Step back in time and embrace the captivating allure of historical tourism, a journey that transcends mere travel to immerse you deeply in the rich tapestries of bygone eras. Each destination offers a unique portal to the past, where stories, battles, and cultures that shaped our world come vividly to life.

From the echoing footsteps in ancient ruins to the silent whispers of old castles, historical tourism not only educates but also enchants, providing a profound connection to humanity's collective heritage. Let’s explore the world’s most spectacular historical sites and experience history not just as a spectator, but as an active participant.

No. 1

Ancient Civilizations

The remnants of ancient civilizations offer a tangible link to our world’s distant past, standing as monuments to human ingenuity and endurance.

In Egypt, the majestic pyramids at Giza rise from the sands—a testament to the complexities of ancient Egyptian society and their beliefs in the afterlife. Greece’s Parthenon perches atop the Acropolis in Athens, embodying the birth of democracy and Western philosophical thought. Meanwhile, the intricate stone carvings of Mexico’s Mayan temples at sites like Chichen Itza provide insight into a civilization renowned for its astronomical and mathematical precision.

Exploring these sites allows us to glean valuable insights into the social structures, daily lives, and spiritual endeavors of ancient peoples.

No. 2

Medieval Castles and Towns

Embark on a journey through the medieval period by exploring some of Europe’s most well-preserved castles and historic towns.

Walk the fortified walls of Carcassonne in France—a stunning example of medieval military architecture that transports visitors straight back to the Middle Ages. Or wander through the cobbled streets of Edinburgh, where the looming presence of Edinburgh Castle on Castle Rock dominates the skyline, offering insights into Scottish royal history.

For those wanting a taste of the Roman ways of living, colosseum underground tours are the perfect way to get a glimpse. These locations not only showcase remarkable architectural achievements but also tell the stories of feudal societies, strategic warfare, and the daily lives of their inhabitants. Booking tickets well in advance will also ensure that your tour is a great experience with the best seats.

No. 3

Renaissance Art and Architecture

Italy serves as a vibrant canvas for the Renaissance, the era of artistic and architectural revolution that illuminated Europe following the Middle Ages.

Cities like Florence and Venice are littered with an unparalleled legacy of art and architecture. Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance, offers awe-inspiring views of Brunelleschi's dome in the Florence Cathedral and countless galleries showcasing works by Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Venice, with its grand canals and palatial structures, displays the splendor of Venetian mastery in art and architecture.

These cities provide a direct link to the Renaissance, offering endless opportunities to explore the creative explosion that defined an era.

No. 4

Battlefield Tours and Military History

Visiting significant battlefields and military sites offers a poignant glimpse into the conflicts that have shaped history.

Tours of Normandy’s D-Day beaches in France allow visitors to stand where Allied forces landed in one of World War II's most decisive operations, providing a deep sense of the scale and gravity of the battle.

In the USA, Gettysburg, the site of the Civil War's turning point, offers detailed tours that recount the intense three-day conflict and its crucial impact on American history. These tours not only educate but also honor the sacrifices made, helping us understand the profound effects of these battles on the modern world.

No. 5

Living History Museums

Living history museums offer a unique, immersive experience by recreating historical settings and daily life with great authenticity.

Places like Colonial Williamsburg in the USA transport visitors back to the 18th century where actors in period attire enact scenarios from everyday colonial life, from blacksmithing to legislative discussions. This form of active storytelling engages visitors not just intellectually but emotionally, providing a deeper understanding of historical lifestyles and events.

Such museums play a crucial role in education, allowing people of all ages to experience history hands-on, making it accessible, engaging, and impactful.

No. 6

Historical Natural Sites

Natural sites often hold as much historical significance as they do ecological.

An example is "Whale Watching Long Beach," where the activity transcends simple observation of marine life, embedding visitors in the rich maritime history of the area. Such experiences offer insights into how historical human activities have shaped the present-day ecological landscape, and how the ocean has influenced human cultures and livelihoods.

Blending the natural beauty of the sea with narratives of historical events, these sites offer a comprehensive understanding of a region's heritage, bridging the gap between natural wonders and human history.

No. 7

Preserving History

The preservation of historical sites and artifacts is crucial for maintaining cultural heritage and ensuring that future generations have the opportunity to learn from the past.

Every artifact preserved and site maintained is a letter from history, providing insights and lessons for the present and future. Responsible tourism plays a pivotal role in these efforts, as it encourages visitors to respect and contribute to the conservation of these invaluable resources.

Historical sites are our last opportunities to help our future generations understand their roots and also the past of humanity. As several such locations get desecrated due to wars and under-preservation, it is more important than ever to step up and help.

By supporting local preservation initiatives and adhering to guidelines that minimize impact, tourists can help sustain the historical integrity of these treasures for years to come.

Takeaways

Historical tourism offers a unique and enriching way to connect with the past, opening doors to deep cultural understanding and personal insight. By exploring ancient ruins, majestic castles, battlefields, and living history museums, travelers can gain a profound appreciation of the events and people that have shaped our world.

