Just a short jaunt out of the cas­­tle-topped town of Cesis, trav­el­ers will find the ancient cul­tur­al land­scape of Araisi.

The most vis­it­ed and best open air muse­um in the coun­try, the spot chron­i­cles the lifestyles of the ear­ly Mid­dle Age tribes of the Baltic region, who made their home on the lake banks here in tim­ber lean-tos and wood­en cot­tages.

There are also the ruins of a cas­tle cour­tesy of the Ger­man Livon­ian Order on the site, along with oodles of archae­o­log­i­cal finds that show­case every­thing from 14th-cen­­tu­ry fash­ion trends to advances in farm­ing and agri­cul­ture dur­ing the 1300s.

In short, this fas­ci­nat­ing recon­struct­ed set­tle­ment is per­fect for any­one eager to unrav­el Latvia’s deep­er past.