Carefully curated selection of Rome museums with virtual tours you can visit from the comfort of your own home.
Nothing compares with the experience of physically being inside a museum, watching an original piece of art that defeated the passing of time with its beauty.
However, sometimes you simply cannot do that, like recent events have made very clear (I am writing this in March 2020…)
If that is the case, however, you don’t have to totally give up on the idea of museum ‘going’.
Some Rome museums, following the lead of other cultural institutions around the world, offer the option of virtual visit and while this is not at all like walking along their gorgeous corridors, it is still better than nothing!
The ‘tours’ are not videos but 360 degrees images you can tilt and move around with your cursor as if you were standing in the museum and looking around you.
The images are really cool and a very different experience than watching a documentary, with pace and masterpieces chosen by a curator. This is a slower experience, closer to actually wandering about the museum yourself.
Due to the nature of the technology, which makes the visit beautiful but slow, I find the best way to use these virtual tours is to select a specific room or piece of art to see it in on-location or make the most of them to get a sense for the museums.
If you are planning a trip to Rome, these Rome museums’ virtual tours are also a good way to evaluate if a museum is worth adding to your itinerary.
I have found several articles with lists of museums offering virtual tours however, I also noticed that many of the links offered brought to tours that didn’t really work or simply to a list of images from the museum.
So for this article, I have curated a list of Rome museums whit virtual tours that actually work.
Here they are.
Rome museums with virtual tours + easy to follow instructions for visiting

Musei Vaticani – Vatican Museums Virtual Tour
The Vatican Museums, physically located in the center of Rome, have pages on their websites with 360 degrees video tours of several parts of the museums, including the Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s basilica
They are not videos as such but 360 degrees images that you can move via cursor. The feeling is that of being inside the rooms and what is really cool is the ability to move the scene all the way up to the ceiling or all the way down to the floor, as if you were yourself moving around.
Centrale Montemartini – Virtual Tour of Rome’s most peculiar museum
Centrale Montemartini is lesser known than the Vatican museums but it is wonderful and one I recommend not just to adults but families with kids too. It is one of my favorite kid-friendly museums in Rome actually!
It has a beautiful collection of ancient mosaics and Roman statues, with a twist: the masterpieces are hosted in an old power station and this means the backdrop to them are incredible industrial machines!
Find it intriguing? You should!
The tour is offered via google arts and culture, which you can access here
Follow the link below and then click on the little yellow figurine of a person on the right of the top image to get started. You can also find our guide to the Montemartini Museum here.

Musei Capitolini – Virtual Tour of one of Rome’s most famous museums
Musei Capitolini, the vast and beautiful art museum on top of the Capitoline Hill also offer a virtual tour.
You have a choice of two solutions
The first is again via google arts and culture, for which you only need an internet connection.
To access, click here, then click again on the yellow man on the right corner of the main image. A new page will open up with a selection of images from the museum: click on any that grabs your attention for a close-up!
If you have Flash player, you can also access the virtual tour offered by the museum itself here.
I personally find this second way to visit the museum way more enjoyable: I find the images clearer and the whole user experience smoother, however, it may take an extra minute for setting Flash Player up, should your computer not run it already (mine didn’t).
Thankfully, getting Flash is easy and free, as you can easily download it from the museum page itself. When given the options, follow the link and follow the prompts. I promise, it is very easy!

Mercati di Traiano -Trajan’s Market Rome Museum virtual Tour
Trajan’s markets are one of the most beautiful and interesting archaeological areas in Rome and one of the most underrated. I always recommend tourists to go visit and I was delighted to discover they also have a virtual your option and of excellent quality.
You can visit them virtually taking the tour form the museum site or via google arts and culture site.
The links are respectively:
Museum virtual tour (required flash player, follow the prompt from the museum page to install it if needed, it is free and easy to do)
Google arts and culture tour: click on the little yellow figurine and then on any image for a close up.
The markets give a wonderful insight into the history of the expansion of the Roman Empire and a shed a light on some aspects of Roman architecture very different yet equally beautiful to that found in the Roman Forum.
Museo dell’Ara Pacis virtual tour
The Ara Pacis is a huge altar (‘Ara’) dating back to 13-9BC. It was built to celebrate the return of Augustus from his military campaigns is Gallia and Spain and wanted to celebrate the start of a long period of peace (pax, pacis in Latin, hence the name ‘ara pacis’, Peace Altar).
The altar is a wonderful example of Roman sculpture and a virtual tour of t works particularly well as it allows you to see the details from close up.
You can access it two ways:
Via google arts and culture here (not really a virtual tour, but a selection of images you can move around and see in close up)
Or via the museum itself, here. This is a much better and enjoyable option, however, it requires the use of Flash Player, which not all computers have. You can download it safely and fro free following the prompts on the museum page.
Museo Napoleonico – Napoleon’s Museum Rome Virtual Tour
Very different from the museums above but worth a visit is the Rome Napoleon’s Museum dedicated, as you guessed, to Napoleon himself!
As well as a good collection, I like this museum for its elegant interiors, which you can appreciate surprisingly well wit the virtual tour provided. Have a look here, aren’t the rooms themselves just wonderful?
Like for the museums above, Flash Player is needed: just follow the prompts on the page for a free download (no computer skills required!)
Carlo Bilotti Museum Rome Virtual Tour
A hugely underrated yet important museum in Rome is the Museum Carlo Bilotti, located in stunning Villa Borghese, an absolute must-see in Rome.

The museum has masterpieces by De Chirico, Warhol and Manzu and is a real hidden gem worth seeking our virtually and when in Rome!
You can visit it following this link to Google Arts and Culture. Click on the yellow figurine for a selection of images and then click on any that picks your interest for a closer look.
Museo di Villa Torlonia -Villa Torlonia Museum
Villa Torlonia is one of the most beautiful parks in Rome and one with important historical buildings with wonderfully decorated interiors.
The Villa is slightly out of the center of Rome and you may not be able to include it in your wanderings if you only have a day or two in Rome, however, it is worth seeing and a virtual tour may actually be the most convenient way to do so!
You can take the tour via the Museo di Villa Torlonia website itself clicking here (flash player required, follow the prompt to install if needed, it is free)
Or simply via the internet on the Google Arts and culture site here
I hope you enjoyed this overview of virtual tours of Rome museums you can take from the comfort of your own home and found the instruction to access them easy to follow.
Stay safe and happy museum ‘going’!