Old Sturbridge Village Review

Great place to visit with kids. Staff are kind, friendly and have great stories.

Loved this place! I had a very informative experience.

If you want to have some fun this year away for the day to learn about history this is the place.

The best place too find about old history had a great time

OSV is a "Living Museum" which outshines Williamsburg, Greenfield and although the interpreters speak in character at Plymouth Plantation maybe better than that.

Too expensive for the value. Very few live exhibits. Pilgrim village is a much better experience.
No food allowed, but the restaurants inside are overpriced and serve stale food.

My 4 children and I really enjoyed our visit today! Didn't know what to expect given the current covid conditions, but we were pleasantly surprised. The presentation of the fields, animals and staff in and out of the buildings made the day enjoyable. The lighter crowds gave us a chance to have conversations with any staff member we chose.
I have been a dozen times over the years, but this was the most enjoyable visit for me!

My granddaughters wedding was there! It's an excellent place! Wish we had more time to stay and see the sites.

Awesome! Authentic & great historical story telling by staff. Only complaint: difficult to navigate through the park, they need markers. I'd recommend using online mapping & gps using a walking/hiking mode.

Great place to spend the day... the best part is talking to the interpreters... they love to talk and are so knowledgeable...whether it is splitting wood for rails, spinning wool to knit a shawl or just wandering around a beautiful New England village always a great day.

$$ Very easy to get to. Well kept property. Clean but all dirt roads trails as this is TRUE TO TIME of 1730-1890. Wear approprite shoes/sneakers. Not my cup of tea on a 90 degree, sunny and humid day. Maybe will go back in the fall...

Truly unique experience. There's plenty to see and lots to do.

Plenty of nothing at the Christmas "Lights" festival

not as entertaining, if your a history lover this is a great place.

I grew up coming here as a child and loved it. Brought my oldest child back and she was equally into it. My younger son was more into the animals, but he was 2 so I can't blame him. We all had fun though. Real actors in real period clothing, performing real period tasks, and take their roles and historical facts seriously. There are also tasks you can participate in as well. A great place to visit.

Visited for third time. Very educational. Plan at least half of the day, so you can see all presentetion.

It's nice but I wish they had more hands on activities for visitors to try doing things

Old Sturbridge Village was an excellent holiday family getaway. It takes you back to New England during the 1900s. There are horse drawn carriage rides. The staff take on the rolls of the life of a small town New Englanders. We went during the Christmas season there were Carolers a Christmas village. Decorations Christmas trees. A great day out for the family.

Fascinating historical reference place. Good for kids as well. Learn how we lived back in 1800's. Easy access and free parking. Place is constantly upgrading itself and a pleasant experience.

Fun for families and young children. Very expensive for large families

We spent a lovely Fall Saturday. This Massachusetts treasure has transitioned very well to something that can be pleasantly experienced all outdoors while social distancing. The highlight is always watching traditionally costumed guides recreate traditional trades and crafts from the 1840s, and a remarkable number could be demonstrated outside, from traditional dyeing and basket making to cider making to the potter's kiln. Kids will enjoy seeing all the sheep, chickens and oxen. Go in nice weather and it's a treat. In Fall only open on weekends. We brought a picnic a lunch but there's also some a food available for purchase and ample seating outside.

Always loving going to Sturbridge any time of the year. Went with my parents, my kids, and now with my grandkidz

Defiantly an amazing experience to see what it's like to live in the early 1800's look like. It's a living museum with paid actors doing old fashion trade skills. Very photo worthy (yes flash photography) just be aware of the entrance fee!!

Whoever runs their gift shop should be fired. They're trying to make their whole budget off 1 product. They should lower their prices to sell more product and create more fans. They dont offer a member discount for Christmas by Candlelight. I guess they dont understand the concept of making members feel special.

Took my family here and I would highly recommend u do before u cant.

This living museum is lively, educational, and engaging. The interpreters are friendly and excited to share every detail about what they know. I have been many times and always learn something new.

