Extended Reality (XR) is changing how we explore heritage and transforming cultural experiences. Thanks to immersive technologies, museums and heritage sites can create more engaging, inclusive and memorable visits. Explore the different forms of XR - and what they can do for you.
This post was written by Agathe Le Riche-Maugis, Head of Digital Engagement and Coordinator of the Arts and Cultural Education Resource Centre, Bibracte, France.
Extended Reality (XR) brings together immersive technologies that enhance our perception of the real world by integrating digital content. Whether it's 3D objects, video or audio, virtual characters or simulated environments, these tools offer new ways to experience cultural heritage.
But what exactly is XR? It includes three main forms: Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR). Each offers a different level of immersion, and distinct use cases.
Augmented Reality overlays digital content onto the physical environment. Accessible via smartphones and tablets, it displays visual information, particularly in the form of 3D models, and text on screen without disconnecting the user from the real world. It’s an ideal tool for visualising lost heritage, showcasing inaccessible artworks, contextualising objects on display, or aligning a landscape with its artistic interpretations – as seen in the Augmented Swiss Heritage app.
AR can be easily integrated into indoor tours, and even outdoor ones when technical conditions are managed. Using geolocation or spatial anchoring, it links digital content to specific locations, increasing public engagement.
Some systems use a particular form of AR: instead of displaying the live camera view, the screen shows a full-screen digital reconstruction, like a window into the past. This approach is common in outdoor heritage tours, for instance at the Athens Acropolis, allowing visitors to see buildings and sites as they once were.
Low-cost and easy to understand, this solution often relies on geolocation and 3D modelling. It offers a strong visual impact, especially with animated scenes, and is technically accessible, particularly in tourism contexts such as the Saline Royale in Arc-et-Senans, France.
Mixed Reality goes a step further. It integrates interactive virtual elements, objects or characters, into the real environment. These elements respond to user movements, gestures or voice commands, creating a more dynamic and lifelike experience, as seen at La Pedrera in Barcelona.
This technology is especially well suited to controlled indoor spaces such as museums, where rich experiences can be offered without environmental constraints. For example, visitors can talk to a historical character or be guided by a virtual host, like Jean, a WWII resistance fighter, who leads a tour of Colonel Rol-Tanguy’s command post in Paris.
Virtual Reality immerses users in a fully digital environment, typically using a headset – sometimes enhanced with motion sensors or haptic gloves. It allows people to explore lost or inaccessible sites, such as the Great Synagogue of Erfurt (Germany), or relive historical scenes with strong emotional impact.
For cultural institutions, offering these experiences on-site, as with the Galileo Project at the Museo Galileo in Florence, provides significant benefits. It ensures high-quality mediation in a controlled setting, using dedicated equipment and guided facilitation when needed. VR can also boost the site's appeal, create unforgettable visit moments, and support additional revenue streams through ticketing, workshops or special events.
Mobile or outreach formats are also developing, enabling institutions to share this added value beyond their walls while maintaining quality control over the visitor experience.
Beyond technology, it’s the new possibilities enabled by XR that are most valuable for cultural professionals.
First, it expands access to culture. XR makes it possible to visit otherwise inaccessible sites, overcome physical or geographical barriers, and offer tailored mediation for diverse audiences. Some experiences, combining sound, spatialisation and simple interaction, make real strides in terms of accessibility for disabled visitors.
Second, it boosts engagement. Emotional immersion, interaction and storytelling enhance memory, curiosity and a sense of connection – all vital to heritage transmission and conservation.
Third, it supports preservation. Digital twins (3D models of objects or sites, like the one created for Pompeii) produced for XR also serve to document, restore or transmit cultural assets. They become living archives for researchers, curators and the public.
The EU-funded EUreka3D-XR project is developing open-source tools that require no coding skills, helping cultural institutions adopt XR technologies without relying on proprietary platforms or expensive providers. The aim is to support sustainable, adaptable and inclusive uses of XR.
By the end of July 2026, these five tools will be made available to cultural heritage institutions. They will be accompanied by detailed documentation presenting the XR experience scenarios tested at three heritage sites the archaeological site of Bibracte in France, the medieval walls of Girona in Spain, and the Saint Neophytos Monastery in Cyprus) providing concrete use cases for implementation.
Throughout the project, webinars, guides and tutorials will help professionals get hands-on with the tools.
Join the community of professionals already using XR by attending our webinar series in November 2025, or explore 3D collections on Europeana.eu to see how XR brings heritage to life.
Visit www.eureka3d-xr.eu for updates on XR in heritage.
