As regular readers of this blog will know, I’m absolutely fascinated by how people lived in the past. It’s one of the reasons I read and write historical fiction, it’s why I volunteered as a historical guide at a restored 18th century townhouse and it’s why – whenever I get the chance – I love visiting historical buildings and museums.

My favorite type of museums are open-air museums (or ‘folk museums’) where you get to go inside a collection of historical buildings, which are usually full of objects and sometimes even costumed guides. These are my favorite museums because they are immersive and really give you the feeling of ‘stepping back in time’.

I’ve been to Skansen in Stockholm (the world’s oldest open air museum, opened in 1900), Colonial Williamsburg in the USA, and even an open-air museum in Transylvania (though that’s a story for another time!). Longtime blog readers might also remember The Highland Folk Museum. Earlier this month I had the pleasure of traveling to beautiful southern Sweden (my partner’s brother lives there). When we found out there was an open air museum – Kulturen – located in the nearby university town of Lund, we knew we had to go!