These journeys into history are not merely educational; they are transformative experiences that can change how we view our place in the timeline of human civilization. We encourage you to embark on your own historical adventure, to engage directly with the treasures of the past, and to discover the enduring impact of history on our modern world.

When we moved into our new place last year, I had high aspirations for our living room walls. With 10 foot ceilings, the sky's the limit, literally - and who wants bare walls when you have all of that space to play with? Not me! Those aspirations included an accent wall featuring an art gallery and curtains on our lone ranger window. We did paint our accent wall (yay!), but the gallery wall (sadly) never made it (along with the curtains). Fast forward to the present, and I was finally able to bring my vision to life thanks to Minted, an online art marketplace featuring art from so many talented independent artists and designers from around the world! It helps that I had some of the elements already in place for the perfect backdrop for my gallery wall, but without Minted, it wouldn't have been the same. What I was able to create was a perfect little office space that I could finally call mine, with all of the pretty touches that I can feel inspired by every time I look at it.

Disclosure: Wall art was provided courtesy of Minted. I always share my honest thoughts and opinions and stand behind products I truly believe in and would purchase myself. I include affiliate links.  

Discover how I was able to easily and quickly create a gallery wall from scratch and how you can duplicate my process to create your own, too. Yes, gallery walls can look intimidating, but after going through the process, I realized just how fun and easy it actually was. With the right planning and preparation, you will think so too. Let's begin!

Find inspiration.

(via Miss Moss, Belle Maison)

Pinterest is a great place to seek inspiration and get tons of ideas for gallery wall layouts, styles, and types of framed art and objects. Here's my Pinterest board that I put together, which helped me visualize different layouts and styles. You can use it to get some ideas, too. Decide on a general idea of what look you're trying to achieve.

Measure your wall.

Choose a focal wall where you want to place your gallery. I chose an accent wall in my living room that was already painted a lovely color called Ocean Abyss by Behr Marquee. Make sure you measure the area and visualize how high you want to place it. I chose to go with eye-level. It will also depend on furniture that you plan to place in front of or around your gallery wall, so decide on that firsthand before you install it so that you can be sure that it will work with your setup. I decided to place a desk in front of my gallery wall. This is also a good time to decide how many prints you want to use. There really isn't any magic number, but balance is key and it must work within the area that you plan to place them. I went with 5 prints, with the option of adding onto that if I found other frames around the house that I wanted to incorporate. 

Look for art. 

Favorites: I logged onto Minted's Art Marketplace and favorited the art pieces that I liked. Favorite as many as you can, because you will need a lot of options when you finally narrow it down. Try to visualize a theme. For my gallery wall, I wanted to feel a certain way when I looked at it - to feel as if I was traveling within the prints. Ask yourself what feeling you want your gallery wall to elicit. This will inspire you and help you organize art prints within a certain theme. Also try to select a mix of prints. For example, select a variety of art that are a mix of typographic, graphic, abstract, and drawing styles. Combining a variety of prints will create an interesting gallery. Also decide on a color scheme. I chose black, white, and a print that pulled in colors that matched my accent wall. 

You can also look around your house for some wall objects and framed art that you would like to include as well. If you will be shopping around at various places for your pieces, visualize your gallery wall as you go, but stay within your theme.

Create a design mockup.

Creating a mockup will help you visualize your gallery wall and make it so much easier to decide on which prints you want to purchase. First, I saved my favorites from Minted as a pdf file. To do that, from my Macbook, all I did was select file > print > save as adobe pdf. 

If you have already purchased the art pieces and frames that you will be using, opted for homemade prints printed on photo printing paper; or plan on shopping at several retailers, skip to Step 6.

I created my mockup using Adobe Illustrator (editing software).

My step-by-step process:

1. Layout all prints: I opened the pdf file page-by-page and was able to move each print around as a separate thumbnail. 

2. Select prints and arrange: I selected the prints that I thought would look good together, then tried different layouts and arrangements until I had my final picks.

3. Choose sizes and frames: I went back onto Minted and decided on the sizes I wanted to go with, then scaled the mockup prints to 25% of actual size so it would give me a true idea of how they looked in relation to each other. I also chose several frames that I liked, then copied and pasted a photo of each into Illustrator and arranged them until I could find a good mix of frames that I liked.

4. Layout final picks: Once I had decided on which frames I wanted, I created several layouts, then picked a tentative layout to go with.

If you are planning on incorporating additional prints or objects that you will be purchasing separately or already have on hand, your imagination will help here. Visualize! Don't be worried if your layout changes, you will have another round of laying them all out. 

1. Emerald Blades limited edition print by Artsy Canvas Girl Designs 14" x 11" whitewashed herringbone // 2. Zebra from Above limited edition print by Mary Ann G. Tusa 14" x 11" whitewashed herringbone // 3. Son limited edition print by Lori Wemple 11" x 14" distressed charcoal stain // 4. Ruffled Feather limited edition print by Sarah Luna 8" x 8" white premium wood // 5. Let's Get Lost by Sam Dubeau 8" x 10" black premium wood

These are the prints that I chose and the tentative layout I went with, which ended up changing later. I chose a mix of frames - there are so many pretty ones available on Minted that it took me several days to decide on these. I wanted my gallery wall to look less structured and more like I had collected a bunch of different prints over time.

