going to cut it for some of you, but we encourage you to give it a try. Most virtual travle tours you can find online are entirely free, and they’re an excellent way to kill time. Even though you can’t feel the breeze of fresh air seven thousand feet above sea level, you can still enjoy the view from one of the most famous architectural wonders of the ancient world – Machu Picchu. This outstanding relict of ancient Incan culture is the most visited tourist destination in Peru, with over 1.5 million visitors every year. Enjoy the view of the whole city from the beautiful Watchman’s Hut, visit the famous Incan astronomical clock Intihuatana, or walk the beautiful terraces, which have been one of the most captivating agricultural designs to this day.

Nature lovers will enjoy visiting Yosemite. On this site, you can get a virtual tour of one of the most beautiful national parks in the United States. The biggest attraction is Yosemite’s Firefall – a unique spectacle resulting from the most amazing play of light and shadow. When the sunlight falls on the Horsetail Fall at the right angle, it lightens up the whole waterfall making it look like it’s on fire. Yosemite’s waterfalls are famous worldwide, but it is less known to be home to more than 400 different animals and an array of diverse plant species that are unique to this part of the world. 

If you want to immerse your every sense into the traveling experience, reach for VR technology. Most virtual tours you can find online these days have VR features to enhance your experience and give you a taste of a real thing.


Virtual museum tour

If you miss strolling through a museum while listening to a curator guiding you through some of the fascinating moments of art history, we have a solution for you. Pour yourself a glass of your favorite drink, turn on some ambient music, and explore the artwork of some of the greatest geniuses of our time. The first stop in our virtual museum tour is The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. You can admire the colorful wonders of the animal kingdom in the Butterfly Pavilion, explore the relics of our past in the Bone Hall and the Fossil Hall, or you can hop to Africa to learn about magnificent bush elephants. Moreover, to those who want to dig a little deeper into science, the Smithsonian offers webinars on the most exciting topics about our planet. They have webinar programs suitable for kids, families, and adults, and they also have some programs in Spanish. 

Classical art lovers can finally enjoy Michelangelo’s magnificent frescoes ornamenting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel because the next stop on our virtual museum tour is the Vatican museums. In addition to the Sistine Chapel, visitors can stroll through the Raphael Rooms, Pio Clementino Museum, and more. Considering that the Vatican Museums include 54 museums with more than 1400 rooms and almost 70 thousand art pieces, there’s something for everyone.


Even though we’ve been stuck in our homes for quite some time now, don’t let fun pass right by you. Use your imagination and enjoy the wonders of the world through new lenses. 

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