Frankfurt's open-air museum - an experience with a difference

Frankfurt is home to the Hessenpark Open-Air museum which is a reconstruction of old German buildings.

The park is about 30 minutes' drive away from the town, meaning that it is more easily accessible for those who have brought their cars on the ferry.

As well as being a museum, the Hessenpark also has a marketplace where visitors can purchase traditional foods and keepsakes. The park is organised into five separate locations, each representing the region of Germany they are based on.

Hessenpark contains more than 100 buildings, all in authentic size, unlike the more common "miniature" villages.

Inside the museum there are realistic furniture, implements and utensils, showing the visitor some 400 years of German history. Although the displays are held in German, English guidebooks are available.

Hesse is a state in Germany where more than six million people live. It was originally settled on by the Celts and later made up part of the Holy Roman Empire.