The Amana Colonies are seven small villages in eastern Iowa built by German Pietists who lived communally here from the 1850s until 1932. They are one of the Midwest's better historic detours: not a reconstructed theme park, but a lived-in National Historic Landmark with sandstone houses, old kitchens, a woolen mill, farms, gardens, and German food still woven into the tourist economy.
The appeal is the whole settlement pattern. Main Amana has the easiest cluster of museums, shops, and restaurants, while Middle Amana, South Amana, High Amana, West Amana, East Amana, and Homestead fill out the story across quiet roads and fields.
Come by car from Iowa City or Cedar Rapids and give it at least half a day. The place is gentle rather than dramatic, but it has a strong identity and enough intact history to reward slow looking.