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.
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.
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.
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.com).
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 readings from “The Dead.”
In Edinburgh, Scotland, a traditional German Christmas market in the city center will have stalls with toys, gifts and German food, while a Christmas market featuring locally produced food, jewelry and crafts will be set up at the East Princes Street Gardens.
Both are open Nov. 27-Dec. 24 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday and 10-10 Thursday-Saturday. For info, contact the British Tourist Authority (800/462-2748, www.visitbritain.us) or visit www.edinburghschristmas.com.
The 22-year-old monorail system running between London Gatwick Airport’s North and South terminals closed Sept. 28. The replacement system, part of a £1 billion airport overhaul, will reopen with limited service in May 2010 and full service by August 2010.
A free shuttle bus runs between the upper forecourts of the North and South terminals every three minutes from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. and every six minutes, 6 p.m.-4 a.m. Passengers arriving at the North terminal needing to catch a train or local bus should allow at least 20 minutes to transit to the South terminal.
Although the general travel ban against visiting Cuba continues for all American citizens, in September the US government eased some of its restrictions.
Americans who wish to visit family members in Cuba no longer will be restricted to one trip a year but may visit as often and as long as they like. Americans now can send unlimited amounts of cash to relatives on the island and when traveling can carry more personal baggage and certain electronic items.
In London, the Whitechapel Gallery (77-82 Whitechapel High St., London, E1 7QX, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 20 7522 7888, www.whitechapelgallery.org) has doubled in size, reopening with expanded galleries, exhibitions, collection displays, archives and more.
Free weekly poetry readings, art lectures and open screenings of films are held on Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. For Wednesday and Friday evenings, ticketed events in music, performance and workshops can be booked in advance.
The main event at the Carnival of Ivrea (Antico Palazzo della Credenza, 10015 Ivrea, Italy; fax 0125 641521, www.carnevalediivrea.it), to be held in 2010 on Feb. 13-16, is the Battle of the Oranges in the public squares of Ivrea, 30 miles north of Turin.
The battle has its roots in people who would throw oranges along with confetti and flowers from windows above the parade. During the battle, the teams on foot represent the commoners in revolt while the teams in the carriages represent the feudal lord’s men.