For an exhaustive insight into what life was like for Fredericksburg’s first settlers, take a fascinating self-guided stroll through this grassy downtown precinct. Visitors are surprisingly free to inspect the artifacts displayed in its 10 restored historic buildings, ranging from log cabins and sturdy stone homes to barns and a blacksmith’s forge. Costumed docents demonstrate skills such as rope-making, while displays tell the stories of local notables.
Harmon Li for Lonely Planet