We came here for Christmas by candlelight. It was so beautiful. I loved all of it. We stayed in the inn. The rooms were so beautifully decorated. We had so much fun here. We went on a sleigh ride, drank hot coco by a huge fire, sang Carol's in the church, listened to stories in the old school house. What an amazing way to start of the Christmas season.. well done.

Great for all ages! So much fun for kids and lots to see and do!

Had a wonderful experience the people are very informative. The food is good. the activities that are scheduled and displays are well worth going to see.

Awesome Broker breakfast today with Real Trends Steve Murray!!!

Splendid place for those interested in the way of life of the last century in New England, I recommend to visit it during the fall to admire the Foliage, there is also a typical American restaurant with local specialties, to visit

This place is huge. So many buildings to explore and many knowledgeable guides there to inform you and answer questions. Could spend a whole day there. Was able to see the blacksmith work, pottery being made and tin being worked. The price is a bit steep at $28 but I imagine it is quite expensive to run so I can understand the high price.

Really cool place to spend a day outdoors with the family. Almost the opposite of an amusement park. Instead of loud, intense, chaos you get a relaxing, peaceful place to walk around and enjoy the day. There is a TON of stuff to see. The food at the main Cafeteria place (I forget the name) was SHOCKINGLY good and very reasonably priced. We fed 5 people for less than 60 bucks if I recall correctly and we all actually enjoyed our food. That NEVER happens at places like this. The food is usually mediocre and overpriced. We will 100 percent be coming back.

Nice historical place about the old ways in America

Pretty good but you learn a lot about the olden days

The educators/actors were extremely knowledgeable. The setup is relaxed. It really is a place that all ages can enjoy.

Oh, Old Sturbridge Village, you living museum you! Your concept is a great one, which is a small New England town from the late 1700s to the 1800s that includes everything from animals, authentic looking people from that era, completely real buildings some of which are brought in from nearby towns and amazing scenery. It reminds me of the Shire from the Lord of the Rings movies.
The sheep here are adorable but quite dirty. Maybe someone should clean and sheer them. They were all gathering in the shade panting. They were very cute but I felt bad for them as well as the rest of my family. Perhaps they should be kept inside on hot days like the adorable baby cows and their parents. On the subject of animals, the squirrels and chipmunks here as well as the geese do not appear to be afraid of humans, and allow for you to venture close. Whether this is good or bad I'm not sure but maybe it's like Disney and all the animals are robotic! Totally, that's the answer. Illuminati confirmed.
I have to say that one of the best employees here is a farmer from Freeman Farm. He was extremely knowledgable, very authentic, and kind. I will look forward to seeing him again during my next visit. I believe his name may be Eddie. So here's lookin' at you, brah.
From what I've been told, the food at Oliver Wright Tavern is very good, despite what OTHER people have said here on Google reviews. If you don't like this tavern's food, however, there's another restaraunt you can go to.
Also, I love the sight of horse drawn carriages riding around here. But, don't touch the horses or you may receive a stern scolding from the carriage driver. This happened to my friend many years ago, but it may still happen to visitors today. There's no harm is petting the horses. What's the deal? Oh, I also love the Bulls they have. Super cute!
Something else I enjoy is that OSV is open year round. They used to have a great fireworks display every Fourth of July but for the past couple of years they haven't done this. I loved going and am disappointed by this. Guess it was just too expensive for them.
In my opinion, OSV is a tad boring at times. Those who love history will adore this place for all of its monotous, slightly boring historical elements. They'll also like how accurate and colorful this place is. But to the average visitor they may find this aspect of OSV to be slow and tedious. On another note, I've been told employees at this location aren't allowed to talk about slavery due to there being none in this part of the country during this time period. I feel like this does take away a bit of the historical accuracy of OSV but I understand their reasoning for not wanting to talk about such a sensitive topic.
If OSV is open all year long, what do they do during the winter? With most of their animals unable to be out during this season, their crops fallen, and many of their buildings lacking electric heat, how do they continue to stay open? Speaking of the winter, I do like how this museum holds music concerts. I've never been during the Christmas season but I imagine it's very nice to visit during that time.
It's interesting to me that so many people come from all over the country to visit this location. Old Sturbridge Village is not an enormous place armpit but it does have some value. However, my family and I have lived in Sturbridge for over a decade and have only visited OSV about four times. That's how little we truly like this place. Nevertheless, it's a good place to visit, especially if you don't have a lot to do. It's also nice that we don't have to pay since we're residents, which is an offer available to all of the people who live in Sturbridge/Fiskdale. The front desk people are also nice. But, there once was an old fry named Caroo Mickinstroo, whose name I've altered slightly for privacy, who worked at the local elementary school, Burgess, who worked here at OSV for a while. It made the experience...less pleasant and strange due to the fact that this woman was slow as Franklin's grandmother and kinda mean.
It's a cool place!

