The UK's best online tours are raved about for a reason

Cyber travellers can enjoy a full 360-degree tour of the Houses of Parliament in London. Photo / 123rf

Charles Philip Arthur George. Prince of Wales. Heir to the British throne. And as of today, royal birthday boy.

To celebrate Prince Charles turning 73, we're looking 18,695km north to the United Kingdom and sharing the country's wealth of online tours and live events.

Grab your hot-buttered crumpets, a cup of strong tea and let's delve into the country's crown jewels – quite literally. We're starting with the Tower of London. While we can't put you face-to-face with four-billion pounds' worth of precious gems, we can direct you to youvisit.com/tour/meadk for a 360-degree exploration of London's iconic castle, its towers and ominous torture chambers.

By the same token, cyber travellers can enjoy a full 360-degree tour of the Houses of Parliament at parliament.uk/visiting/virtualtour/. Imagine yourself shouting "hear hear" (or the opposite) in the House of Commons Chamber, plod virtually through the ornate Royal Gallery and remember to scroll your arrow to "look up" - the ceilings are spectacular.

If you're more enthused by animal shenanigans, Chester Zoo is well-known for being the UK's best zoo (voted by TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice™ awards), home to 35,000 animals and for running highly entertaining virtual zoo visits that last the entire day. Keep an eye on chesterzoo.org/virtual-zoo-2/ for updates, or to find the full video playlist and nonstop antics from previous Live Days, visit youtube.com/c/chesterzoo/live.

Home to 35,000 animals, Chester Zoo runs highly-entertaining virtual zoo visits that last the entire day. Photo / 123rf

In keeping with the Natural History Museum's trove of exhibits, online offerings are just as rich. Log on to nhm.ac.uk/visit/virtual-museum.html for a guided tour of Hintze Hall, the premises of a 25m blue whale skeleton and rocks as old as the solar system, narrated by none other than Sir David Attenborough. The museum also runs "Lates Online" for all those wishing to brush up on their scientific nous. They are held on the last Thursday of every month at 6.30pm, which for Kiwis this November 25 equates to a 7.30am start and might mean ditching your g&t for a strong flat white.

In keeping with the Natural History Museum's trove of exhibits, online offerings are just as rich. Photo / 123rf

Other live events you can tap into include the Rock 'n' Roll London Virtual Tour, tracing the likes of David Bowie, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones to studios, streets and dusty clubs where musical greats were made. Airing tomorrow from 8am NZT, purchase tickets at bit.ly/3mS3C8Q for £10/ $19. Alternatively, look to the British Library (www.bl.uk/events) for dozens of more online events, including Britain's only comedy book festival, Chortle, scheduled for November 27 and with the likes of Harry Hill to entertain.