Hop on this virtual tour of India’s most iconic stonework sites, stopping at the Taj Mahal, Hampi, and more...

The Taj Mahal is known all over the world as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, built in the 17th century CE. When looking at this marble mausoleum, you might notice that it looks the same from all sides, except the one facing River Yamuna. This side was especially embellished as it was the main entrance for the emperor.

This ancient village is home to many religious, civil, and military ruins from the Vijayanagara Empire. Although you can no longer try this yourself, the solid stone pillars built at the Vitthala Temple produce different musical sounds when they are tapped.

After being rediscovered in 1819, the Ajanta caves have become known as the birthplace of Indian art. Among these 32 Buddhist caves you can find beautiful paintings and intricate stone carvings.

The Chand Baori is one of the largest stepwells in India, built over a thousand years ago in the Abhaneri village of Rajasthan. To get to the bottom, you would have to follow the narrow stone steps 20 meters into the ground, which have been designed in a precise geometrical pattern.

This sun temple was built in the 13th century CE and shows the stunning work of Kalinga architecture. The temple stands on a base with 24 intricately carved wheels, four of which can still be used as sundials today.

The Great Stupa is the oldest surviving Buddhist complex, constructed in the 3rd century BCE. Uncover stories about Buddhism at Sanchi, told through the stonework carvings around the structure.

Grab your brushes and your beach towel, it's time to take an arty trip to the shore! Scroll on to discover some of art history's best beaches, then step through the frame with Street View and use the arrows to explore!

Winslow Homer was one of the foremost painters of 19th-century America. He specialised in seaside subjects, and often painted scenes from his own vacations: from hardy fisherman out at sea to lazy days on East Hampton Beach, Long Island.

The long, flat expanse of sand makes it one of the best beaches in the whole country. And it's no surprise that East Hampton has long attracted artists and elites looking to get away from it all.

Joaquín Sorolla's summers were most often spent at the coast, and he became a painter of the new bourgeois fashion of visiting the seaside. This canvas, painted during the summer of 1910 on the beach at Zarautz, Spain, shows the whole Sorolla family relaxing under an awning.

Zarautz beach lies on the northern coast of Gipuzkoa, Spain. It received royal approval in 19th Century when Queen Isabella II of Spain made Zarautz her summer getaway. Since then, this 2.5km stretch of golden sand been known as the 'Queen of Beaches'.

Sorolla also painted scenes typical of daily life, such as this painting of a fisherwomen with her son. She seems to be waiting for someone, looking outside the painting and shading her eyes from the sun's dazzling glare.

While fisherman no longer land their boats here, the sun still shines over Valencia. Today you're more likely to find tourists sunning themselves under the palm trees and on the fine sands of Malvarrosa Beach.

Paul Signac was highly enthusiastic about the atmosphere and light in Cassis, a small fishing village on the coast of southern France. In a letter to Vincent van Gogh, Signac wrote of, 'white, blue, orange, harmonically dispersed in pretty undulations.'

This is the same view today. The ancient town of Cassis remains a popular resort for people across Europe, the coast is famous for its rugged cliffs and hidden inlets, and the town for is renowned for its white and rosé wines.

After a dinner party at artist Peder Severin Krøyer's house in 1892, Anna Ancher and Marie Krøyer went for a walk together along the beach, to enjoy the 'blue hour' of the summer's evening - when the sky and sea seem to merge. The next year, Krøyer recreated that scene in paint.

Skagen is the northernmost town in the country, and its port remains busy to this day, bringing in tons of herring as well as tourists. The dunes of the southern beach, or Sonderstrand, are a haven for wildlife, and make the perfect spot for an evening wander.

There aren’t many paintings that are evocative enough to have inspired entire films, but The Girl with a Pearl Earring is one of them. Painted in 1665 by Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. The Girl has captured the imaginations of artists, poets, writers and filmmakers for generations.  

In 1999, it inspired a book of the same name by Tracy Chevalier. This was then turned into a movie starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. The film brought The Girl with a Pearl Earring to a whole new audience and cemented its place in painting legend.   

La Mariée, by Russian-French artist Marc Chagall, features prominently in Romantic Comedy blockbuster Notting Hill. The 1999 film contains a scene where Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant’s characters discuss a poster of the painting that's displayed in Grant’s home.

Later on, Julia Robert’s character, Anna Scott, presents Grant’s character with the original painting as part of a declaration of her love. Chagall used similar colors and ideas in a number of paintings, including this one, Dons mon Pays, from 1943.

As any fan of Frida Kahlo’s work will know, her self-portraits are incredibly powerful. So it was no surprise that a number of these paintings were featured in 2002 film biopic Frida. 

The 2002 film stars Salma Hayek as Kahlo, and Alfred Molina as Frida's husband, the Mexican painter and revolutionary, Diego Rivera.

A classic depiction of leisure and relaxation, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte was painted by Georges Seurat in 1884. The image aptly features in the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, another famous work about taking time out. 

The pointillist painting was specifically selected. As Ferris Bueller writer and director John Hughes says, “I always thought this painting was sort of like making a movie, the pointillist style. You don’t have any idea what you’ve made until you step back from it.”

One of the most famous Impressionist works ever created, Claude Monet’s Water Lilies were brought to an even wider audience by the film Titanic. The painting was supposedly brought onto the ship by Rose, Kate Winslet’s character in the film. 

Rose’s love interest, Jack, admires the watery scene before drawing his famous sketch of Rose naked. The painting can be seen in the background as Jack gets to work. The image is part of a long series of related works painted at Monet’s home in Giverny.