The only time you’ll ever want to spend some time in a county jail may be at this uber-cool museum, housed in the old Nassau County jail and full of fascinating facts, factoids and artifacts about Amelia Island. Even cooler is the fact that this museum is the state’s first spoken history museum that prides itself on perpetuating their story-telling tradition with a slew of tours catering to all sorts of ages and interests. Permanent exhibits include a replica of a typical Timucuan Village of Amelia Island circa 4000 years ago, a children’s exhibit on an old ship, and assorted artifacts and stories of the area from the Spanish Mission Period and the Civil War until present day.

The museum also offers fun and fascinating walking tours of historic Centre Street on Thursday and Friday from September to June. These depart at 3pm from the chamber of commerce and cost $10 for adults, $5 for students. You can’t make a reservation—just show up. Longer tours of the 50-square-block historic district can be arranged with 24-hour notice; these cost $10 per person with a minimum of four persons required. I especially recommend the ghost tour at 6pm every Friday beginning in the cemetery behind St. Peters Episcopal Church at 801 Atlantic Ave. ($10 adults, $5 students), or the pub crawl that leaves Thursday evenings at 5:30pm to tour four of the small town’s most popular, notorious, or otherwise historic pubs and bars. Cost is $25 per person (21 and over only) and reservations for this one are a must.