10 Best Virtual Museums for 2026: VR & Audio Guide Tours Explained

I want to know about recommended virtual museums!

Virtual museums allow you to enjoy museums and art galleries through VR spaces and audio guides.

Virtual museums that can be enjoyed from a PC browser or experienced by wearing VR goggles are appearing one after another.

With a virtual museum, it is possible to appeal to the charm of those living far away or abroad who find it difficult to visit a physical museum or art gallery.

Because valuable works and cultural properties that are difficult to exhibit for long periods can be viewed anytime, anywhere through visual exhibitions in virtual space and audio guides, they also offer excellent archival potential.

In this article, we will explain the benefits and points of virtual museums, as well as recommended virtual museums.

Why not take advantage of the unique benefits of virtual museums to widely promote precious cultural properties and artworks in the metaverse (VRSNS) such as VRChat and Cluster?

Recommended AI Text-to-Speech Service for Virtual Museum Audio Guides 【Free】

If you are creating an audio guide for a virtual museum, 『Ondoku』 is recommended!

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With simple operation—just entering text—you can quickly read out audio.

Multilingual support is very important for virtual museums visited by people from all over the world.

Supporting 81 languages and regions, including Japanese and English, 『Ondoku』 makes it easy to create multilingual audio guides with native pronunciation.

Why not try using 『Ondoku』 for your virtual museum's audio guide?

What is a Virtual Museum?

Virtual museums are being increasingly introduced among museums and art galleries around the world.

First, let's briefly explain what a virtual museum is.

A New Form for Museums and Art Galleries: The Virtual Museum

A virtual museum refers to a museum or art gallery that utilizes 360-degree cameras, photogrammetry, virtual space (VR space), or the metaverse.

Using virtual spaces reproduced in 3D and audio guides about the exhibitions, it is possible to view them anytime and anywhere.

Virtual museums are being introduced by various domestic and international museums.

Virtual museums, which are not restricted by location, are perfect for promoting museums and art galleries to many people, including inbound tourists.

It is also possible to reproduce precious works or cultural properties that have already been lost in a virtual space for many people to appreciate.

Types of Virtual Museums

There are several types of virtual museums.

Virtual museums that reproduce real museums and art galleries

These are virtual museums that use technologies such as 360-degree cameras, photogrammetry, and audio guides to reproduce the exhibitions of actual museums and art galleries.

Since visitors can check the exhibition content before visiting in person, these are suitable for appealing to distant visitors and for archiving exhibition content.

Virtual museums dedicated to virtual spaces

These are virtual museums created exclusively for virtual spaces, without reproducing the exhibition rooms of real museums or art galleries.

They allow for free exhibitions that are not bound by the size of museum rooms or the physical constraints of artworks.

How to View Virtual Museums 【PC, Smartphone, VR Goggles】

There are broadly two ways to view a virtual museum.

Viewing via PC Browser (Windows, Mac, Linux)

This is a method of displaying the 3D space of a virtual museum in a PC browser.

While the sense of immersion is lower because it is viewed through a PC screen, it is suitable for getting more people to visit the virtual museum because anyone with a PC can easily view it.

It is also possible to support viewing on smartphones.

Viewing via Smartphone App (iPhone, Android)

Preparing a dedicated smartphone app is also a recommended method.

This allows visitors to navigate through the virtual museum more conveniently than displaying it in a smartphone browser.

The VRSNS platforms introduced next, such as VRChat and Cluster, also have smartphone app versions (iPhone and Android).

Viewing in VRSNS (Metaverse) (VRChat, Cluster)

This is a method of publishing a virtual museum on VRSNS (Metaverse) platforms such as VRChat or Cluster.

By having visitors wear VR goggles, they can appreciate works at their actual size and experience exhibitions that are impossible in the real world.

*VRSNS (Metaverse) can also be used from a PC screen, so those who do not have VR goggles can still view the virtual museum.

Benefits of Virtual Museums

Virtual museums are packed with benefits not found in real museums and art galleries.

Exhibitions can be promoted to many people

With a virtual museum, you can promote your museum or art gallery to people living in distant areas within the country or overseas.

By promoting works and exhibits through a virtual museum, it is possible to increase the number of physical visitors, such as inbound tourists.

Exhibition content can be preserved as is forever

Works and cultural properties in museums and galleries are kept in storage after a special exhibition ends or a permanent exhibition is rotated.

However, the exhibition layout, captions, and large-scale installation works cannot be preserved as they were.

By creating a virtual museum with a 360-degree camera or photogrammetry, it is possible to archive the space exactly as it was.

