International Travel News

Travel Briefs

March 2011 issue | Appears on page 10

Peter Paul Rubens

In 1610, artist Peter Paul Rubens rebuilt to his own design a residence in Antwerp, Belgium. Now a museum, Rubenshuis (Wapper 9-11, Antwerp; phone +32 3 201 15 55) will host “Palazzo Rubens — The Master as an Architect,” an exhibit on his architectural accomplishments, Sept. 10-Dec. 11, 2011.

Among some 50 items will be architectural prints and writings and works by Michelangelo, Guilio Romano, Van Dyck and Jordaens. €8-€10 ($11-$14); free on last Wednesday of the month.

March 2011 issue | Appears on page 10

Antwerp history museum

In the Eilandje district of Antwerp, Belgium, Museum Aan de Stroom (MAS), or Museum on the River (Hanzestedenplaats 1, Antwerp; phone +32 3 338 44 34), will open May 17.

The new home for the collections of the Ethnographic Museum, the National Shipping Museum and the Folklore Museum, it will have exhibits showcasing the port city’s relationship throughout history to the rest of the world. (An information point is currently open.)

March 2011 issue | Appears on page 54

Liszt fest

Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of composer Franz Liszt, Raiding, Austria, is holding concerts in June and October 2011. Among 16 programs are the “Missa Choralis” with the Vienna Chamber Choir, June 12, and “Bohemian, Viennese, Hungarian” piano music, Oct. 21.

Tickets €21-€89 (near $29-$123) per program. Contact Franz Liszt Gesellschaft Burgenland (Lisztstrasse 46, 7321 Raiding, Austria; phone +43 [0] 2619 51047, fax 51047 22, www.lisztfestival.at).

March 2011 issue | Appears on page 65

London Sightseeing Pass

Holders of the London Sightseeing Pass — giving access to more than 55 attractions, including Kew Gardens, Churchill’s War Rooms and City Cruises’ Thames River Cruise — can “skip the queue” at busy sites. Add the travel option (only if purchased online) and ride the Tube and buses free.

A one-day London Pass costs £40 (near $54) adult or £27 child (5-15); a one-day pass with travel costs £48 adult, £29 child. A six-day adult pass costs £90 or, with travel, £137. Two- and three-day...

March 2011 issue | Appears on page 70

Budapest Card

The Budapest Card, valid for 48 (HUF6,300, or $29) or 72 (HUF7,500, or $35) hours, offers more than 150 discounts for visitors to Hungary’s capital.

The card is valid for an adult and an accompanying child (up to 14) and provides free use of the BKV public transport system; two free English-language walking tours; free travel insurance, and discounts for museums, tours, thermal baths, cultural events and restaurants.

It can be purchased at Tourinform offices in all three...

March 2011 issue | Appears on page 70

Toy museum in Malta

The Pomskizillious Museum of Toys (10, Triq Gnien Xibla, Xagħra; phone +356 2156 2489) in Xagħra, on the Maltese island of Gozo, displays toys from around the world in a converted 18th-century farmhouse. The earliest objects include a late-18th-century Maltese doll and some Italian Presepio (nativity) figurines from the 1790s. Open hours and days vary year-round.

March 2011 issue | Appears on page 75

Rome hotel tax

As of Jan. 1, Rome, Italy, is collecting a new city tax on hotel rooms. The tax is per person per night and applies to all guests over the age of 10: €1 at B&Bs and campsites, €2 at one- to three-star hotels and €3 at four- and five-star hotels. (Two adults at a four-star for seven nights would pay €42 [$58] in tax.)

The tax cannot be prepaid when booking and is added on the bill at checkout. Be aware that even if you prepay your room through a travel agency, you still will have...

March 2011 issue | Appears on page 75

Smoke dissipating

POLAND banned smoking in public spaces, such as mass-transit vehicles and stations, parks, hospitals, theaters, schools and playgrounds, as of Nov. 15, 2010. In restaurants, bars and workplaces, smoking is allowed in separate ventilated rooms.

In SPAIN, as of Jan. 2, 2011, smoking is not allowed in enclosed public spaces, including restaurants and bars, not to mention the grounds of schools and hospitals. Hotels may set aside 30% of rooms for smoking. Smoking in restaurants’ outdoor...