Travel Briefs | International Travel News

December 2012 issue

‘1,001 Gardens’ guide

The second edition of the guidebook “1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die,” by Rae Spencer-Jones, features an updated selection of gardens in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Including hundreds of color photos, the 960-page guide is available from bookstores, online and from Barron’s Educational Series. It retails at $35.

November 2012 issue

Sweden farmstays

More than 300 farms participate in the program Stay on a Farm in Sweden (Bo på Lantgård medlemsservice, Box 865, SE301 18 Halmstad, Sweden; phone +46 0 35 12 78 70), offering farmstays of varying lengths.

On the online directory, farms are rated one to five “corn ears,” with five ears being “first-class” accommodations. Prices generally run SEK350-SEK550 (near $50-$80) per person per night. Example — a B&B stay at an organic farm in Sköllungen costs SEK495 ($70) per person per night, double occupancy.

Various activities are available at different farms, including...

December 2013 issue

Hertz ‘Supercars’ in Europe

Hertz (phone, in the US, 888/ 296-9124) has added new premium models to their Supercar rental programs in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Spain. The new models for rent include the McLaren MP4-12C Spider, Ferrari F15 Berlinetta, Lamborghini LP570-4 and Porsche Cayman plus other luxury, high-performance cars. Not all of the models are in every country.

Example rates — you can rent a Ferrari for a day in Monaco for €1,330 (near $1,800) or a McLaren Spider in Berlin for €3,080 ($4,175).

April 2013 issue

Barcelona GourmetBus

In Barcelona, Spain, Gray Line’s GourmetBus (Balmes, 5; phone 902 024 443) offers travelers a 3-course meal by a Michelin-starred chef and a 3-hour tour that passes popular sites, including Gaudí’s Casa Batlló, Gaudí’s La Pedrera, the Sagrada Familia cathedral, the Torre Agbar, the Arc de Triomf and Port Olimpic.

The bus, which has three 4-person tables and three 2-person tables with facing seats, features a glass-fronted kitchen where meals are prepared. Each seat includes an iPad to look up sights during the tour and listen to an audio program in English. Offered year-round, the...

November 2013 issue

Leipzig Music Trail

The online printable map of the Leipzig Music Trail, which winds around five kilometers of downtown Leipzig, Germany, has been updated to include a selection of events in 2013/2014.

The trail visits 23 places of interest where famous composers have lived and worked, passing such locations as the Leipzig Opera, the New Gewandhaus, the Bach Museum and the Schumann House. The map includes historical info for each stop.

February 2013 issue

‘Downton Abbey’ tours

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.

Book in advance. P&P Tours (2 The Grove, Bomere Heath, SY4 3QW, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 7809 66 63 09).

October 2013 issue

Sailing with baseball greats

On select 2013-2014 “Caribbean Baseball Cruises” with MSC Cruises (Fort Lauderdale, FL; 877/665-4655), passengers will interact with former baseball stars like Cincinnati Reds All-Star Ken Griffey, Sr. (Jan. 12, 2014), and American League home-run king Gorman Thomas (May 10) in a variety of events, including question-and-answer sessions, free autograph sessions, player-hosted trivia games and pitching, hitting and defense strategy clinics.

Cruises sail round trip from Miami and feature varying itineraries, like the 7-night cruise departing May 10, 2014 (from $779, inside cabin, to $...

January 2013 issue

Lanzarote webguide

Lanzarote, one of Spain’s Canary Islands, is located 80 miles west of Morocco’s southern border with West Sahara. For planning an island visit, the website www.lanzaroteguidebook.com includes maps plus info on transportation, accommodations, finding a guide, dining, events, museums, attractions, festivals and climate. Download the info as a 51-page booklet for free.