Karen Dar Woon Takes Us On A Virtual Culture And Travel Tour

Thanks to my fellow Dame and friend Karen Dar Woon, who’s always either on a trip, or planning one, for this Virtual Culture And Travel Tour. Find out more about Karen, Your Secret Chef, and how she could help you get dinner on your table here.

From Karen Dar Woon:

I’m an avid traveler. And like many of you, the thought of sticking close to home brings me a little sadness (although my bank account will never be happier). So let’s go on a bit of a journey, shall we?

When visiting a new museum, I like to take a guided tour, especially for large museums like Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Most tours are free, and scheduled for specific interests or languages. This virtual tour introduces us to the first grand art museum to be built into an industrial space.  The grand promenades of the former train station enable exhibition of the fabulous collections. Explore videos of the collections, as well as listen to concerts from the auditorium, here. 

#FunFact: The imposing interior towers are the design of Italian architect and interior designer, Gae Aulenti #womenarchitects 

TimeOut shared a list of virtual museum tours by Google Arts and Culture, here:

This virtual tour of the EU Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, is much more extensive than the actual tour I was on in May 2018! Thank you to Euronews for this (pre Brexit) inside look. https://bit.ly/3du5puk

Did you know there are over 700 MEPs who vote on policy affecting 440 million people? During sessions, proceedings are simultaneously translated into 24 languages!

Originally opened in 1852 as a Museum of Manufactures, the V&A (Victoria & Albert) Museum in London, England displays some of the world’s best examples of art and design. Visitors can access the digital collection https://collections.vam.ac.uk/, which includes a search engine 🙂 Great for school projects and research!

Open University shares the BBC-TV program Secrets of the Museum for viewers in England. Publicly accessible activities include virtual curation https://bit.ly/2WLuyum

Looking for art with a more religious theme? The Museums of the Vatican offer 360º virtual tours! Visits to seven of the most popular sites include a look into the Sistine Chapel (you just saved a 2 hour queue).
Our first visit to Rome in 2018 was such a surprise. I was delighted by the lack of crowding, and the city was much cleaner than I expected.

Thanks for joining me on this virtual tour of Europe. I hope that you’ll stay curious, stay safe, and be able to travel again soon!