Travel briefs

Art and music-lovers will find much to do in Santa Fe, N.M., this summer.

ART Santa Fe, a biennial contemporary art fair, will be held July 12-15 at El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe in the city’s Railyard district. The fair will feature artwork from Asia, Europe, Latin America and galleries in New York and elsewhere in the U.S.

Keynote presenter Thomas Krens, director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, will be joined by architect Frank Gehry for a discussion of the Guggenheim Bilbao and the Guggenheim’s new project in Abu Dhabi.

Santa Fe will also play host to a photography festival, PhotoArts Santa Fe, July 13-22, and the International Folk Art Market, July 14-15.

Indian Market, Santa Fe’s biggest single event, bills itself as the largest show and sale of its kind, featuring the work of 1,200 artists from nearly 100 tribes, Aug. 18-19 on the Santa Fe Plaza.

Spanish Market showcases a sale of traditional Spanish Colonial art along with a juried show by contemporary Hispanic artists, July 28-29, also on the Santa Fe Plaza.

The city is also home to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum of International Folk Art, as well as hundreds of galleries.

For music lovers, Puccini’s “La Boheme” opens the season for the Santa Fe Opera, June 29, with various productions running through Aug. 25. The city’s annual Chamber Music Festival runs July 15 to Aug. 20.

Metropolitan art museum joins New York CityPass

CityPass is celebrating its 10th anniversary with the addition of The Metropolitan Museum of Art to attractions included on the New York pass, and the Hockey Hall of Fame to attractions covered by the Toronto CityPass.

Other attractions covered by New York CityPass are the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, the American Museum of Natural History, the Empire State Building and the Circle Line harbor cruise. The booklet, good for nine days from first use, is $65 ($49 for ages 12-17). It can be purchased at www.citypass.com or at any of the attractions.

In addition to the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Toronto CityPass covers admission to the CN Tower, the Ontario Science Centre, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Toronto Zoo, and Casa Loma, an Edwardian-era estate with a castle and gardens.

CityPass is also available in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Hollywood, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Southern California.

Ohio zoos plan more exhibits

Ohio’s five city zoos, already among the most attended in the country, are planning major renovations and expansions over the next five to 10 years, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The popularity of zoos in Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo keep growing.

Ohio and California are the only states with at least three zoos that draw more than 1 million people a year, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. They are also the only states with four zoos that draw at least 900,000 annually.

Add to that the Wilds, a 10,000-acre refuge about 60 miles east of Columbus near Zanesville, which features 25 species of wildlife from Africa, Asia and North America.

The Columbus zoo has a new water and amusement park set to open in May. In 2010, the zoo plans to open a 75-acre African Savannah. – The Cincinnati Zoo is opening “Cheetah Encounter,” a 100-yard running area for cheetahs, and the Toledo Zoo is opening a new Children’s Zone along with expansion of elephant and rhinoceros exhibits.

Travel deals

Kids travel free on Canada’s VIA Rail from June 1 to Sept. 15. Anyone age 18 or older buying an adult, senior or student fare Comfort Class ticket can receive a ticket for a child 11 or younger. Offer applies to all Comfort Class seat fares, including Supersaver rates. For example, buy one round-trip ticket from Toronto to Quebec at the Supersaver rate of $201 and your child rides free. One free child’s ticket per adult; tickets must be purchased together, and individuals must travel together. Info: 888-842-7245, www.viarail.ca/kids.

Take a cruise through Burgundy, France, on the 12-passenger La Belle Epoque or along the Rhone River in Southern France on the 12-passenger L’Impressionniste and get $1,000 off per cabin. Go Barging has discounts on all July and August sailings; price for the six-night cruise starts at $3,150 per person double, including taxes. Price includes meals, wine, open bar, admission to daily excursions and transfers from central pickup locations. Info: 800-394-8630, www.gobarging.com.

Three sail for the price of one on any Windjammer Barefoot cruise during June. Price for three starts at $400 per person, including port charges, aboard any of the line’s four ships. The six-night itineraries originate and operate throughout the Caribbean and Central America. Book by calling 800-327-2600. Cruise info: www.windjammer.com.

A seven-night Italy by Train package is $1,545 per person double (plus $265 taxes and fuel surcharges) for travel Sept. 7 to Oct. 31. Tourcrafters has the tour, which includes round-trip air from Washington, D.C., to Rome; seven nights’ lodging in Rome, Florence and Venice; first-class high-speed train ticket between cities; half-day sightseeing tour in each city; entrance fees and guides; breakfasts; and a wine-and-cheese tasting in Rome. Priced separately, air, lodging and train tickets would cost about $2,058 per person, for a savings of about $496 per couple. Info: 800-482-5995, www.tourcrafters.com.

Southwest Airlines Vacations is offering an additional $75-per-reservation discount on trips of four nights or longer to Las Vegas. To qualify, stay at any of nine premier properties, including the MGM Grand, Bellagio or Mandalay Bay. Deal is good for travel June 1 to Aug. 31. For example, a package including round-trip air from BWI and four nights at the MGM Grand in late June is about $1,540 per couple; priced separately, it would cost about $147 more. Seven-day advance purchase required; book by June 7. Info: 800-423-5683, www.southwestvacations.com.

Deals sell out quickly and are not guaranteed to be available. Restrictions such as day of travel, blackout dates and advance-purchase requirements sometimes apply.

Travel classes, seminars

Rick Steves’ Europe Through the Back Door offers free travel classes from 10 to 11:30 a.m. most Saturdays at the Edmonds Theater, 415 Main St., Edmonds.