In Lyon, the Gadagne Museum Center (Renaissance Building, 1 place du Petit Collège, 69005 Lyon, France; phone 011 33 04 78 42 03 61, fax 78 42 79 71, www.gadagne.musees.lyon.fr), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has undergone a 10-year, €30-million restoration and reopened to the public. The complex houses the Puppets of the World Museum and the History Museum of Lyon.
From exhibitions on ingredients and spices to items such as a sausage-shaped sofa, the Deutsches Currywurst Museum (Schützenstraße 70 10117 Berlin; phone +49 30 88718647, www.currywurstmuseum.de/en) has a number of playful exhibitions about the popular German sausage currywurst. €11 adult, €7 senior/student, and free for children under six.
Eurail’s new website, www.eurailtravel.com, suggests itineraries throughout Europe focusing on culture, adventure, shopping, design, etc. Each has a map, city highlights and info on which Eurail pass will be needed. Eurail reps are listed on the “Book Now” page.
The original www.eurail.com still lists all the Eurail passes.
Rick Steves (425/771-8303, www.ricksteves.com) has four iPhone and iPod Touch apps for travelers: Historic Paris Walk & Tour, Louvre Tour, Orsay Museum Tour and St. Peter’s Basilica Tour. Content is from his guidebooks and PBS travel show, including info on hotels and restaurants (open hours, costs, etc.). A pull-down audio/video player offers audio commentary or a video feature for certain sites.
Apps cost $4.99 each and, once downloaded, are self-contained and do not use the phone’s data connection. A demo is available at www.ricksteves.com/iphonesupport
In northern Israel, the 4,000-year-old Abraham’s Gate at the Tel Dan Nature Reserve reopened to the public in March after extensive work by the Nature & National Parks Protection Authority.
Composed of sun-dried mud brick on a foundation of large basalt stones, the gate has been restored to its original height of 22 feet. It serves as a link between the two towers below its arches, the earliest complete arches ever found in the world.
The Visit Wales tourism website has a guide to the top 20 free attractions in Wales.
Museums, national parks, walking trails and more are listed. A link even provides times and locations of more than 80 male choir rehearsals.
Visit www.usa.visitwales.com, click on “search” at the top right and type in “Top 20 free attractions” in the search box on the next page.
The Paris catacombs are closed indefinitely because of damage caused by vandals in September.
Visited by over 200,000 people each year, the catacombs are part of a large network of underground tunnels which are stacked with human bones. Photos of the damage showed skulls and bones scattered along the walkways.
In Malta, the Carmelite Priory Museum (Carmelite Priory, Villegaignon St., Mdina, Malta; phone +356 2702 0404, www.carmelitepriorymuseum.com) opened its priory and church to the public in June.
The Carmelite Church, built in 1675, has an unusual elliptical floor plan, and the newly restored priory shows how the Carmelite friars lived. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. €4 adult.
On Oct. 2, BridgeClimb Sydney opened the Sydney Harbour Bridge Visitor Centre (3 Cumberland St., The Rocks, Sydney, Australia; www.bridgeclimb.com), featuring display galleries, interactive exhibits and a digital, high-definition cinema detailing the bridge’s history from preconstruction through the present day.
Open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9-5 Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free. The center is fully accessible.
The valley near Vila Nova de Foz Côa, in northeastern Portugal, is home to extensive displays of underground and outdoor Paleolithic art — horses, aurochs (wild bulls), etc.
The site, which was originally to be covered with water from a dam, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998 and opened to the public. In the center is the museum Quinta da Ervamoira, showing bread making and wine producing.