The world's best open-air and living history museums

Skansen, Sweden

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

Established in 1891, Skansen is the world's oldest open-air museum. Located on the island of Djurgården in Stockholm, this authentic living history facility showcases Sweden's heritage by way of an astonishing replica of a 19th-century town, with houses and homesteads from every corner of the country.

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

The visitor experience at Skansen is heightened by the many locals attired in period costume reenacting traditional arts and crafts, including those working as tanners, shoemakers, silversmiths, bakers, and dressmakers.

Colonial Williamsburg, USA

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

America's most celebrated open-air museum is Colonial Williamsburg, the historic district of Williamsburg in Virginia. Serving as one vast living history lesson, Colonial Williamsburg features several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, structures such as the governor's palace (pictured), known for its decorative grandeur.

Beamish Living Museum, England

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

Set near the town of Stanley, Beamish Living Museum is acclaimed for its astonishingly realistic sense of the past, where urban and rural life in North East England from the 1820s to the 1940s is faithfully recreated using film set quality buildings and infrastructure.

Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History is one of Oslo's most popular visitor attractions. More than 150 buildings, relocated from towns and villages across the country, have been meticulously restored and preserved, including the iconic 13th-century Gol Stave Church. Pictured are historic buildings from Hovin and Gransherad in Telemark.

Den Gamle By, Denmark

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

Den Gamle By translates into English as The Old Town, and this scenic recreation of an authentic Danish village is as good as its word. Situated in Aarhus, this open-air town museum features a collection of colorful half-timbered buildings originally erected between 1550 and the late 19th century in various parts of the country and later moved to their present location.

Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

Set within the Austrian Alps between Innsbruck and Kufstein is this unique open-air museum, a cluster of over 30 traditional farm buildings, barns, and outhouses that exemplify rural Tyrolean architecture from the 1500s to the 1700s.

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

A highlight of the museum calendar is the Medieval Days hosted in August and set around one of the oldest buildings on site, the wooden Tierstaller farm from 1557.

Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

Around 80 historic houses, farms, and windmills form the centerpiece of the excellent Netherlands Open-Air Museum in Arnhem. This is the country's first and largest folk museum, designed to create a highly realistic impression of Dutch daily life over the past few centuries.

Blists Hill Victorian Town, England

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

One of 10 Ironbridge Gorge museums set in the county of Shropshire, Blists Hill Victorian Town stands on a late 19th-century former industrial complex and recreates the sights, sounds, and smells of what life was like in a busy Victorian-era rural town.

Plimoth Patuxet, USA

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

Another famous American living history museum, the Plimoth Patuxet (known also as the Plimoth Plantation) brings to life the history of Plymouth Colony and the indigenous homeland established in the 17th century by English colonists who became known as the Pilgrims. The site is found along the shore of Plymouth Harbor in Massachusetts.

Sovereign Hill, Australia

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

Australia's top open-air museum, Sovereign Hill at Golden Point in Ballarat near Melbourne is a remarkable recreation of a mid-19th-century mining town, bringing to life the character and excitement of Australia's great 1850's gold rush era.

Mystic Seaport, USA

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

Mystic Seaport is the leading maritime museum in the United States. Settled in 1654, Mystic was once one of Connecticut's busiest ports, its harbor the location of several shipyards and other commercial buildings and workshops.

Écomusée d’Alsace, France

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

The Ecomusée d’Alsace is one of the largest and most visited open-air village museums in France. Located in Ungersheim, Écomusée d’Alsace recreates an Alsatian village from the early 20th century.

Weald and Downland Living Museum, England

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

Tucked away in rolling hills near Singleton in southern England is this long established open-air museum. Created to preserve examples of regional vernacular architecture, the museum brings to life the homes, farmsteads, and rural industries of the last 950 years.

Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

Created to preserve the rural architecture of the Black Forest in Germany's Gutach region, this important museum is centered on the fully furnished Vogtsbauernhof farmhouse (pictured), dating from 1612 and which still stands on its original site.

Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

Skansen, Sweden, Colonial Williamsburg, USA, Beamish Living Museum, England, Norsk Folkemuseum, Norway, Den Gamle By, Denmark, Museum Tyrolean Farms, Austria, Netherlands Open-Air Museum, Netherlands, Blists Hill Victorian Town, England, Plimoth Patuxet, USA, Sovereign Hill, Australia, Mystic Seaport, USA, Écomusée d’Alsace, France, Weald and Downland Living Museum, England, Black Forest Open Air Museum, Germany, Strawbery Banke Museum, USA

Strawbery Banke Museum stands in the heart of historic downtown Portsmouth in New Hampshire—the oldest neighborhood in the state, settled by Europeans back in 1630. Pictured is Peacock House, built in 1821.

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