Skip to main content
Betsie Valley District Library Logo
Betsie Valley District Library
  • About Us
    • About Us Home
  • News and Events
    • News and Events Home
    • Creative Works at the Library
  • Kids & Teens
    • Kids & Teens Home
  • eShelf, Online Resources, Research
    • eShelf, Online Resources, Research Home
  • Adult Services
    • Adult Services Home
  • Friends
    • Friends Home
  • What's New!
    • What's New! Home
  • Library pictures
    • Library pictures Home
  • Virtual Events
    • Virtual Events Home
  • Contact us
    • Contact us Home
You are here: Home / Virtual Events / Virtual Vacations
Info

Virtual Vacations

Here are some places you can visit from the comfort of your home. Enjoy them now. Perhaps visit them later.

New!

Recommended by patrons Jacob and Samuel

Road Trip from Home: Virtual Field Trips

National Parks

Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

This virtual tour lets you explore glaciers, fjords, and icebergs located in the Alaskan wilderness. Descend into an icy crevasse, kayak through majestic icebergs, and even see how a glacier melts and the effects that climate change has on this frozen terrain. Kenai Fjords has over 40 glaciers in the Harding Icefield, according to the National Park Service website, and the tour begins with a peek into Exit Glacier, one of the only accessible glaciers by road within the national park.

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

One of the most popular national parks in Hawaii is now totally accessible online. This virtual tour lets you explore the Nahuku Lava Tube, which is a cave formed by flowing lava, which can drain lava from a volcano during an eruption. On the tour, you can also enjoy the stunning view from the volcanic coastal cliffs, “fly” over an active volcano, and see the effects of an eruption from 1959.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

Located in the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico, this popular park has over 100 caves. On this virtual tour, you can take a walk through the fascinating caverns, view incredible rock formations, and even see thousands of bats who live in the cave system. You can even “experience” life as a bat thanks to this park’s impressive simulation.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

The beautiful, red and orange hoodoos of this famous desert landscape are now on full display, even if you’re in your living room. This virtual tour centered on Sunset Point lets you enjoy the star-filled night sky from this Dark Sky certified national park, get up close and personal with the park’s unique rock formations, and even take a horseback ride through the canyon from the comfort of your own home.

Dry Tugas Natioortnal Park, Florida

This remote and severely underrated park is located 70 miles west of Key West, according to the National Park Service website. Thanks to this virtual tour, you no longer have to book a seaplane or boat to get there. Visit the Civil War-era Fort Jefferson, swim through the third largest coral reef in the world, and even take an exploratory dive into a shipwreck from 1907.

Museums

The Smithsonian Museum

British Museum, London

This iconic museum located in the heart of London allows virtual visitors to tour the Great Court and discover the ancient Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies. You can also find hundreds of artifacts on the museum’s virtual tour.

Guggenheim Museum, New York

Google’s Street View feature lets visitors tour the Guggenheim’s famous spiral staircase without ever leaving home. From there, you can discover incredible works of art from the Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary eras.

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

This famous American art museum features two online exhibits through Google. The first is an exhibit of American fashion from 1740 to 1895, including many renderings of clothes from the colonial and Revolutionary eras. The second is a collection of works from Dutch Baroque painter Johannes Vermeer.

Musée d’Orsay, Paris

You can virtually walk through this popular gallery that houses dozens of famous works from French artists who worked and lived between 1848 and 1914. Get a peek at artworks from Monet, Cézanne, and Gauguin, among others.

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul

One of Korea’s popular museums can be accessed from anywhere around the world. Google’s virtual tour takes you through six floors of Contemporary art from Korea and all over the globe.

Pergamon Museum, Berlin

As one of Germany’s largest museums, Pergamon has a lot to offer – even if you can’t physically be there. This historical museum is home to plenty of ancient artifacts including the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and, of course, the Pergamon Altar.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Explore the masterworks from the Dutch Golden Age, including works from Vermeer and Rembrandt. Google offers a Street View tour of this iconic museum, so you can feel as if you’re actually wandering its halls.

