100 places to go when you can’t leave the house

As someone who has struggled with leaving the house since having PTSD, I’ve always wanted to write this post. Leaving the house can be a logistical or emotional nightmare for so many of us and it takes a huge toll on our lives; impacting our ability to socialise, explore and feel connected to the wider world.

The effect it can have on your mental health is huge. Not being able to leave the house has made me feel hopeless and isolated and scared. My agoraphobia is rooted in trauma from domestic abuse, which means I’m not so much scared of “outside” as I am of strangers and crowds. I miss my friends and family and being able to pass people in the street without feeling like they might attack me.

This post isn’t going to magic any of that away. I wish I could make things easier for all of us, but I do hope that it can help you feel like you’re getting a small kind of change of scenery, just for a minute.

I’ve tried to make the places on this list as accessible as possible, although they do require an internet connection and device such as a smart phone, PC or tablet. They are all free to visit, but some require sign up or offer optional additional purchases. Of course, it isn’t the same as really visiting these places, but I find it better than not going at all. For added ambience, consider using a free sounds app like Rain, Rain to set the mood.

With the UK seemingly headed for another potential national lockdown and with many of us shielding or isolating, it seems like there has never been a better time to put this together. I hope you find something that appeals to you somewhere on this list. Stay safe.

Here are 100 places to visit from the comfort of your own home

1. Pay a virtual visit to Chester Zoo (or catch up on any of their previous virtual zoo days)
   
2. Follow the Otter Cave Hammock trail at the Everglades National Park, Florida
   
3. Visit Croatia! Take a guided tour of Croatia’s beauty spots on Google Earth.
   
4. Wander around (virtually) the UK’s National Gallery and feel inspired
   
5. Explore 23 exhibit rooms in Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology
   
6. Trek the Amazon Rainforest and appreciate how astoundingly beautiful this world can be.
   
7. See if you can catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights on this live webcam feed
   
8. Check out this Panda live cam. I swear he looked right at me.
   
9. Or this Panda Cam in Atlanta Zoo – because Panda’s are wonderful.
   
10. Space lovers can take a virtual tour of the moon in 4K courtesy of NASA
    
11. If you have Amazon’s Alexa in your home, you can explore a make believe land with her as a guide. Just say “Alexa, open the magic door”
    
12. Gasp at famous landmark’s on Google Street View like Russia’s Bolshoi Theatre
    
13. Ride It’s a Small World at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom without having to queue!
    
14. Or experience Animal Kingdom’s Expedition Everest in 360!
    
15. You can actually virtually walk through Disney World, if you’d like to explore the parks as a whole.
    
16. Breath taking scenes at Tembe Elephant Park in South Africa
    
17. I audibly GASPED when I saw this one. Hop over to the live feed of the Guide Dogs of America nursery cam. I’m sobbing. I’m not kidding, this post took me ages because I stopped to watch this for 45 minutes.
    
18. Travel back and forwards in time with the British Museum’s interactive world history timeline
    
19. Take in the sights and sounds of tropical birds at this fruit feeder live cam in Panama
    
20. Go on a complete tour of the Sydney Opera House.
    
21. Attend this lecture on feminism and botany (pay what you feel as a donation)
    
22. Virtually visit the Sistine Chapel. You can even zoom to take a closer look at that ceiling!
    
23. Explore volcanoes in Hawai’i. Who said lockdown meant you couldn’t have any excitement?
    
24. Walk around the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, South Korea
    
25. This YouTube channel streams images from the world’s most beautiful places in 4K 24 hours a day. It’s not as immersive as some of the other options but it’s certainly relaxing!
    
26. Go diving with Sea Lions in the channel islands!
    
27. Or whale watching in the Pacific ocean!
    
28. Explore the Street Art of Buenos Aires with audio.
    
29. Travel to Paris to wander the rooms of the Louvre. You can tour virtually with or without room descriptions!
    
30. Visit NASA and tour the Langley Research Centre. The tour is split into segments so you can even pop to the loo between visits.
    
31. Visit the National Women’s History Museum in Virginia and see online exhibits such as Women in the Olympics and Standing Up for Change
    
32. Take in the scenery at Abraham Lake in Canada on Google Earth
    
33. Make pasta with a real Italian grandma on the Pasta Grannies YouTube channel. Or just watch them do it
    
34. Get learning at a free history themed event.
    
35. Take the famous spiral staircase at the Guggenheim Museum in New York
    
36. Go underwater with sharks at Cape Fear, North Carolina
    
37. Visit Alaska and watch these Brown Bears hunt for fish in the river. So peaceful.
    
38. See the penguins being fed at Monterey Bay Aquarium every weekday at 10:30am (PT)
    
39. Watch this live Moon Jelly cam to see peaceful shots of Jellyfish swimming to music. Aaand relax…
    
40. You can actually walk around Edinburgh Castle, it’s magnificent!
    
41. Visit the penguins at San Diego Zoo! Probably the only link you’ll ever need.
    
42. Or visit their burrowing owls, I could watch this cam for hours trying to spot them!
    
43. Fly to Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum to see some of his most famous paintings.
    
44. Get creative at a virtual art class. Click here to see upcoming free classes.
    
45. Head to the Natural History Museum and attend one of their upcoming tours on Zoom.
    
46. Feel the glorious waves at the Banzai Pipeline – one of the most famous surfing spots in the world
    
47. Like Animal Crossing? Register for your ticket to the world’s first ever Animal Crossing Stand Up Comedy show!
    
48. While you’re in the New Horizon’s mood, why not tour this Forestcore animal crossing island with Katie. She has a couple of similar tour videos and they’re so cute!
    