I know my process is a little complex (thanks to being a graphic designer *eek*), so don't freak out if you don't have any fancy programs, there is an easy way! Minted has a tool on their site that lets you create boards. Here are a couple of mockups that I created for fun using their tool:

Let's Get Lost board by Cristina. See more art prints on Minted

My Art Wall board by Cristina. See more Minted wall art

Purchase your art.

Now that you are all set with your mockup, you can now commit to the prints and make your purchase. In the meantime, start gathering the supplies you will need to hang your frames. 

Supplies you will need: Screws, drywall anchors, drill and drill bits, tape, paper, scissors, measuring tape or ruler, and a pencil.

Let me tell you, I was so pleased with the way my Minted pieces arrived. They arrived straight to my door so quickly, in just 4 days! Each frame was individually packed and secured with cardboard packaging. The print itself was even wrapped in plastic and each came with individual cards with details about the artist and print. I could tell immediately that they cared about the details, which I am always fond of when it comes to products. Each print were true to color just as I had viewed them on the site, so I was really excited about that. 

Before you get all excited to unwrap all of your pieces, hold your horses! I found that it was so much easier to keep my frames clean by leaving them in the plastic that it came with. Your frames will be squeaky clean once you finally hang them.  

Lay out your art.

Gather all of your pieces and lay them out. If you created a mockup, refer to it, but adjust and change it as you like because everything always looks different in person. Try different layouts and see what looks best. You could even take photos of each layout so you can compare them. Decide on the amount of spacing you want between each piece and measure it out to see how it actually looks. Once you're happy with it, leave them laid out until you're ready to hang them. This is my rough layout - I adjusted the spacing of these later so that it was even. I decided that the vertical layout that I had done for my mockup was too narrow for the space. I also added a black mirror that I already had from IKEA.

Create a wall mockup.

Use your frames to create outlines on paper and then cut them out. Do this for all pieces. Place the cutouts on the wall relative to how you laid them out in step 6. For each cutout, I marked a center guide 3" from the top of each frame and 2" for the mirror. Make sure to check how low your wire sits to compensate for where your holes will need to be. What I did was measure the spacing between each piece at 4" and aligned the two smaller pieces with the edge of the bigger pieces on each side. Since I already had a stud on my wall, I had to use that as the starting point for the center frame, so that is why there is more space on the right side of the wall. I then laid out the other pieces, making sure to align them to create order and centering the frames at each end horizontally. For my wall mounts, I used drywall anchors, so it was very easy to install. Wherever you marked your center guides is where you will drill your holes.

Hang your art and enjoy.

Once all of your screws are in, hang your frames and measure the spacing to make sure it is equal on all sides. Voila! There you have your beautiful gallery wall! Add your furniture back in place and don't forget some lighting to set the mood. It really does change the whole feeling of a room. I was just amazed with how great this gallery turned out, and I couldn't have been more pleased with the results. 

I added some fresh sunflowers that my husband helped me pick out from the sunflower fields around our house. 

Believe it or not, this marble desktop is made from a piece of salvaged marble - thanks to my husband, once again! 

I decided to hang these curtains because they are the perfect length for these tall ceilings. They are a made from a mesh material and are in a dark bronze color. I got these when I was in the Philippines.

The clock and lamp are also from IKEA.

These sunflowers really add so much contrast to this wall. 

Who can resist a faux sheepskin? This girl can't. 

My new little creative nook is complete. It feels amazing to see this all come together. 

I decided to go with standard paper for my prints, but there is an option to choose premium archival paper. The prints look incredible, nonetheless. 

All of Minted's frames are handcrafted, which means they are all unique. I love this. 

The detailing on these whitewashed herringbone frames add so much rustic charm, and they are made from mango wood! How amazing is that? I thought that was so neat. 

No two frames are alike, which means that these were individually crafted to give each frame character. No cheap manufacturing here!

The frame on the far right is made of a distressed charcoal stain, which adds so much sophistication to this gallery. This print reminded me so much of Japan, which is why I love it so much.

An invoice is neatly presented on cardstock paper. This is truly sophistication. 

And, each art piece comes with a certificate of authenticity. Since I got several limited edition prints, this makes me feel so special.

I hope you had an amazing time with me. I know this was a long post, so thanks for staying 'til the end and putting up with my endless rambling (haha). I am so excited to get to do this and can't wait to share more exciting projects like these. Let me know if you'd like to see my entire living room. It's not exactly complete, but I'd love to share what I have. 

Thank you so much to Minted for giving me this opportunity to design my space with these incredible works of art. I am hooked on what the company is all about - quality, detail, and giving back to the community. I love it when companies have depth and purpose.

If you are ever looking for wall art, stationary, home decor, children's decor, or fabrics, I highly encourage you to visit Minted's website. I was honestly blown away with all of their products.  

That is all lovelies, until next time! If you have any questions or if I missed anything, please comment below and I'll get back to you. 

Will you be creating a gallery wall? Share with me in the comments! <3