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Anyone who is a fan of this tragic, ingenious painter can see his works up close (or, almost up close) by virtually visiting this museum – the largest collection of artworks by Vincent van Gogh, including over 200 paintings, 500 drawings, and over 750 personal letters.

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

European artworks from as far back as the 8th Century can be found in this California art museum. Take a Street View tour to discover a huge collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, manuscripts, and photographs.

Uffizi Gallery, Florence

This less well-known gallery houses the art collection of one of Florence, Italy’s most famous families, the de'Medicis. The building was designed by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 specifically for Cosimo I de'Medici, but anyone can wander its halls from anywhere in the world.

MASP, São Paulo

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo is a non-profit and Brazil’s first modern museum. Artworks placed on clear perspex frames make it seem like the artwork is hovering in midair. Take a virtual tour to experience the wondrous display for yourself.

National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City

Built in 1964, this museum is dedicated to the archaeology and history of Mexico’s pre-Hispanic heritage. There are 23 exhibit rooms filled with ancient artifacts, including some from the Mayan civilization.

Historical

Colonial Williamsburg

Washington, D.C.

Mount Vernon

Monticello

Gardens

Monet's Giverny

United States Botanic Garden

United Kingdom Gardens

Zoos and more!

Zoos and more!

Filed under: Virtual Vacations, Virtual Field Trips, Virtual National Park Tours, Virtual Museums Tours, Virtual Historical United States Landmarks Tours, Virtual Garden Tours, Virtual Zoo Tours, Virtual Theme Park Tours
Navigation
  • Virtual Events
  • Virtual Classes
  • Virtual Vacations
Upcoming Events
Reading with Skye and Friends! Jun 18, 2025 04:00 PM (US/Eastern) — Betsie Valley District Library
Reading with Skye and Friends! Jul 16, 2025 04:00 PM (US/Eastern) — Betsie Valley District Library
Previous events…
Upcoming events…
« May 2025 »
month-5
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
27 28 29 30 1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Location

Betsie Valley District Library Location Photo
Betsie Valley District LibraryMain Branch
14744 Thompson Ave., PO Box 185, Thompsonville, MI 49683
Phone 231.378.2716
Fax 231.378.2716

The Betsie Valley District Library welcomes you! 

We still have curbside service available! 
 
Our hours are:
Monday 11AM - 5PM,

Tuesday 11AM - 5PM

Wednesday 11AM - 7PM

Thursday 11AM - 5PM

Friday 11AM - 6PM

Saturday 10AM - 2PM

Closed Sunday

Dear Patrons, the Betsie Valley District Library Board meeting times have been changed to 5:00pm on the second Tuesday of the month. This change will be effective for all future Board meetings. We appreciate your understanding and all are welcome to attend. If you have any questions, please call the Library at 231-378-2716. 






Important Links

                Library Catalog

  card catalog


             Children's Catalog

Children's Catalog icon

 

     Michigan Electronic Library

  MeL Logo new

  Up North Digital Ebooks & More

 UpNorth Digital Collection logo with State of Michigan and Pine Tree

                 
                Or Use the Libby-
                  OverDrive App

Libby icon

     
          Transparent Language


Transparent Languages Icon

              
        BVDL's Youtube Channel

YouTube logo

Betsie Valley District Library
14744 Thompson Ave.
PO Box 185
Thompsonville, MI 49683
Tel. 231-378-2716, Fax 231-378-2716
bvdlibrary@acegroup.cc

  • Home
  • About Us
  • News & Events
  • Kids & Teens
  • eShelf & Research
  • Adult Services
  • Contact Us
  • Friends
  • What's New

Institute of Museum and Library Services link 

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

   UpNorth Digital Collection Logo with State of Michigan and a Pine Tree in a circle    Libby icon   Facebook blue logo  Michigan Activity Pass (MAP) logo picturing a blue and yellow hot air balloon illustration

Staff Login