This small Canadian town sits under the aurora oval, making it
one of the best places in the world to view the aurora borealis (aka the Northern
Lights), the phenomenon in which magnetospheric particles interact
with solar wind. The feed streams 24/7, but you’re best tuning in
around 3am GMT to see the spectacle live from your living room.
Intrigued? Visit See the Aurora, which curates webcams from the
Shetlands to Svalbard and beyond.

While closed to visitors, the park is beckoning us to virtually
admire the Yosemite Falls, goggle at the Half Dome rock formation
from the Yosemite Valley or climb the Sierra Nevada mountain range
(aching feet, not required) through its real-time webcams. For guided, interactive
tours, head to Google Arts & Culture, which takes you to
the extremes of the US’s national parks, from the Hawaii Volcanoes
and Bryce Canyon to Alaska’s icy Kenai Fjords and the spectacular
Carlsbad Caverns, where calcite formations decorate caves nestled
in New Mexico’s Guadalupe Mountains. Use your headphones for full
effect.

It’s the time of year when this bohemian seaside resort should
be at its very best, with swimmers frolicking on the pebbled
shores, the air tinged with vinegar-soaked chips (okay, a little
weed too) and the rainbow roar of Pride. Nevertheless, it’s always
bright in Brighton. Procure a stick of rock and gaze over the pier
courtesy of the Queens Hotel webcam. Counting seagulls is a
brilliant boredom breaker.

Spot the big five and rare birds from the Nkorho Bush Lodge, an area of African Bushveld famed
for diverse wildlife thanks to its border with the Kruger National
Park. What’s great about this webcam is its infrared tech, making
it ideal for spotting animals that rule the nocturnal roost. Like
this? Join wildlife enthusiasts on Africam or spirit yourself to the forests of
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where lenses train in on
GRACE gorilla sanctuary.

If a virtual safari isn’t your jam, watch snow monkeys taking a
dip in hot springs at Jigokudani Monkey Park in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture,
say a socially distanced “hi” to rescued cubs at Switzerland’s
Arosa Bear Sanctuary, tune in to Palma
Aquarium‘s live-streaming sessions or nip down under, where New
South Wales’ Australian Reptile Park invites you to feeding time
with crocodiles, dingoes and koalas. Explore.org is the world’s largest live
nature-cam network – head here to croon over kittens in California,
watch pandas in China’s Wolong Grove Panda Yard or take a dip with
orcas in British Columbia.

Italy is among the countries worst hit by the pandemic. With
lockdown measures in place, its cities are quieter than ever – and
arguably even more beautiful in tranquility. Be transported by
I Love You Venice, which has several webcams dotted
around La Serenissima, from Rialto Bridge via the Grand Canal to St
Mark’s Basin. Most feeds are serenaded by classical music.
Bellissimo.

At 7,500 years old, the Arenal Volcano is Costa Rica’s youngest
and most famous volcano. It’s in a dormant phase at the moment, but
you can tune in to the observatory’s webcam to see spews of gas and water.
All fired up? Graduate to the BBC’s Volcano Live page where you’ll find a selection
of the world’s best live volcano webcams, that include Popocatépetl
in Mexico, White Island/ Whakaari volcano in New Zealand and
Sicily’s Stromboli.

Kudos if you snag a screenshot of Nessie when swooning over the
mirrored waters of Scotland’s Loch Ness on this award-winning
live cam. While it’s online 24/7, the website notes: “During
night hours the image is black, but you may see UFO lights as the
area is also world-famous for extraterrestrial visits.” If,
however, it’s a glimpse of the wild Highlands you’re hankering
after, head to the Mountain Weather Information Service, where brooding,
real-time images feature Aonach Mor, Ben Nevis and the Cairngorms.

Stretching 6,000km across northern China, the Great Wall ranks
among Mexico’s Chichen Itza and Petra in Jordan as one of the New
Seven Wonders of the World. The China Guide invites you on a guided,
digital romp along the 10km stretch between Jinshanling and
Simatai, which crosses the border between Beijing and Hebei.

The core of the Big Apple is eerily quiet, with its bedazzled
billboards advertising shows we can’t currently attend. Check it
out on EarthCam. Alternatively, take a virtual foray
to Tokyo where the Shibuya Crossing – one of the world’s busiest
intersections, where around 3,000 people cross during peak times –
is far from deserted, but shows people socially distancing
nonetheless. If it’s more of New York City you’d like to explore,
we suggest the Statue of Liberty’s TorchCam; the general public haven’t been
permitted here since 1916.

Throw on your swimming costume, whip up a caipirinha, plunge
your feet in a washing-up bowl filled with tepid water and get this
real-time stream of Rio’s famed beach on the
big screen for some at-home escapism. Live Beaches
also has a comprehensive selection of cams from the US’s prettiest
shorelines – Key West, Santa Monica, Waikiki Beach – as well as
lenses zoomed in on beaches of Europe and the rest of the Americas.
We’ll be spending the rest of lockdown overlooking the Bay of Naples.

Google Arts & Culture is a fantastic resource for exploring
not just the world’s greatest museums and galleries, but its
landmarks too. Okay, these aren’t live-streams per se, but through
the platform’s interactive tours and 360-degree mapping you can see
the Taj Mahal from a new perspective along with
Kyoto’s Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Machu Picchu, the Great Pyramid of Giza and the
Roman Colosseum. You won’t even have to dodge any selfie sticks.

When cabin fever gets too much, get some perspective courtesy of
the International Space Station, which offers views of the planet
as part of its HD Earth Viewing Experiment, often accompanied by
audio conversations between the crew and Mission Control. The ISS
orbits Earth every 90 minutes, so you’ll see a sunrise or sunset
every 45 minutes. Keep your eyes peeled for bolts of lighting or
clusters of city lights too.