Travel Briefs

The Four Seasons Dublin (Simmons­court Road, Dublin 4, Ireland; phone 353 [1] 665 4000, www.fourseasons.com/Dublin, or, in US/Canada, call 800/819-5053) is offering a James Joyce theme package that features a dinner inspired by the short story “The Dead.”

For two people, the 3-night “Discover Dublin” package includes accommodations, full Irish breakfasts, a literary walking tour of Dublin, tickets to a performance at the Gate Theater or the Abbey Theatre, and dinner accompanied by...

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The Jersey Pass offers free admission to 15 attractions in Jersey, including Elizabeth Castle, on an island in St. Aubin’s Bay, the Jersey War Tunnels, built by the Germans in World War II, and AquaSplash, a water park. A 2-day pass costs £32 (near $53); a 4-day, £45, and a 6-day, £59. It can be ordered online or by phone but must be picked up at the visitor center. Jersey Tourism Visitor Center (Liberation Place, St. Helier, Jersey JE1 1BB, U.K.; phone +44 0 1534 44 88 77, www.jerseypass....

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Helpful to those on self-drive itineraries, English Heritage (phone +44 0 870 333 1181) offers travelers with GPS units a downloadable overlay which shows the locations of the organization’s 400-plus properties and cultural sites on the map relative to one’s position. It is available for Garmin and TomTom GPS units at www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.20913.

Scabec (Centro Direzionale Isola E7, 80143 Napoli, Italy; phone +39 800 600 601, www.campaniaartecard.it) offers the “Campania artecard,” which allows entry to museums and attractions on one of four itineraries through the Bay of Naples. The cards are available in 3- and 7-day denominations.

Example — the 3-day “Vesuvius to Sorrento” card costs €30 ($42) and covers public transport and sightseeing buses in the Naples area and admission to and guided tours of Mt. Vesuvius National Park...

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Madrid’s Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Santa Isabel 52, 28012 Madrid, Spain; phone 91 774 10 00, fax 10 56, www.museoreinasofia.es) now offers free admission hours every day (closed Tuesday). Free hours are 7-9 p.m. weekdays, 2:30-9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sunday. 

Regular admission costs €6 for the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions, and €3 for temporary exhibitions only. Open 10-9 Mon-Wed & Thur-Sat and 10-2:30 Sun.

The Swiss National Museum in Zürich on Aug. 1 opened a new permanent exhibition, Geschichte Schweiz, on the history and development of Switzerland. Themes include “migration and settlement,” “religious and intellectual history,” “Swiss political history” and “economic development.” 

CHF10 ($9.30). Contact Zürich Tourism (P.O. Box CH-8021, Zurich, Switzerland; phone 41 44 215 40 00, www.zuerich.com).

The Kabuki-za Theatre (Ginza, Tokyo, Japan; phone, for info, 81 3 3541 3131 or, for tickets, 81 3 5565 6000, www.shochiku.co.jp/play/kabukiza/theater), a landmark in Tokyo’s Ginza district, will be demolished and rebuilt, due to the structure’s age. The first theater on the site was built in 1889, and it was rebuilt three times, last in 1950 (based on the 1924 building destroyed by fire). 

Farewell performances will be held January-April 2010, then productions will move to a new venue...

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Sake-no-jin, an annual sake fair held in Niigata City, Japan (130 miles northeast of Nagano), takes place March 13-14, 2010. Free admission, and guests 20 or older can pay ¥2,000 (near $21) for a cup to taste the sake of over a hundred producers. Niigata prefecture’s food specialties also are highlighted.

Japan National Tourism Organization (11 West 42nd St., 19th Floor New York, NY 10036; 212/757-5640, www.japantravelinfo.com).