As of July 4, entry to six of Prague’s National Gallery locations can be procured with one ticket. Costing CZK300 (near $12) and valid for one week from the time of purchase, the pass is good at the Kinský Palace, Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia, Trade Fair Palace, Sternberg Palace, Schwarzenberg Palace and Salm Palace. (Wallenstein Riding School is not included.) Visit www.ngprague.cz.
In Prague, Czechia (aka Czech Republic), visitors now can pay for entry to the Old Town Hall Tower by scanning, with the cameras on their smartphones, the QR-code on any of the information signs located around Old Town. Once done, the receipt on the phone is used as a ticket. Admission to the 14th-century tower costs CZK110 (near $4.50).
Presenting stories of Christians who, over the past 200 years, have supported the Jewish people and the State of Israel, sometimes risking their lives in doing so, the Friends of Zion Museum (20 Yosef Rivlin St., Jerusalem, Israel; phone +972 2 532 9400, www.fozmuseum.com) opened in Jerusalem in September 2015.
In the fully accessible 4-story building, exhibits include videos, maps and panoramic 3-D images. Open 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun.-Thurs., 9:30-2 Fri. and 10-6 Sat. ILS44 (near $11) adult or ILS22 senior includes guided tour in English.
On the first Saturday of each November, many of Amsterdam’s museums take part in Museum Night, offering workshops, concerts, tours, performances and food and drink from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Museum Night tickets cost €18.50 (near $20) and provide entry to more than 50 museums, transportation on special trams and boats and discounted entry to one of the after-parties at area clubs. Your ticket also entitles you to free entry to one of the museums on a different day, valid until the end of the year.
12 days, 11 nights, May 22-June 2, 2017. Led by Joseph Benatov, expert on Balkan culture. Highlights: In Bucharest, ROMANIA, open-air National Village Museum/Sinaia Monastery/cross Danube into BULGARIA/in Veliko Turnovo, working artisans/Etara open-air crafts museum/in Plovdiv, ancient Roman theater, 14th-century mosque/in Sofia, Museum of Socialist Art/in Thessaloniki, GREECE, Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art/in Vergina, tomb of Philip II. $3,750 ppdo. Single supp., $650. Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (Brattleboro, VT; 802/257-0124, ext.
10 days, 9 nights in ITALY. Departures Feb.-April 2017. Highlights: In Venice, St. Mark’s Square and Accademia Gallery/in Florence, city tours, Palazzo Davanzati, Uffizi Gallery, cooking class/in hills of Umbria, tasting at winery/in Rome, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Vatican museums. $2,395 per person, double occupancy (ppdo). Single supp., $725. Rick Steves’ Europe (Edmonds, WA; 425/771-8303, www.ricksteves.com).
Most travelers to Curaçao are attracted by its white-sand beaches, interesting history and rich cultural tapestry. When my wife, Fyllis, and I visited in January 2016, we also discovered a very different gem of a museum that, alone, would make a trip to this Southern Caribbean island worthwhile.
The Sonesta Kura Hulanda Village & Spa (Langestraat 8, [Otrobanda], Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles; phone +599 9 434 7700, www.kurahulanda.com/en) is an inviting and intriguing virtual neighborhood nestled in the capital city of Willemstad.
Overnight stays at London’s Natural History Museum (Cromwell Road, London, England; phone +44 20 7942 5000, www.nhm. ac.uk) are scheduled periodically throughout the year.
For adults over 18, “Dino Snores for Grown-ups” (£180, near $238, each) includes a night of museum exploration, live music, an all-night movie marathon, dinner and break- fast. With “Dino Snores for Kids” (£60), children age 7 to 11, accompanied by an adult, get to explore the museum and take part in educational activities and have a cold breakfast.
Near the first capital of the Yuan Dynasty, in the province of Inner Mongolia, northern China, selections of more than 60,000 Mongolian artifacts are on display in the Xanadu Museum, which opened on May 1. The 6,991-square-meter site includes eight buildings, with display descriptions in Mongolian, Chinese and English. Entry is free.
On the island of Heimaey in Iceland, after a volcanic eruption on Jan. 23, 1973, one family’s home that was preserved under ash and volcanic debris was made the centerpiece of the museum Eldheimar (Sudurvegur/Gerdisbraut 10, 900 Vestmannaeyjar, Heimaey, Iceland; phone +354 4882700, http://eldheimar.is/en).