Precious works and cultural properties can be exhibited at any time

If a work or cultural property is severely deteriorating, it is necessary to shorten the exhibition period or dim the lights in the exhibition room.

In a virtual museum, precious works and cultural properties can be exhibited at all times in a state that is easy to see.

If digitized at high resolution, they can be magnified to see fine details.

Exhibitions impossible in reality can be realized

The ability to hold exhibitions that are impossible in real museums and art galleries is a feature unique to virtual museums.

In a natural science museum, visitors can experience outer space or the deep sea, or even enter inside the human body.

In an art museum, one can step inside a painting or appreciate lost artworks and architecture at their original size.

It is also recommended to collaborate with real special or permanent exhibitions to hold unique virtual museum exhibits.

When Creating a Virtual Museum, Introducing an Audio Guide is Recommended

When producing a virtual museum, it is recommended to utilize audio guides in addition to visual exhibits such as 360-degree cameras, photogrammetry, and 3D models.

If you display exhibition captions as they are in a virtual museum, it is inconvenient because you have to approach them to read.

On the other hand, if you display text on a separate screen, you have to look at the work and the text alternately.

By introducing an audio guide, it is possible to concentrate on appreciating the work or cultural property.

Since it is difficult to hold gallery talks in a virtual museum, audio guides are also recommended for that reason.

Unlike real museums and art galleries, another point is that audio guide equipment such as players and earphones is not required.

How to Create a Museum Audio Guide for Free! Recommendations for AI Voice Guidance for Small Museums and Permanent Exhibitions

Do you want to easily introduce an audio guide to your museum? With the AI text-to-speech service "Ondoku," you can create high-quality audio for free! It supports Japanese and foreign languages, making it ideal for small or private museums. Click here for details!

Easy Production of Audio Guides with AI Text-to-Speech Services!

A reading service using the latest AI is recommended for producing audio guides.

AI text-to-speech services can read out audio guide content with easy-to-hear voices like those of professional narrators or voice actors.

Since foreign language audio guides can also be produced, it is perfect for virtual museums visited by people from all over the world.

Easily Create Audio Guides with the Recommended AI Text-to-Speech Service "Ondoku"

『Ondoku』 is an AI text-to-speech service recommended for producing audio guides for virtual museums.

Using the latest AI, it can read audio guides in a clear and realistic voice.

It supports multilingual use in 81 languages and regions, including Japanese and English.

【Ondoku】Listen to voice types and sample audio for supported languages

Here, we introduce the supported languages and sample audio for Ondoku.

You can read up to 5,000 characters for free, so you can easily produce an audio guide for a virtual museum right now.

Of course, commercial use is also OK!

You can use it with confidence when you want to use it at a public museum, art gallery, or corporate-run museum.

For more details about commercial use, please also see this article.

What you can do with Ondoku. Regarding commercial use (business use) and prohibited items.

Ondoku allows for commercial use (business use). Whether you are an individual or a corporation, use for the purpose of obtaining profits such as money directly or indirectly constitutes commercial use. However, please note that Ondoku has established prohibited acts. This time, we will explain what you can and cannot do with Ondoku...

Why not try using 『Ondoku』 when producing your virtual museum?

10 Recommended Virtual Museums (Museums and Art Galleries)

I want to go to a virtual museum!

From virtual museums published by museums and art galleries around the world to virtual museums that can be experienced in VRSNS (Metaverse), here are 10 recommended virtual museums!

1. National Museum of Nature and Science
2. Ohara Museum of Art
3. Smithsonian Museum
4. Vatican Museums
5. Prado Museum
6. Louvre Museum
7. National Palace Museum
8. VR Museum of Astronomy and Space COSMORIA
9. Media Art Exhibition "1% of Virtual"
10. Chinese Meme Museum Japanese Version

1. National Museum of Nature and Science | Virtual museum content is particularly substantial among Japanese museums

The National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno, Tokyo, has a particularly extensive virtual museum among Japanese museums and art galleries.

In the National Museum of Nature and Science's virtual museum "Experience at Home! Kahaku VR," you can enjoy exhibitions through a 3D view captured by a 360-degree camera and a VR space using photogrammetry.

It is a very high-quality exhibition that we recommend to anyone who wants to know what a virtual museum is like, those who want to experience a virtual museum for the first time, and also to museum and gallery personnel who are considering introducing a virtual museum in the future.

2. Ohara Museum of Art | View masterpieces of Western painting at a virtual museum

The Ohara Museum of Art in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, also has a very comprehensive virtual museum.

