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 National Famine Way, a 165-kilometer walking route from County Roscommon to Dublin, was inaugurated in May 2019. Commemorating the two million people who either died or emigrated during the Great Irish Famine in the mid-19th century, the route follows the path taken by 1,490 people who were forcefully evicted from Strokestown Park estates in 1847 and walked toward Dublin to board emigration ships.
At the Southern Hemisphere’s largest private-collection museum, The Museum of Old & New Art, or MONA (655 Main Rd., Berriedale, Hobart, Tasmania 7011, Australia; phone +61 3 6277 9900, mona.net.au), works of antiquity can be viewed side by side with modern art. The esoteric building, itself, is a work of art, with most of the exhibit space underground.
The Petra Museum, located at the entrance to the historical city of Petra in Jordan, opened on April 18. Including interactive displays and videos in English, it exhibits nearly 300 artifacts — from the Stone Age to the Roman period — that were found at the site. Open daily, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
A pass for the Petra Archaeological Park (www.visitpetra.jo/Default.aspx) costs JOD50 (near $71) for one day, JOD55 for two days or JOD60 for three.
Three museums opened under one roof in Paris, France, on Aug. 25. Called Musée de la Libération de Paris - Musée du Général Leclerc - Musée Jean Moulin (4 Avenue du Colonel Henri Roi-Tanguy; phone +33 01 40 64 39 44, www.museeliberation-leclerc-moulin.paris.fr/en), they are located in a subterranean bunker where members of the French Resistance met in 1944 to help organize the city’s liberation from Nazi occupation.
Dedicated to mechanical music-producing items such as music boxes, player pianos, phonographs and pneumatic organs, Museu da Música Mecânica (Quinta do Rei-Rua dos Alegrias, Palmela, Portugal; phone +351 212 381 083, museudamusicamecanica.com/en), about 16 miles southeast of Lisbon, has more than 600 items on display. Guests can listen to the music produced by the antique machines.
Open 2:30-5:30 p.m. Tues.-Sun. €6 (near $6.50), adult, or €4, senior.
Containing more than 10,000 items related to boating, including scale models, navigation equipment and maps and charts as well as works of fine art, Musée Mer Marine, or Museum of the Sea & the Navy (89 rue des Etrangers, Bordeaux; phone +33 5 57 19 77 73, www.mmmbordeaux.com/en), opened in the former port of Bordeaux, France, on June 21, 2019.
Exhibits have info posted in English. Open 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed.-Fri. and 10:30-7 Sat. & Sun. Entry, €14 (near $16).
