VIDEOS : Touring the Cities and Historic Sites of Scenic New England

“New England” (American Automobile Assn., 60 minutes, 1991).

Tourist highlights of the six New England states--Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island--are featured in this rich, well-photographed video tour.

Viewers see panoramic scenes of mountains, lakes and seashore as well as cities, historic landmarks, quaint villages and museums.

In Maine, scenes include Acadia National Park, the Maritime Museum at Bath, Boothbay Harbor, Portland, Penobscot Bay and Kennebunkport.

Featured in New Hampshire are the beautiful White Mountains and Franconia Notch State Park, with Profile Lake and Flume Gorge. The video also visits Portsmouth, with its restored Strawberry Banke museum..

Vermont sites include the Green Mountains, Lake Champlain, charming villages and the Robert Todd Lincoln Home. Other stops are Bennington, Woodstock, Stowe, Plymouth, Billings Farm and Museum, and the home of Calvin Coolidge.

Massachusetts abounds in historic sites, seen in tours of Boston, the witchcraft town of Salem, Plymouth, and visits to Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower replica, and the restored Plimoth Plantation.

There’s a tour of the Cape Cod area and Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod National Seashore, the town of Sandwich, and the lovely gardens, arts, crafts and antique autos of the Heritage Plantation. At Fall River, viewers see the U.S. battleship Massachusetts, and in New Bedford, the Whaling Museum. Also visited are the living museum of Sturbridge Village, and in Springfield, the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Connecticut highlights include the town of Mystic--the site of one of the nation’s largest maritime museums--with its quaint shops and historic homes, the submarine base at Groton and the capital city of Hartford.

Special Rhode Island attractions are the coastline at Narragansett and a tour of Newport’s opulent summer mansions.

Tapes are available from AAA Video Service, 200 Fillmore, Suite 106, Denver, Colo. 80206, (800) 875-5000. The price is $19.95 for association members, $24.95 for non-members.

“Prague Czechoslovakia” (AB Productions, 38 minutes, 1992).

Prague, straddling the Moldau River in Central Europe, is a remarkably beautiful city that was spared much of the damage of world wars I and II.

Panoramic views show the skyline pierced by spires, and shots of street scenes include many of the city’s landmarks, including the Romanesque Basilica of St. George, Prazsky Castle and the National Gallery. There are also visits to Golden Lane in Old Town, with its quaint and colorful shops, and the old Jewish synagogue (dating back to 1270), with its huge cemetery, plus the beautiful Charles Bridge, with its towers and statuary.

The video zooms in on the architectural detail of other buildings as well, including that of the National Theater and National Museum, and the mosaic work on the Merchant’s Bank, municipal buildings and the main railway station, renamed for Woodrow Wilson.

The video offers information on transportation in the city, including river boats and balloon rides. There’s also a tour of the shopping area around Wenceslas Square, with its antique, book, crystal and craft shops.

Tapes are available from AB Productions, 9903 Santa Monica Blvd., No. 189, Beverly Hills 90212, (310) 391-1074. Price: $19.95.

“Christopher Columbus” (Robin Williams Productions, 60 minutes, 1992).

During the 500th anniversary year of Columbus’ journey to the New World, this video offers a beautifully illustrated biographical and historical refresher course of his life and times.

Accompanied by readings from his ship’s logs and film of maps, papers, artifacts and paintings of people and events, the viewer follows Columbus as his seeks support for his dream of reaching the Indies by sailing west. The journey takes him from Italy to Portugal and Spain, and his eventual landing on the island of San Salvador.

City tours begin in Genoa, where viewers visit Columbus’ designated birthplace (still disputed) and hear about some of his youthful experiences. There are also visits to Madrid, Cordoba, Segovia, Toledo and the historic Alhambra near Granada.

Columbus’ Atlantic crossing is illustrated with maps and a narration that tells of the sighting of land. There’s also a tour of a reproduction of his flagship, the Santa Maria, and a description of life aboard ship and scenes depicting San Salvador as it may have looked and as it looks today.

Tapes are available from Robin Williams Productions, 1277 South Coast Highway, Laguna Beach 92651, (714) 494-3307. Price: $30.