Travel Briefs

A 3½-hour ride from Seoul, South Korea, via bullet train ($36 each way), the International Garden Exposition in Suncheon Bay runs until Oct. 20, 2013. It will include indoor gardens, urban gardens, herb gardens, forest paths and exhibits on ecology and wetland management.

Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays and 9-7 weekends. Tickets cost KRW15,000 (near $14) and can be purchased in advance (phone +82 61 749 2851 3 or online). The expo site is a 10-minute bus ride from the rail station.

“David Bowie is…,” the first international retrospective of the more than 50-year career of musician, actor, artist and record producer David Bowie, will be on exhibit at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (Cromwell Rd., London, SW7 2RL, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 20 7907 7073), March 23-July 28, 2013.

In 2013, Norway is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its most famous artist, Edvard Munch, with painting and photography exhibitions, commissioned works of music, tours of sites where Munch lived and more.

A short guided tour of the first house Munch bought, in Åsgårdstrand on the Oslo fjord, can be taken June 1-Aug. 31 for NOK50 (near $9).

The performance “Of Lifeblood” (NOK480, or $84), combining tableaux, original music and dance, will happen in and around Munch’s Hvitsen home, June 2-23.

Performances and exhibitions are being held in Zürich, Switzerland, this year to commemorate Richard Wagner’s 200th birthday. From 1849 to 1858 the composer lived in the city, where he began composing the operas that became the famed “Ring” cycle.

With the México Tourism Board’s free “VisitMexico” app, travelers can find information from Mexico’s six regions and 32 states, with in-depth content for 27 destinations. News, weather, maps, events, videos and activities are featured.

The app is available for Apple, Android and Blackberry platforms and can be used in English or Spanish. Download from the Apple App Store, Google Play (for Android users) or on BlackBerry App World.

In downtown Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, southeastern China, the China National Silk Museum (73-1 Jade Hill Rd., Hangzhou City; phone 0571 87 035 150) covers the development of the silk industry from ancient to modern times. Among exhibits (labeled in Chinese and English) are ancient weaving patterns, silk garments and toys. Open noon-5 p.m. Mon. and 9-5 Tues.-Sun. Admission is free.

Emigrants left Germany from Hamburg. The Beatles honed their skills there. Today, it’s home to 40 theaters, 60 museums, 160 art galleries and 259 libraries. It’s the country’s second-largest city, and historian Matthew Jefferies describes its past and present in “Hamburg: A Cultural History” (2011, Interlink, 256 pp., $15). Part guidebook, part history, the book dispels the image of Hamburg as just a “mercantile” city and celebrates its cosmopolitan nature.

The ZürichCard offers visitors to Zürich, Switzerland, unlimited second-class travel by tram, bus, rail, boat and cable car for 24 or 72 hours as well as discounts at museums, shops and restaurants. A 24-hour card costs CHF24 or €20 (near $26) and a 72-hour card, CHF48 or €40.

One thing the card offers is a 25% discount on a 90-minute guided rickshaw tour of the city that normally costs €98 for two passengers. Cardholders also get a 10% discount on a helicopter tour of the city normally starting at CHF250 (near $265) each for a 30-minute flight.

At Mystic Mountain, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, you can race through the rainforest at speeds up to 25 mph on a one-person bobsled. A run down the 3,281-foot track costs $62; 10% discount on tickets bought online. (Ship passengers should buy tickets from their cruise line.) Children must be at least 46 inches tall to ride. Open 9-5 daily.

The run is located in Rain Forest Adventures Mystic Mountain Jamaica park (office at SW Third Ave., Ste. 200, Miami, FL 33129; 866/759-8726 or 305/704-3350).

What is now the European Union’s tallest building, London’s 95-story Shard — with offices, a hotel, apartments and restaurants — opened its viewing deck to the public on Feb. 1.