Many people around the world are fascinated with British history in general, and the history of The Tower in general. However, a large percentage of those with interest may never have the opportunity to visit London. The Tower of London Virtual Tour offers the capability to virtually experience a visit to the Tower of London through photographs, words and music.

The Tower of London Virtual Tour provides a fascinating and well-balanced look at this famous historical site. However, there have been few changes to the site for several years. Although the history of The Tower may not have changed, there are several website enhancements that could be added to make the virtual experience more satisfying.

The site offers precisely what you would expect given the title. It is a virtual tour of the Tower of London. The tour starts with the Tower’s location and other nearby attractions, including the Tower Bridge and Tower Pier. Pictures and text then relay the story of the Tower; that is, why it was built and how it is structured. From there, the virtual tour presents a series of photographs arranged in the order in which a visitor would most likely proceed.

The tour includes pictures and information about some of the most popular and well-known features of the Tower, like the Yeoman Warders (or beefeaters as they are more commonly known). London Tower is actually a collection of towers. Each of these towers, their history and their significance are covered in turn. There is also ample information about the arms and armour that are displayed throughout London Tower.

After a description of the physical location, the tour takes you to the crown jewels, one of the most famous and often-visited collections of jewels, swords, crowns and scepters in the world. The London Tower Virtual Tour includes a detailed description of the Ceremony of the Keys, a nightly ritual of locking the Tower that has taken place nearly unchanged for the last 700 years. The virtual tour concludes with a few more pages of photos.

In addition to the main virtual tour, the site offers several maps of the Tower of London and a kid’s tour led by the character Reginald (Rascal) Raven. There is an additional area of children’s activities related to the Tower at “Rascal’s Place.” Finally, the site includes user-contributed “Tower Tales.”

The information presented on the Tower of London Virtual Tour is organized in a very straightforward and easy-to-understand arrangement. There is one main page laid out in a single column. Site visitors can return to this page from any other page by clicking on a tower icon. Virtual tourists advance through the tour by clicking on a flag located at the bottom right of each page. There is almost no confusion about where to click next.

For people who have an interest in the Tower of London, but who will probably never visit, the Tower of London Virtual Tour provides a quite acceptable experience. Those who plan an actual visit in the future may also find the site a good way to orient themselves and plan for a more enriching real world visit.

The best thing about this site is the ease of navigation. Virtual pathways are clearly marked. Knowing what to click and where to click never seems to be a problem. The site is also very complete. It includes a full range of information about the Tower of London and its history. Once a virtual tour has been completed, there should be few, if any, unanswered questions.

Unfortunately, the site is a little hampered by an archaic look. Today’s web is all about motion and visitor interaction. If the site could be updated without losing its simple charm, it could become even more useful. However, even in its present form, I found it useful, and you might too.

Complete information is provided in a way that is simple to navigate, but the site could use some updating.

Our rating: 3.5/5

The museum’s focus has always been to develop and collect modernist art. Today, MoMA’s massive collection includes works of architecture and design, drawings, painting, sculpture, photography, prints, illustrated books, film, and electronic media. There is also an incorporated library with more than 300,000 items related to modern art and artists, including primary source materials on the history of modern art.

Prospective visitors, students, scholars and modern art lovers share a need for information regarding the collections, visiting hours, current and future exhibitions, and research resources. The MoMA website provides extensive information on the museum’s collections. Information for visitors includes opening hours, guidelines for access to different areas, tips for touring the museum and current ticket prices. Museum tickets are sold by phone through Ticketmaster and online via Ticketweb. Guides to educational and research resources are provided as well.

MoMA.org is a well-designed but surprisingly conservative website. It is easy to navigate and gives the visitor quick access to essential information. The MoMA site offers a calendar of events and exhibitions, information about current and upcoming exhibitions, and an opportunity to browse MoMA’s world-class modern art and architecture collections. Internet visitors can learn important information about real-world visits to the museum. There is a description of MoMA’s history and purpose, as well as complete coverage of the museum’s education and research resources.

Anyone who is interested in the collections and exhibitions at The Museum of Modern Art can benefit from the site. Prospective visitors to the New York area who want to see this important and famous museum will find what they need to know. Students and researchers who need more information about modern art or modern art history will discover many helpful resources.

MoMA.org is organized in a fairly traditional, with major headings in a left-hand column. Choices for navigation include a Calendar of Events, Exhibitions Schedule, The Collection, Visit MoMA, About MoMA, Education, International Program, and Research Resources. Visitors can also browse Publications, learn how to Support MoMA and shop in the Online Store.

Exceptional features of the MoMA site include the easy accessibility of a wide range of information on the front page. Regardless of your purpose for visiting MoMA.org, you should be able to navigate directly to pages of interest from the home page.

