Paris Air Show
If you’re planning to hit the International Paris Air Show on June 22-24 at Le Bourget Exhibition Centre, check out the Web site for information on what’s happening and advance tickets.
The show features four hours of flying displays per day with giant screens offering close-up views. In addition, 1,885 exhibitors will display the newest in air and space technology.
The show is open 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets to the show alone cost 12 euros. Tickets for the show and entrance to the Air and Space Museum cost 16 euros. Parking costs 9 euros. Details are at www.paris-air-show.com (English-language option). Tour de France
If you live in England, that doesn’t mean you can’t experience the Tour de France.
This year, the famous cycling event begins July 6 in London with a free opening ceremony at 6 p.m. in Trafalgar Square. On July 7, the 7.9-kilometer Prologue Time Trial begins at Whitehall and runs through city streets, ending at The Mall and Buckingham Palace.
On July 8, Stage 1 of the race begins at The Mall, runs through the city and out into the Kent countryside to finish in Canterbury. Details on the race and other festivities are at www.tour defrancelondon.com.
Rome Web sites
Here are a few Web sites you might want to peruse before you take that trip to Rome:
Rome Tourist Board — www.romaturismo.comBed and breakfast booking — www.b-b.rm.itHostel booking — www. hostelbookers.com/hostels/italy/romeUSO in Rome — www.uso.it/usoromeCity bus tours — www.appianline.itBike and walking tours — www.enjoyrome.comVatican City and Museum — http://mv.vatican.vaCatacombs of Saint Callixtus — www.catacombe.roma.itGalleria Borghese (advance tickets necessary) — www.galleriaborghese.itCapitolini Museum — http://en.museicapitolini.orgCity metro (in Italian) — www.atac.roma.itEvents, including theater productions and art exhibits — www.romace.it“Time Out Rome” for events — www.timeout.com/travel/romeItalian Tourist Board — www.enit.itIce Age cycling
The German Tourist Board suggests that if you and at least three other people are interested in traces of the Ice Age, you might enjoy a cycling trip in Northern Germany’s Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Lake District, nicknamed “Mecklenburg’s Switzerland.”
The region’s Web site notes that probably no other place in Europe offers such a representative view of the last Ice Age landscape.
The cycling package is available April through October.
There are two options. The western route, focusing on “Stones,” includes sights such as the Teterow Lake and the Hohen Mist of Rock Garden. It costs 198 euros per person, double occupancy. The eastern route, “Water,” goes through the Malchin protected nature area, by the Liepen moated castle and to the Salem fishery. It also includes a two-hour sail. It costs 199 euros per person, double occupancy.
The price includes three nights’ accommodation, breakfasts, two-day bike rental and maps.
For details on this and other offers, contact the tourist board. Phone (+49) (0) 3994/299 782; e-mail info@mecklenburgische-schweiz.com or go to its Web site, www.mecklenburgische-schweiz.com (English option).
Best BetsFRANCE: Explore the studios of Paris’ artistic community in the 5th to 13th districts this weekend during the annual Lézarts de la Bièvre open studio event. Between 2 and 8 p.m., about 88 artists, including painters, ceramists, sculptors and photographers, will open their doors to the public and show their work in the studios in which they were created. Details and maps at www.lezarts-bievre.com (in French; computer translation helps).
GERMANY: Wiesbaden’s traditional two-day Theatricum festival has been expanded to four days and is to start Thursday, marking the fest’s 30th anniversary. The kilometer- long street known for its high- class stores will be closed off to celebrate with a high-end program of entertainment — stage bands, cabaret and street performers — and a variety of international food and drink stands. A crafts market also will be onsite. At 8 p.m. on Sunday, enjoy an open-air performance of the opera “Rigoletto.” Web site: www.wiesbaden.de.
The city of Wittenburg celebrates the 1525 marriage of Reformer Martin Luther with a large historical festival this weekend. It begins Friday, at 4:30 p.m., with a pre-wedding historical parade. The rest of the weekend is filled with music and medieval entertainment. Find details at www.wittenberg.de (in German).
