When I have the money, I like to travel but when I don’t have the money, I can still travel around the world, courtesy of internet webcams. True, it’s not the same as going personally to these places but it is fascinating to see where a webcam has been put next. It seems there is one in every corner of the world and many tourism boards are increasingly using online webcams to promote their towns and cities to prospective tourists.

Here’s a selection of webcams to help you along on your virtual travels.

** Please note that the speed of the webcams will depend on your internet speed. For some of them, the latest update of Java may be required. If the webcam page is slow in loading, try shutting down some non-essential programs or try another internet browser.

Camvista.com – I regularly visit this site to see the various Scotland webcams that are in place. They show cameras from all round the world and they use a Google map to show you the camera locations.

Earthcam – what I like about this one is that, apart from all the international webcams you can view, there is also an aquarium webcam in Boston, with some very sociable fish that come right up to the camera as if to kiss you!

Paris-Live – Are you a Francophile? Do you love all things Francais? Paris-Live hosts a variety of webcams showing scenes such as the Eiffel Tower, the Notre-Dame Cathedral or just a simple Paris cafe sidewalk with lots of pretty mademoiselles. Oui! Oui!

WorldLive – this website is run in the Czech Republic and despite some dodgy English on their pages, the webcams are very interesting (I’m tempted to proofread their pages for them). But what makes this site slightly different is that they don’t host the webcams on their site – they just link to other webcam sites instead. But they seem to be building quite a good list.

Loch Ness webcam : if you fancy making yourself famous, head on over to the Nessie Cam to see if you can spot the Loch Ness Monster creeping up on some unsuspecting tourist. This cam is a classic tourist trap but still amusing.

What webcam websites do you like to visit? Recommend some to us in the comments!