Website visitors are also able to browse the museum’s collection online. Items from the museum’s collection are available for viewing from anywhere in the world. Quick browsing can be accomplished by viewing six items per page. Visitors can also focus on single items, where they will find multiple pictures and text descriptions. For some items, views from several different perspectives are offered.

The MoMA site also has several online sections that focus on specific projects of the museum. For example, users can follow a link to a section of the site devoted to the conservation work on Picasso’s painting “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” (1907).

MoMA.org is good, but not perfect. For The Museum of Modern Art, the site seemed a little plain. Considering the museum’s focus on modern art and cutting-edge design, the website’s design seemed somewhat dated and a tad conservative. However, this may serve to make modern art more accessible to those who might otherwise not be interested.

Another shortcoming in the current site is that when browsing the collection, several images were not available. Thus, the promise of being able to browse MoMA’s complete collection was not completely fulfilled. A surprising number of items were accompanied by an “Image Not Available” box instead of a photograph. Of course, if you plan to visit the museum in person, this is only gratification delayed. But for those who will likely never travel to New York, a photo of each item is essential.

Overall, the MoMA site provides everything needed for visitors, students, researchers and modern art lovers. MoMA.org is a complete resource destination for The Museum of Modern Art. The design is clean and fast, albeit a bit traditional. A little bit of updating or a creative face lift would certainly not be out of the question.

Our rating: recommended resource, 4.5 out of 5

Although everyone can recognize the Sydney Opera House, to actually visit this location both tourists and Sydney residents alike need a way to access up-to-date information about current and future events. Fortunately, its website offers complete information –including dates and times– for events and concerts scheduled for presentation at the Opera House. Tickets are also available for purchase online.

With its innovative design and clean operation, the website provides a world-class online experience and the highest level of online convenience for all visitors. The site is powered by Hewlett-Packard and behaves just as you would expect with such heavyweight corporate backing by a technology company.

The Sydney Opera House website is clearly designed to showcase visitors’ two main activities: finding out what’s playing and buying tickets for performances. Visitors to Sydney and residents can benefit a great deal from visiting this site. Anyone who wants to attend a show or perhaps tour this famous building can find information and arrange the details of their visit.

One of the best things about the website is the way that scheduled events are presented: the home page shows upcoming events by displaying virtual posters on a virtual wall. It’s remarkably easy to scan various future events and find one (or more) of interest. You can access additional information about a particular performance or concert simply by hovering over each “poster” with your mouse.

Another positive feature of the Sydney Opera House website is the way that a useful search box appears on nearly every page of the site. Although the site is laid out in a very intuitive, easy-to-navigate manner, what is intuitive for some may be confusing to others. This can be true with any website. The search box always seems to be close at hand, so finding something related to your keywords of interest is easy to accomplish.

It isn’t often that one cannot find negatives about a particular website, but honestly, when it comes to the site of the Sydney Opera House, there seems to be nothing left out and nothing extra. Even impatient surfers will be impressed by the way that every page loads quickly without errors or glitches of any kind.

The site provides a quick and easy portal to upcoming events in Sydney. Plans can be made and tickets can be purchased from anywhere in the world. Whether you are planning a trip to the Sydney Opera House or simply want to witness the state of the art in website design for a performing arts venue, this is a website that you really must visit.

This website receives our highest recommendation, 5/5. If there were more than five points, they would be awarded without hesitation.

It is a steel-aluminum model of an iron molecule magnified 165 billion times. However, as you will soon discover, it’s much more than a simple model. Standing at 335 feet high, the Atomium actually allows visitors to enter and view the interior.

The introductory page of the Atomium website grabs your interest immediately with the tag line “the most astonishing building in the world.” Who wouldn’t want to find out more? After choosing your preferred language (French, Dutch or English), the home page opens to offer a wide range of options.

A true highlight of the website is a message from the creator of the Atomium, Mr. A. Waterkeyn, relating his ideas behind the design and engineering of the fascinating structure. Initial concerns about the effects of wind and how to handle the expected large numbers of visitors are covered here, and his account finishes with essential statistics about the Atomium.

The Atomium site offers more than 400 photos of this unique building, giving website visitors the opportunity for an extensive virtual tour. However, the photos also serve to increase interest and desire for a visit in person. The site’s photo album is divided into major sections, with easy navigation of the available pictures within each section.

There is an extensive “Info” section that gives complete details on the Atomium’s opening hours and entrance fees. You can also easily access directions and maps for finding the Atomium. Another information section provides details on reservation and cancellation policies. One particularly helpful page is called “Practical Info,” which presents information about eating, access by persons with limited mobility and other tips to make your visit to the Atomium enjoyable and trouble-free.