49. Just drop yourself at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris courtesy of Google Arts & Culture. Wow, those views!
    
50. If you have a spare hour (and 6 minutes), you can go on an Architecture Tour of Chicago, complete with guide and everything!
    
51. Need more meal ideas for lockdown? Get inspired with comfort foods from around the world.
    
52. Take advantage of Zoopla’s virtual viewings and have a nosey in houses all over the world!
    
53. Looking for something a bit different? Explore the New Orleans Lafayette Cemetery in 360.
    
54. Experience this walkthrough of the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Inspiration for Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror film, The Shining.
    
55. Or even wander the Paris Catacombes. Try not to get lost!
    
56. I found this kitten rescue. Omg. So much cuteness, I can’t bear it.
57. Tour Niagara Falls in less than 10 minutes!
    
58. Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, take a virtual zip line over to the falls.
    
59. Visit the Rome and explore culturally significant historical sites like the Colosseum.
    
60. Take a leisurely stroll around Universal Orlando theme park without the long flight.
    
61. Or lose yourself in downtown San Francisco. I’ve always wanted to go!
    
62. Check out Window Swamp; a site that takes you to a strangers window sill at random to enjoy their view. You can go to a brand new window whenever you like. Hours of fun.
    
63. Watch this 360 movie from Japan’s National Tourism Board (it’s formatted for VR, if you have a headset)
    
64. Take in the views at Giant’s Causeway via the National Trust. Click the bottom corner button for sound effects – magnificent!
    
65. Explore Domica Cave in Slovakia, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.
    
66. Soak up these glorious views from the Maldives. Use your mouse to rotate the camera. Hands up who else is living in the snow and missing the sunshine right now!
    
67. Experience this train ride in Utrecht from the driver’s perspective.
    
68. Or why not experience some of the most beautiful train journeys in the world in Norway. The scenery is absolutely stunning.
    
69. If you’re really missing being up in the air, you can watch this Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul to London in its entirety. Full disclosure: it is 12 hours long!
    
70. Watch last year’s New Year Vienna concert in full.
    
71. Or grab some refreshments and pretend your watching the Foo Fighters live!
    
72. Climb this 75 meter tree with no rope. It’s 360 degrees, so don’t forget to look down. (NOT recommended, if you’re scared of heights)
    
73. Experience 360 views of Angel Falls in Venezuela. This is such a beautiful video.
    
74. Take a look inside Chichen Itza with National Geographic.
    
75. Explore Jane Austen’s House from your own home and imagine what it would be like to sit and write in it. Maybe pen your own novel?
    
76. Tour one of these Luxury hotels in the UK and maybe book a Staycation??
    
77. Visit the Angkor Wat in Cambodia on Google Earth, originally built as a Hindu Temple complex but now a place of Buddhist worship, it’s also known as the “city of temples”.
    
78. Pay a visit to the Taj Mahal and absorb the iconic “crown jewel of India”
    
79. Check out this English Heritage tour of Stone Henge and the beautiful golden sky.
    
80. Experience an astronaut’s view of the Earth in 360 for the first time!
    
81. Learn about fireflies and then watch them glow in this virtual Fireflies event.
    
82. Visit this exhibition of Cultural Expression from the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
    
83. Follow National Georgraphic as they look for the real Lost City of Atlantis in this full length video.
    
84. Explore the great barrier reef with Sir David Attenborough.
    
85. Watch deers eat at a trough on this dedicated “Deer Pantry” live feed.
    
86. Tour this cottage because cottages are absolutely gorgeous and I can’t get enough of them!
    
87. Wrap up warm and breathe in this scenic relaxation film of a Winter Wonderland.
    
88. Alternatively, fly over to Greece to experience the same kind of relaxing vibes but this time with sun!!
    
89. Head over to one of the many virtual tours of Yosemite Valley and imagine you are hiking.
    
90. Got a spare 15 minutes? I know you do.Take this quick 360 hop around the world.
    
91. Learn what it would be like to go deep into the Mariana Trench.
    
92. Just chill at Malibu Beach. Really, mix your self a drink and let go.
    
93. Or just kick back and pretend you’re somewhere hip and happening with over an hour of Jazz Bar sounds. I miss cocktails with my friends.
    
94. Trek Petra with a guide (best experienced with headphones)
    
95. Take a floor by floor walkthrough tour of the National Aquarium.
    
96. Watch Koala Bears at San Diego Zoo on their live cams. You can give an optional donation to the zoo, if you want to support them.
    
97. Imagine living in this tiny house as you are shown around!
    
98. Download the Chile360 app to virtually explore some of Chile’s natural beauty like Easter Island and the Atacama Desert.
    
99. Take in the world from the absolutely incredible Machu Picchu, one of the new wonders of the world.
    
100. And, finally, climb Mount Everest the easiest way ever. By cheating and going in a helicopter. And then cheating again and not even really being there.

Travel is a privilege. I think 2020 has reminded many of us of that. While I have struggled to leave the house since having PTSD, I have also been lucky enough to experience trips, days out and holidays in my life. Not everyone has the opportunities I’ve had and I’m so grateful for them.

I hope we can all get back to exploring safely soon. Until then, I’m comforted by the fact that we can experience so much of the world’s beauty from our own homes. If you feel ready to start taking the first steps to utilising your own outdoor space, I recommend learning about connecting with nature through attracting wildlife to your own garden.

I know it might make some people sad to digitally go to the places they long for, but I think on balance it’s nice still to get virtually out and about.

What’s your favourite place on the list? Is there somewhere you’re planning to go or just longing for?

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