Fodor's Expert Review Mission San Luis Archaeological and Historic Site

On the site of a 17th-century Spanish mission and Apalachee town, this 63-acre living-history museum and archaeological research project showcases life in the late 1600s, when this and three nearby villages had a population of more than 1,400. Several buildings have been reconstructed to give a sense of how the Spaniards and Apalachee coexisted. Particularly impressive is the Native American Council House, a five-story, 120-foot-diameter, palm-thatched structure. Guides in period dress act as the mission's 17th-century residents, and the state-of-the-art visitor center displays artifacts from the site and has a gift shop.