Den Gamle By, Aarhus

Den Gamle By, a living history museum in Aarhus, provides visitors with a realistic re-creation of three separate decades in Danish history. The museum is divided into three neighborhoods, each depicting life in Denmark during the mid-nineteenth century, the 1020s, and 1974. Every aspect, from the architecture and roads to the costumed interpreters' enterprises and domestic lives, demonstrates how life has changed over time and how some customs have stayed holy.

This open-air museum in the city of Aarhus is a must-see for history buffs. The museum, which opened in 1909, contains almost 100 historical structures from all throughout Denmark. Much of the museum is designed to imitate a village as it might have appeared during Hans Christian Andersen's era. The toy museum is a hit with both adults and kids, and few can resist the allure of costumed re-enactors displaying a bygone era's way of life. During the holiday season, this attraction is very festive, with a variety of special events.

Aside from the living history neighborhoods, Den Gamle By is home to a number of museums, including Musaeum 1927, the Danish Poster Museum, the Toy Museum, and the Gallery of Decorative Arts. Nearby, in the Hjbjerg suburb of Moesgaard, the Moesgaard Museum delves even further back in time with displays on the evolution of Danish civilizations through the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Viking Ages, as well as a medieval Denmark exhibit.

Location: Viborgvej 2, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Official site: www.dengamleby.dk/en/den-gamle-by/

Highlights: Musaeum 1927, the Danish Poster Museum, Toy Museum, and the Gallery of Decorative Arts

Best time to visit: August and September