Smicksburg, Pennsylvania, USA
In the town of Smicksburg, Pennsylvania, there is an Amish community of about 800 people. Their way of life has changed little over the past century. Stores sell only Amish food and specialty crafts, electricity is limited, horses and buggies are the main means of transportation, and farmers work nearby fields with horse-drawn plows.
Tan Diep Ancient Village, China
Tan Diep ancient village is located in Dai Tu Nham town, southwest of Kien Duc city, Zhejiang, China. The village has a peaceful and idyllic beauty that seems to be forgotten in the hustle and bustle of modern life.
Tan Diep ancient village was built in the 12th year of Gia Dinh of the Southern Song Dynasty (1219). Currently, Tan Diep ancient village still preserves very well 16 ancient communal houses, ancient halls, ancient towers, ancient temples and more than 200 ancient buildings. Due to its long history and rich architectural styles, this place is praised by ancient architecture experts at home and abroad as "China's open-air architectural museum of the Ming and Qing dynasties".
Den Gamle By, Århus, Denmark
Founded in 1909, the old town of Den Gamle By in Århus is the first open-air museum to focus on the history and culture of past urban societies. With 75 replicas of historic houses from across Denmark, you can wander through a 19th-century town, explore a house from the 1700s, and even enter a 1970s gynaecology clinic.
Tombstone, Arizona, USA
If you want to experience the nostalgic travel of the wild west with the famous cowboy guns, go to Tombstone in Arizona. Tombstone was a western frontier town, the site of the legendary gunfight at OK Corral in 1881. This historic area was once one of the best preserved frontier towns. You will easily see cowboys roaming the streets when traveling here.
Etar Ethno-architectural Complex, Bulgaria
Entering the complex, you will feel like you are entering the world of the Renaissance - a period of economic and political prosperity in Bulgaria under Ottoman rule in the 18th to mid-19th century. This open-air museum in Gabrovo will take you on a tour of workshops, craftsmen's houses, a watermill from 1780, traditional pastry shops and several restaurants serving local Bulgarian dishes.
Kizhi, Russia
The entire Russian island of Kizhi, located in the vast Lake Onega area, is a nostalgic tourist destination with wonderful historical sites. You will admire the ancient wooden churches with unique intricate designs including the oldest religious building in Russia.
Meanwhile, some other old wooden houses and buildings are owned by locals and people from other places who moved in since 1950. All the wooden houses here are absolutely beautiful and exceptionally preserved.
Shikoku Mura, Japan
Step into the Japanese countryside of yesteryear at Sikoku Mura, an open-air museum of 33 traditional houses from the Edo to Taishō periods. There are also warehouses, a 250-year-old kabuki (classical Japanese dance-drama) stage, a mulberry-bark paper factory, and a vine suspension bridge.
Zuiderzeemuseum, Enkhuizen, Netherlands
In 1932, the Zuiderzee in the Netherlands was cut off from the North Sea. Since then, it has lost its role as an important fishing and trading port. The local authorities, concerned that the area's maritime heritage would be lost, have created an entire village reflecting the way of life of the past and a museum of 17th-century ships housed in the former Dutch East India Trading Company warehouses.
Sighisoara, Transylvania, Romania
Known as the birthplace of Vlad Tepes, the prototype of the famous character Dracula, Sighisoara is one of the oldest and best preserved citadels in Europe. Perched high on a hill overlooking the Tarnave Mare valley in Transylvania, Sighisoara has fascinating ancient houses, a 14th-century clock tower and the ruins of ancient battlefields. Visitors will be overwhelmed by the mystical beauty of Sighisoara.
Herm Island, Channel Islands, UK
Tiny Herm Island is one of the smallest of the Channel Islands open to visitors. Herm is just 2 km wide.2unspoiled land. Cars and bicycles are not allowed on the island, so visitors can only explore Herm on foot. However, 4WD vehicles and tractors are used to transport staff and luggage for guests staying on the island.
Hahoe Folk Village, Korea
Folk villages in Korea are a popular way to maintain close links with the country's pastoral traditions. Hanoe Folk Village is more than just a show town; it is a fully functioning 16th-century (Joseon-era) style community with preserved original buildings – tile-roofed houses for the nobility, thatched and mud-plastered houses for the servants – all gracefully arranged in the shape of a lotus flower.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
The Peasants' War of 1525 and the Thirty Years' War a century later left the once-prosperous Bavarian town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in poverty. Development came to a standstill and buildings were abandoned. The detailed reconstruction of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, carried out after Allied bombing raids in World War II, means that this charming town still looks almost exactly as it did 400 years ago.
Tatariv, Ukraine
It is not uncommon to see horse-drawn carts in small towns and villages in rural Ukraine, or to see farmers using hand plows and scythes in the fields. Tatariv, at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, is one of the few living relics of old Ukraine, where carts were used for transport in the summer but were replaced by sledges in the harsh winter.
Inle Lake, Myanmar (Burma)
The Intha people of Inle Lake, central Myanmar, live in villages built from bamboo and wooden houses on stilts. The communities here speak an ancient Burmese dialect and continue to use the lake for transport and trade as they have for generations, growing vegetables in floating gardens and fishing from special boats rowed by foot.
Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
Williamsburg, Virginia, is America’s largest outdoor living history museum, with hundreds of restored and reconstructed buildings dating from 1699 to 1780, all related to the history of the American Revolutionary War. Interpreters dressed in period costumes will explain the nuances of life in the past. Plus, you can walk through Colonial Williamsburg for free any time of day.
Living Museum in Black Country, England
Delving into railways, steelworks, coal mines, shops and homes, visitors can explore what was once one of Britain’s most heavily industrialised regions – the Black Country, West Midlands. This open-air museum recreates life in industrialised Britain in the 19th and early 20th centuries with stunning accuracy – and you can even take a journey on a vintage bus.
Blists Hill, Telford, England
Don't miss the chance to visit Blists Hill, a Victorian town in England's West Midlands that still functions in its old-fashioned way. Here, visitors can enjoyfish n chipsGo traditional, try some classic sweets, and even "smell" the past with every step.
Funen Village, Odense, Denmark
The wooden houses, mills, schoolhouses and quaint little streets of Funen have been restored to their original state, creating a rural Danish setting as it would have been in the time of Hans Christian-Andersen, the writer who was born and raised in Odense in the early 19th century. Visitors can meet farm animals and sample local fruits straight out of Andersen's fairytale.
