Travel Briefs

December 2019 issue | Appears on page 4

Malawi evisa introduced

An evisa for Malawi was introduced on Nov. 1. To apply for it, visit evisa.gov.mw. A recent photograph, a scan of the bio page of your passport and a letter from your accommodation or host are required. It typically takes three business days for a visa to be approved, and validity begins the day of issue.

For a US citizen, a 90-day, single-entry visa costs $75. For multiple entries, a 6-month visa costs $150 and a 12-month visa costs $250.

December 2019 issue | Appears on page 4

Italy museums free Sundays

From Nov. 3, 2019, to March 1, 2020, every state-operated museum in Italy is offering free entry on the first Sunday of the month. A complete list of participating museums, organized alphabetically by region, can be found at www.beniculturali.it/mibac/export/MiBAC/sito-MiBAC/Contenuti/MibacUnif/C... (in Italian only).

December 2019 issue | Appears on page 4

Liria Palace art, Madrid

Paintings, sculpture, tapestries, engravings, furniture, documents and books — the art collection of the Liria Palace (Calle Princesa 20, Madrid; phone +34 912302200, www.palaciodeliria.com) in Madrid, Spain, opened to the public for the first time on Nov. 1.

The art is the private collection of the dukes of Berwick & Alba and was gathered over 500 years, though the palace itself dates back only to 1785. It is the only palace in Madrid that remains a private residence.

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December 2019 issue | Appears on page 4

Occupation Museum, Guernsey

Guernsey, one of Britain’s Channel Islands, was occupied by Nazi Germany from June 1940 to May 1945. Those years are commemorated by artifacts and dioramas at the Occupation Museum (Les Houards, Forest, GY8 0BG, Guernsey; phone +44 01481 238205, www.germanoccupationmuseum.co.uk).

At the museum, you can see what life was like under German occupation as well as examples of artillery, a 4-wheel enigma encryption machine and even a horse gas mask.

The museum is open daily, 10...

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December 2019 issue | Appears on page 4

Rome crypt tours

Visitors in Rome can book the 3-hour “Rome Catacombs Tour with Capuchin Crypts” with The Roman Guy (in the US, 888/290-5595, theromanguy.com).

The Domitilla Catacombs, relics of some of the earliest Christian traditions in Rome, contain skeletal remains of up to 150,000 people in tunnels built as early as the 2nd century AD, while the five Capuchin Crypts are elaborately decorated with the bones of about 3,700 friars. Tour members also walk part of the ancient Appian Way...

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December 2019 issue | Appears on page 14

Accessible Japan tours

Japanese tour company Omakase (omakase-tour.com) offers private one-day tours for travelers in wheelchairs in Tokyo (“Barrier-free Tokyo”) and Osaka (“Barrier-free Osaka”).

The 7-hour Tokyo tour visits Asakusa shrines, Sensoji Temple and Sumida Park, then the neighborhoods of Shibuya, Harajuku and Omotesando. ¥24,000 (near $222)for a single wheelchair member or ¥16,000 per wheelchair member and ¥14,000 per accompanying non-wheelchair member....

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December 2019 issue | Appears on page 26

Helsinki Biennial

Helsinki Biennial 2020, the inaugural art festival of what is expected to become a yearly event, will be held June 12-Sept. 27, 2020, on a former military base on the island of Vallisaari in Helsinki, Finland.

At least 35 Finnish and international artists will exhibit on the theme of “The Same Sea,” the notion that everything is interdependent. At least 80% of the art exhibited will be new works, with many pieces being site-based. Visit helsinkibiennaali.fi/en.

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December 2019 issue | Appears on page 42

Austria smoking ban

A law banning smoking in restaurants, cafés and bars in Austria — initially planned to go into effect in May 2018 (Nov. ’17, pg. 48) before being scrapped by a new government (Feb. ’18, pg. 5) that was, itself, later scrapped due to scandal — was finally instituted on Nov. 1, 2019, with little fanfare.

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