An interesting walk through life as lived in a rural New England area in the 1830's era. We spoke to many of the guides, who were dressed in period clothing and were able provide much insight about how people of period spent their typical days. It was also interesting to see how water power was harnessed to run grinding mills and saw mills.

It's surprisingly cool. Fun, interesting. Good ice cream.

Though all the buildings weren t open due to COVID, this was an excellent experience. The village was larger than I expected, and we spent about a half a day. The price was right due to a promotion allowing a free child ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket.

It was good... kind of pricey bring your own food the food there is kind of blah

Fun day trip for the family. It was nice bonus they have have half off tickets for teachers when you bring you id.

The historical buildings are wonderful. The costumed enactors were incredibly knowledgeable and clearly love what they do. The horse and buggy driver was great and more than patient with part of our tour group than I could have been! Definitely worth the stop. Military members get in free! We did, but then contributed a flag to the field of flags. It was awesome.

Beautiful setting and perfect scenery. Oh, and the Thanksgiving buffet was top-notch.

Excellent recreation of an early 19th-century New England town, complete with period buildings, furnishings and involved historical interpreters. Great for the 4th of July.

Great if you like historical places. Replicated village. Alot of path walking. Alot of stair climbing inside the houses. Great gift shop but on expensive side. Great for field trips. Check weather before going, theres no covered walkways or air conditioning.

Awesome place! Lots to see. People in period dress working the various trades and friendly to chat with. Lovely gardens and landscape. Covered bridge. Old buildings. It was a beautiful weather day and we took a nice stroll around the property. Definitely worth a visit if you re passing through the area. Plan to spend several hours or a whole day if you re up to it.

Amazing restoration and experience! Just like getting into a period movie

Great place to visit any time of year. The artisans are knowledgable and love to share their stories. We became members and often sneak out to OSV for an early morning stroll.

Beautiful setting, knowledgeable staff! An educational peek into colonial America!

Accurate restoration of 1830s New England village. The staff is friendly and very knowledgeable. Admission fee is reasonable and gets you in for 2 days if desired.

I have been here several times over many years, but this was the first time I took my kids and I can finally appreciate how amazing a step back into history is. The look of amazement when they were actually able to not just be told but to see something in it's application is well worth the price if admission. We also ate at the tavern it was very reasonably priced and good food with a great staff. We had a wonderful time and spent the entire day there. Thank you too everyone there for all that they do.

It's always enjoyable to go here. The characters are friendly and will answer all your questions. I brought my adult ESL students here on a field trip and they loved it. It's beautiful and it's a great place to learn b about American history

Very interesting to hear and see how people lived in 1830. Lots to see and read about. A little disappointed that there were not as many people demonstrating how things were done, from what I saw and remembered when visiting as a child. Bring comfortable shoes and be prepared to do a lot of walking.

We really enjoyed the place. Explanations were excellent, with emphasis on the iron Smith, and the feeling of the time was delayed very well. The kids enjoyed it as well.

Went as a re-enactor Redcoars snd Rebels weekend. Had a ice time.

Although it was the muddy time of year our kids still had a great time my son especially when he seen the Dennison House as thats our last name so now he wants to research to see if it's of our relation. The kids in his class were very interested as well if we were they even joked around saying we are famous we just never told him. 5 star!!!