Visiting historical sites on your next vacation can be a great way to experience the peoples and cultures of the past, both in the US and abroad. These places teach you about how people used to live, as well as about their history and their traditions. In short, there are plenty of reasons to visit a historical site on your next vacation. Here are four of them.
Experience History Come Alive
It’s one thing to learn about the theaters where the Roman gladiators fought or to see a Civil War battle. It’s another thing to see those places and understand what conditions would have been like for the people involved. For example, seeing a historic battle site on a cold, rainy day gives you a better understanding of how the elements, the time of day and more would have affected the people involved in the events on those sites. That’s something a history book can’t give you.
Explore Historical Context
It’s one thing to know that the pioneers had to walk to the local creek with a bucket to get water. It’s another thing to see that the creek was a quarter of a mile from home and that the road to get there is dusty on hot summer days and sticky and slick on wet, rainy days. Any time you visit a historical site, you gain a better understanding of what life was like because you see the context for the conditions that historians have written about.
Appreciate Where We Came From
There’s nothing like standing at the base of the pyramids in Egypt or near an old set of railroad tracks where the Old West trains used to ride to understand just how much our ancestors accomplished. It’s helpful to remember that they created these marvels without the technology we have today, and many of these edifices continue to stand centuries after those who built them have been forgotten.
Remember What We’ve Lost
On a related note, visiting a site like the pyramids or old tombs also shows us what we’ve lost. The people who built these structures had knowledge that some believe has even been lost to us. Seeing those sites makes us understand just how fragile human knowledge can be and helps us appreciate what we have and the developments we have made together.
Final Thoughts
Seeing a historical site on your next vacation allows you to open up history to yourself and to your kids. You get some idea of the conditions that people lived through and what they had to do to survive. While reading about history is always helpful, there is nothing like visiting a historical site to bring history to life.
Author Bio
Meghan Belnap is a freelance writer who enjoys spending time with her family. She loves being outdoors and exploring new opportunities whenever they arise. Meghan finds happiness in researching new topics that help to expand her horizons. You can often find her buried in a good book or out looking for an adventure. You can connect with her on Facebook right here and Twitter right here.