The Atomium frequently hosts a variety of art, design and social commentary exhibitions. The website provides complete descriptions of recent, current and upcoming exhibitions. Although the structure is certainly worthy of a visit in its own right, the interesting and provocative exhibitions add to the attractiveness of the Atomium.

A section designed for use by the media, information about supporting companies and a quick note about the Atomium store round out the site options.

The history of the Brussels World’s Fair, for which the Atomium was constructed, is especially interesting. The 1958 exposition was the first held after World War II. The Atomium was actually never intended to survive past the end of the fair, but its uniqueness and the continuing interest that it generated persuaded officials to keep the structure alive. It was renovated in 2003 and continues to be a distinctive feature of the Brussels area. The Atomium is a major tourist destination. After its reopening in early 2006 (after the renovation), the Atomium welcomed its millionth visitor a mere 18 months later.

Overall, the Atomium’s website is well-designed, refreshingly clean, and easy to navigate. It is infused with a feeling of European design and reflects the optimism and sense of discovery that dominated the 1950s.

Our verdict: highly recommended resource, 5/5

Administered by the Republic of Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Topkapi Palace website offers adequate information for any tourist planning a visit, as well as a respectable virtual tour for those whose travel plans may never include Istanbul.

Topkapi Palace was constructed in 1478 and was the official residence of various Ottoman sultans for the next 380 years. The Palace also served as the center of state administration during this period of time. In the mid-1800s, Topkapi Palace began a new life as a museum. A parade of local citizens and foreign travelers came to marvel at the intricate construction, to peer inside the forbidden harems and to admire the vast collection of well-preserved antiques.

When you first load the website, you’ll probably notice right away that it is presented in Turkish. For those whose Turkish is a little rusty, there’s a handy “English” link prominently displayed in the upper left. Navigational choices are shown across the top and bottom of the webpage, including links to history, general information, transportation, sections, virtual tour, photo gallery and contact.

The history section relates the story of how the palace came to be and its significance. There’s much to learn here, although the translation is a little rough. My favorite mis-translations are instances where “antiques” are referred to as “antics.” The “general information” area provides the essentials on opening and closing times (the palace is open every day except Tuesdays and the first day of each religious festival) and admission prices (there are free days throughout the year).

The “Transportation” page gives directions that should allow most travelers to successfully locate the Palace from several standard locations around Istanbul.

The area of the website entitled “Sections” provides a map and detailed information about various parts of the palace, which currently covers more than 80,000 square meters. There is the main portion of the palace itself, along with a dizzying array of harems.

Perhaps the real jewel of this palace website is the Virtual Tour. This page lists a complete selection of locations on the left. When a palace location is chosen, a photo loads on the right. But it’s much more than a standard photo–it’s a 360-degree virtual view that you can rotate with your mouse to your heart’s content, exploring all angles of that particular place.

The Photo Gallery displays a selection of photos including towers, courtyards, pavilions and doorways to various harems. One heads-up on the gallery–the navigation links are in Turkish. But trust the arrows, they’ll point you in the right direction.

Overall, the Topkapi Palace website provides all the information you’ll need to plan a visit to this important cultural location. And if you can’t visit, take a whirl through the virtual tour and you may be able to implant some virtual memories that are almost as good as the real thing.

Our verdict: highly recommended resource, 4.5/5

Their website is offered in English, Spanish and Catalan.  The homepage mentions that they are currently working on a new website, though the current one continues to provide all the visiting and other relevant information about the cathedral.

The basic information about the basilica is available on the site, such as opening hours, tours and charges.  Each of these are links found at the top right of the webpage next to a letter “i” signifying information.  While not easily noticeable at first, the links provide the information in a very straightforward and understandable manner.  The charges for visiting the cathedral and the associated museum are clearly stated for all types of visitors.  It also provides information on the audio-guides, guided tours, and group tours, along with a very clear description of exactly what the tickets buy.

Relevant information about the cathedral itself, the architecture and the architect are found on the left-hand side of the page under the headings “The Temple, History”, “What can you see”, “Architecture”, and “Services.”  There is a lot of useful information to be found under these links.  It gives great detail about the history of the temple, the architect Antoni Gaudi, and all those who have helped build and design the temple over the years.

The “What can you see” link provides a virtual tour of both the constructed part of the building and the part that is still under construction.  It also provides information about the permanent exhibitions on display.  Temporal exhibitions are also listed, though the information available at the time of writing appears to be from 2004 and hasn’t been updated, thus negating its usefulness.

The “Architecture” link provides you with information on the architectural style and also links to the Work Reports associated with the building’s construction.

Finally, the “Services” link takes you to the shop, the archives, the press contact information, and the Friends of the Temple.  The latter page seems to provide no information apart from a few pictures, but it turns out that the arrow (flashing discretely) is actually a link to a page with information on becoming a Friend…

The website, though it has minor problems, provides a great deal of information that would be useful to those doing research on the temple or those interested in visiting the temple. Perhaps it is appropriate that the website for one of the best-known unfinished cathedrals remains under construction as well.