Here too, you can appreciate one of Japan's leading art collections through a virtual tour with a 360-degree camera and a VR space using photogrammetry.

You can experience a high-quality exhibition unique to the Ohara Museum of Art, which boasts one of the most significant histories among private art museums in Japan.

The video and audio guide content are also substantial, so it is recommended as a reference for information dissemination by museums and art galleries.

3. Smithsonian Museum | One of the world's leading virtual museums

A recommendation for a virtual museum of a natural science museum is the Smithsonian Museum in the United States.

As one of the most famous museums in the world, its virtual museum is also of high quality.

In addition to enjoying a virtual tour reproduced with high-resolution 360-degree camera images, it is also possible to switch to a VR goggles compatible screen.

It is also characterized by its mobile support, allowing it to be viewed from a smartphone.

4. Vatican Museums | View some of the finest works in art history at a virtual museum

The Vatican Museums in Vatican City, the headquarters of the Catholic Church, also publish a very high-quality virtual museum.

Through a virtual tour captured with high-quality 360-degree cameras, you can appreciate the works of Renaissance artists that adorn the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Palace.

You can learn in an easy-to-understand way how religious paintings are used in architecture, which cannot be understood from art books or photos on the web.

This is a virtual museum we highly recommend visiting if you are interested in art history.

5. Prado Museum | A virtual museum that Spain is proud of

The Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain, also publishes a virtual tour captured with a 360-degree camera.

You can appreciate masterpieces that remain in the history of art that Spain is proud of, including Velázquez and Goya, with a full sense of presence.

You can realize the size and texture of the works, which are not understood from books or photos on the web.

It is a recommended virtual museum among European art museums.

6. Louvre Museum | A virtual museum where you can appreciate French masterpieces

The Louvre Museum in France, one of the most famous art museums in the world, also has a substantial virtual museum.

Here too, you can enjoy a virtual tour captured with a 360-degree camera on a PC screen.

It is full of ingenuities for tasting the various artworks that France is proud of, such as magnifying works for appreciation and checking detailed explanations.

7. National Palace Museum | View Chinese art at a virtual museum

The National Palace Museum in Taipei publishes a virtual museum "720°VR Walk into the National Palace Museum" where you can experience permanent and special exhibitions.

The virtual tour images captured with a 360-degree camera are of 8K ultra-high quality.

You can realistically experience precious artworks produced in China's long history.

Languages supported are English and Traditional Chinese.

It is a recommended virtual museum where you can know the essence of Oriental art.

8. VR Museum of Astronomy and Space COSMORIA | A world-class virtual museum utilizing VRChat

VR Museum of Astronomy and Space COSMORIA is a virtual museum published on the VRSNS "VRChat."

It exhibits and explains the relationship between mankind and space, the history of space development, the utilization of space, astronomical observation, explanations of celestial bodies and outer space, and astrophysics, all with the large volume unique to virtual spaces.

If you visit with VR goggles, you can visit the orbits of artificial satellites, actually experience lunar gravity, or even enter inside Super-Kamiokande, Japan's astronomical observation facility.

It is also full of points that serve as references for those who run museums or galleries when producing virtual museums.

It is one of the highest quality virtual museums published on VRSNS (Metaverse).

9. Media Art Exhibition "1% of Virtual" | A virtual museum that utilizes the characteristics of VR

The Media Art Exhibition "1% of Virtual" was a media art exhibition held in 2018.

It is currently still published as a virtual exhibition on the VRSNS "VRChat."

The feature of the Media Art Exhibition "1% of Virtual" is that it incorporates many expressions that can only be realized in a virtual space into the exhibition.

You can enjoy exhibitions unique to virtual spaces that are "extremely close to reality, but different from reality."

If those who run museums or art galleries are to produce virtual museums, we highly recommend visiting this once with VR goggles.

It is an eternal masterpiece of virtual exhibitions published in the early days of VRSNS (Metaverse).

10. Chinese Meme Museum Japanese Version | A virtual museum of Chinese internet culture

The Chinese Meme Museum Japanese Version is also a virtual museum published on the VRSNS "VRChat."

There are many internet memes in Japan.

Of course, there are many memes and cultures unique to the internet in our neighbor, China.

In this virtual museum, internet culture from the early days of the Chinese internet to the 2020s is introduced with very high quality.

Chinese audio guides by staff and Japanese translation subtitles are also provided.

The spatial configuration unique to virtual museums serves as a very useful reference when producing virtual museums for museums and galleries.

This is a recommended large-scale virtual museum unique to VRSNS (Metaverse) where you can experience internet memes common to Japan and internet memes unique to China.