Fans of the TV series “Downton Abbey” can tour locations used in filming the show. A one-day tour (£95 [near $155] per person) includes morning coffee in the Berkshire town of Bampton and afternoon tea at Highclere Castle, with transport from a local hotel or the train station, and a guide and entrance fees.
A three-day tour (£747 [$1,214] each) includes two nights’ hotel, selected meals, transport, more location visits and a chance to dress in period costume.
Twelve miles south of Hadrian’s Wall in northern England is Epiacum, a ruined Roman fort on the grounds of Whitley Castle in Alston, Cumbria. Epiacum is protected by the English Heritage commission and no excavating is allowed. However, moles have been unearthing bits of pottery, jewelry, nails, etc.
Free, guided walks can be arranged for small groups by contacting the land owner, Elaine Edgar (phone 01434 381733 or e-mail elaine.edgar@btinternet.com).
An exhibit on the history of the Wittelsbach dynasty in Bavaria (1180-1918) is at the Museum der Bayerischen Könige, or Museum of the Bavarian Kings (Alpseestrasse 27, 87645 Hohenschwangau, Germany; phone +49 [0] 8362 92 64 64 0), near Neuschwantstein Castle, on the Alpsee.
Among items exhibited in the 2-story, 1,000-square-meter space are jewelry, portraits, porcelain, a 90-piece carved tableware set and a sumptuous cloak worn by Ludwig II.
An hour and a half northwest of Riga, Latvia, is the Cēsis Castle complex, comprising the Medieval Castle (built 1209) and the manor-house-like New Castle (built 1777), which has reopened with its 18th-century appearance restored.
In South Africa, a photographic safari with a professional photographer that starts at lunchtime and ends 24 hours later can be prebooked by visitors to Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve (P.O. Box 52665, Saxonwold, 2132, South Africa; phone, in the US, 804/767-8770 or fax 877/297-4359).
Participants may bring cameras or will be provided with digital single-lens reflex cameras and lenses. At the end, after a session on photo retouching, guests will receive their photos on a CD or flash drive.
Equestrian Escapes (Rose Cottage, Common Lane, Duddon, Cheshire, CW6 0HG, U.K.; phone +44 0 1829 781 123) offers horse-riding vacations for any riding skill level in southern England’s Dartmoor National Park, 15 miles north of Plymouth.
A “Beginner’s B&B” package includes two riding lessons, two rides on the moor and two nights in a B&B for £245 (near $396) per person. A “Beginner’s Self Catering Cottage” package, with 10 hours of lessons plus rides on the moor and 7 nights in a cottage, costs £525 ($850).
Highlights of an 8-day Jeep-driving adventure in Patagonia include a horseback ride to the Blue Lagoon, catamaran exploration of Perito Moreno glacier and hiking in Torres del Paine National Park.
The first ferry service between the US mainland and The Bahamas is operating daily, except Wednesdays, with departure from Port Everglades Terminal 1 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, at 10 a.m. and from Freeport Harbour Terminal 1 in Grand Bahama at 7:30 p.m. The 463-passenger Baleària Bahamas Express’ ferry Pinar del Río makes the 76-mile crossing in 2½ hours.
On Nov. 28, 2012, in India, the Shatabdi Express began running between Jaipur and Agra. The 241-kilometer (150-mile) trip one way takes three hours 30 minutes, with a 2-minute stop at Bharatpur. Other trains on the route make more stops, from one more (requiring 25 extra minutes) to 10 stops total (a 5-hour 45-minute trip one way).
The main gallery of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum (Jan Luijkenstraat 1, 1071 CJ, Amsterdam; phone +31 20 674 7000), which closed for a €375-million renovation in 2003, will reopen to the public on April 13, 2013. A small section had remained open to display certain works.
The museum’s collection consists of about 8,000 works of art, most notably paintings from the Dutch Golden Age, including Vermeer’s “The Milkmaid” and Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch,” as well as sculptures and decorative arts.