It’s official: We won’t be traveling abroad for a while, even after the quarantine is lifted. With restrictions set by different countries, it might take a year before we can hop on a plane and travel internationally.
[READ: International travel might not be part of the “new normal” for awhile]
Fortunately, we have the internet offering a number of ways to travel to different destinations without leaving your homes. Aside from virtual reality apps that allow people to visit popular tourist destinations in 3D, there’s also Google Earth, a program that maps the planet using satellite images and aerial photography.
One of the notable functions of the program is the Voyager, which is a collection of interactive guided tours created by scientists and nonprofit organizations. Here are some of the tours you can embark on:
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
In order to help people learn more about world heritage sites around the world, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) partnered with Google to set up virtual tours of places in the UNESCO World Heritage sites list. Using the Street View function, internet users can now visit 30 heritage sites in Indonesia, Japan and France.
Green spaces
For people who want to explore more green spaces, Google Earth also has virtual tours of different kinds of gardens around the world. Using feedback from Google Maps’ Local Guides community, the program has satellite images of urban gardens and rooftop gardens all over the world, all of which have short reviews from locals.
Literary locations
If you’ve caught up on your reading list and you’re looking to learn a little more, there are tours dedicated to real-life literary locations—ones dedicated to the landmarks that inspired the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Google Earth also features tours on the homes and writing dens of iconic writers.
Art exhibits
Aside from bringing people closer to heritage sites and tourist attractions around the world, Google Earth also makes different forms of art accessible through your screens. Using Street View and satellite images, internet users can learn more about large-scale outdoor art or stained glass exhibits and sculptures.
Header photo by Julia Buss on Wikimedia Commons
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