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.
A new exhibit, “Kings & Scribes: The Birth of a Nation,” opened in England in May at Winchester Cathedral (9 The Close, Winchester, Hampshire, UK; phone +44 1962 857200, www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk).
The exhibit is anchored by the Winchester Bible, which, at 2x11⁄3 feet, is the largest 12th-century illuminated English Bible in existence. Also on display are the painted caskets of Anglo-Saxon rulers buried at the medieval cathedral.
Using the smartphone app produced by Kerala Tourism (www.keralatourism.org), travelers to the state of Kerala in southwestern India can find the nearest of 750 listed toilets statewide, with information on its type (squat or Western) and location (in a restaurant, hotel, etc.) plus photos. Whether it is handicapped-accessible or not is not specified.
The app also allows users to find nearby sites of interest and to book accommodations and day tours while in Kerala.
The following parks and sanctuaries were so designated by the International Dark-Sky Association (Tucson, AZ; 520/293-3198, www.darksky.org):
• Located in the Yaeyama Islands, JAPAN’s southernmost populated area, Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park became the country’s first, and still only, Dark Sky Park in April 2018.
Travelers can stay in a Sami community in northern Norway, participating in daily activities, through Visit Natives (Tiilipojanlenkki 4 A, 01720 Vanta, Finland; phone +358 443 773303, www.visitnatives.com).
Three experiences can be booked: a 4-day, 3-night reindeer-herding experience ($2,340 per person between December and March), a 5-day, 4-night reindeer-calving experience ($2,980 per person in July) and a 6-day, 5-night reindeer-migration experience ($2,800 per person in April and May).
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.
As of Aug. 1, travelers from the US, Canada and UK, among others, are eligible for free visas upon arrival in Sri Lanka. The offer is scheduled to end on Jan. 1, 2020.
The country of Laos began offering evisas to travelers from 180 countries, including the US, Canada and the UK, on July 9. The single-entry evisa allows a visitor to stay in Laos for up to 30 days.
As of July 20, visitors to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, can legally purchase alcohol for personal consumption at any Maritime & Mercantile International, or MMI (www.mmidubai.com), outlet in the emirate. MMI is a subsidiary of Emirates Group. Prior to this allowance, some hotels and restaurants that catered to tourists had licenses to sell alcohol, but it had to be consumed on the premises.