Our verdict: recommended resource, 4/5

It was designed and developed to support the understanding of different human cultures through cross-cultural investigation.

The museum’s website is presented primarily in English, except for the page with visiting hours, contact information, and details on how to find the museum, which is offered in English, German, French, Japanese, Hindi, Spanish, Italian, and Polish.  This page includes detailed information about how to visit, tours, school tours, floor plans and the exhibitions in each room, and much more.  It is a very useful resource for those who plan to visit the museum. 

The layout of the rest of the website is also nicely done.  The top bar provides quick access to various features, including information about the museum’s exhibitions.  The “What’s On” section includes descriptions of the exhibitions that are currently displayed at the museum, upcoming exhibitions with the exact time of their display, and the charge for special exhibitions. 

The “Explore” section of the website gives you options to view information from the perspective of different themes like money, time, writing and animals. You can also explore the museum’s collections organized by galleries or world cultures.

The site includes a “Research” section with information targeted to professionals and senior level academic researchers, while the “Education” page is a perfect launching point for younger students, teacher and families.

Further options allow you to browse information about the museum itself and allow you to research and learn about the art that is currently being displayed in the museum’s exhibitions.  Each piece of art found on the website also has its corresponding room number, allowing you to find it easily in the museum.

Finally, you can join the museum if desired, as well as browse in the online shop for games, museum replicas and various gift items.

Our verdict: highly recommended resource, 5/5

The Rijksmuseum’s website is offered in English and Dutch and the basic visiting information is also provided in German, French, Italian, and Spanish.  The website’s layout is divided into two main areas that allow for easy browsing. 

Upon first loading the webpage you are presented with the following options: Visitor Information, Collection, Exhibition, News and Publications. These basic options will probably provide most casual browsers with the essential information they’re looking for. In fact, there is a large amount of information to be found under these headings. 

The visiting information is detailed and provides travelers with the necessary facts for visiting the museum, such as ticket prices and the times the museum is open.  Searching the collection is only available in Dutch, although there is a feature that allows you to explore 1000 of the major exhibitions.

Upon first glance this seems to be all the information provided, but by scrolling down you are presented with more in-depth headings that link to more specific information.  The headings are as follows: Research, Education, Group and Tour Operators, Sponsoring, Press Room, Organisation, and Receptions (although Receptions is provided only in Dutch).

These headings typically cater to a specific crowd.  For example, while the “Press Room” can provide information to all who are curious, it is tailored for journalists. You can find museum press releases on current and future exhibitions, as well as archived information. Those interested in arranging for group tours, supporting the museum financially, or holding receptions at the museum will find all the information necessary in this second group of links.

The website also provides some more unique features such as the “Rijkswidget.” (Widgets are small computer programs that usually perform one single task.) The Rijkswidget installs on your computer (Windows and Mac versions are available) and makes it possible for you to get your daily dose of art objects from the collection. You can also learn more about each work and the painter.

Finally, there is a webshop for those interested in buying re-creations of the artwork found in the museum itself. 

The overall layout of the website is a feast for the senses, with full implementation of sound, movement and interactivity.  The link to the homepage also allows you to click any of the above listed main headings that are found on the homepage through a pulldown menu that appears when the mouse hovers over the home button. This is an excellent feature which keeps you from having to go to the homepage unnecessarily and wasting time.

Our verdict: highly recommended resource, 5/5

The museum’s official site is available in French, English, and Japanese.

First, it contains information on the museum itself, its history, its garden and tuileries.

Next, there is information about the collection: some 35,000 works of art, displayed in over 60,000 square meters of exhibition space. There is a “kaleidoscope” with a list of visual themes, and an overview of the four online databases that can be accessed through the web site:

• The Atlas describing the works of art exhibited at the museum
• The illustrated Inventory of the Department of Prints and Drawings, a catalogue of the museum’s 140,000 works on paper
• The La Fayette Database of American Art, presenting the more than 1,700 works produced by United States artists that entered the national collections of France before 1940
• The Joconde, with 120,000 descriptions of drawings, prints, and paintings from the 7th century to the present day, from the collections of over sixty French museums

Then there’s an overview of past, current and future exhibitions; information on the Auditorium and the lectures and symposia, readings and performances held there; and an overview of the other activities at the Louvre, such as guided tours, workshops, and classes.

Finally, the web site contains practical information for visitors, e.g., opening hours and admission fees, and online stores where one can buy both tickets and museum-related items, such as books, DVDs, and casts of sculptures.

Our verdict: highly recommended resource, 5/5.