From fun outings with friends and family to cultural awareness, museums are a timeless experience that allows attendees to explore the stories and lives of individuals and societies across eras. Although some are still closed to the public, many have opened their virtual doors to online viewers, unveiling a chance for the public to delve deep into some of the most fascinating works in history even from their own homes.

Vatican Museum:

Even if you are not an art connoisseur, visiting this museum is a promising experience. It is a prominent name in the art world, and for very good reason: It houses famous pieces of art from Italy and the Renaissance, including the pieces in the Rotunda Room and the Sistine Chapel ceiling among many others. If a piece of art has inspired millions of people, from artists to scholars to the owners of meme accounts, it’s worth paying a quick virtual visit to.

Getty Museum:

Located only about an hour away from Irvine, this museum is one you can visit virtually now and explore in-person once it reopens. It houses a variety of different types of artworks, from landscape paintings to portraits, sculptures and more. Some famous pieces include landscape paintings by Rembrandt and still life paintings by Monet. The grounds themselves are beautiful as well for taking an afternoon or evening walk, so if there are certain artworks you really like, it’s worth keeping them in mind and planning a visit to the real museum in Los Angeles at some point in the future.

Metropolitan Museum of Art:

You might have to wait a bit longer for your Blair Waldorf moment on the steps on the Met, but a virtual tour of the museum offers something nearly as exciting: millions of masterpieces by the most famous, infamous and obscure of artists and endless opportunities to learn about global history and culture. From pieces by O’Keefe to Degas, these famous pieces are available for display online. And if that isn’t enough to encourage you to check it out, you can both brush up on your knowledge of Greek mythology and relive your middle school Percy Jackson phase with this visit as well, considering that this museum is the one that was mentioned in the first novel.

Van Gogh Museum:

As one of the most widely discussed (and, some argue, misrepresented and misunderstood) artists today, Van Gogh remains an important figure in the art world. His stirring life story coupled with his Post-Impressionist paintings evoke a keen sense of beauty and tragedy, skillfully crafted by precise brushstrokes of color. Although this museum is located in Amsterdam, virtual tours of this museum offer insight into his life and surroundings (through his early drawings and letters) and the impact they had on the world-renowned paintings we marvel at today, including many of his flower paintings (“Irises,” “Sunflowers”), portraits and self-portraits, and landscape paintings.