Form an Impression of Russia’s ‘Treasures’

One-week tours will depart Los Angeles on various dates from August through October for St. Petersburg, Russia. Each trip has a scheduled day to view the “Hidden Treasures” artworks, 74 Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces taken out of Germany at the end of World War II and now on display for the first time in 50 years at the Hermitage Museum. The tour also includes side trips to the nearby towns of Pushkin and Peterhof to see the summer homes of the czars, a tour of the Russian Art Museum, a night at the opera or ballet, and historical tours of the city.

Cost: $3,950 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, meals, ground transportation, tickets, guides and round-trip air fare from Los Angeles.

Contact: Jim Hilgendorf, the Tribute Series, P.O. Box 34157, Los Angeles, CA 90034; telephone (310) 839-6034.

More Art Treasures

A 17-day trip from Paris, France, to Rome, Italy, with an emphasis on art, architecture, photography and fashion will depart Aug. 4. Titled “The Art Treasures of France and Italy,” participants will visit major attractions, museums and architectural sites in Paris, Lyon, the French Riveria, Nice, Monte Carlo, Venice, Florence, Orvieto and Rome with day trips to Versailles, Cannes and Moulins and a Paris fashion show and a Seine River cruise. Sponsored by the art department and the College of Environmental Design at Cal Poly University Pomona, the tour will be led by art professor Joseph Hannibal and L.A. artist Luisa Cohrs. Guided tours and on-site lectures will be provided by the faculty and local experts and scholars.

Cost: $2,695 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, accommodations with private bath, all breakfasts, some dinners, private motor-coach transportation, admissions to many museums, architectural sites, fashion show and cruise, airport transfers and luggage handling.

Contact: Joseph Hannibal, Department of Art, Cal Poly University, Building No. 12-101, 3801 W. Temple Ave., Pomona, CA 91768; tel. (909) 869-3512.

A Week in Provence

Spend a week in a restored 18th-Century farmhouse in the South of France 15 miles from Avignon beginning Sept. 2, 9, 16 and 23. Guests will take daily tours that include antique shopping in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, visiting the Roman ruins in St. Remy and Arles, picnicking at Pont-du-Gard, touring the Palace of the Popes in Avignon and wine tasting in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Also included will be shopping in some of the ancient market towns, such as the hill town of Gordes, visiting designer shops and streets of Aix-en-Provence and Fontaine-de-Vaucluse. Art and architecture will also be explored in Roussillon-de-Vaucluse and Les Baux.

Cost: $1,475 per person, double occupancy including accommodations, all continental breakfasts, some meals, transportation to all planned sight visits, tips and entrance fees. Not included: air fare to France.

Contact: Dwight and Barbara Bennett, 3855 Pacific Ave., Long Beach, CA 90807; tel. (310) 426-4732.

Belly Up to Bali

A 12-day tour to Bali Aug. 12 visits Sanur and the artists’ village of Ubud. On one day, participants take a flight to Yogyakarta on Java to visit the 8th-Century Borobudur Temple, which is built atop a mountain. There will be lectures on Balinese art and dancing by UCLA professor Made Bandem and Jean Couteau, anthropologist, author and longtime Bali resident. The tour includes several private performances of traditional dances, Legong and Kecak; a visit to a palace compound, and tea at an artist’s home/gallery to view international art, decorative art and furnishings.

Cost: $3,695 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, daily breakfasts, one lunch and five dinners, a reception, hotels, portage of two pieces of luggage, and all tips except for the guide’s.

Contact: Journeys of the Mind, tel. (800) 527-5520; or write Lenore Howell, Journeys of the Mind, 12653 Plaza Menta, San Diego, CA 92128; tel. (619) 487-8316.

Achtung!

A 13-day tour to Germany and Austria leaves Sept. 8 to celebrate the 150th birthday of King Ludwig, who built some of Bavaria’s most beautiful castles. This tour begins in Germany during the High Imperial Days in Rothenburg. The group will have the chance to sample some of the 200 wines in a Heilbronn winery. In Austria, guests will see Salzburg, Mozart’s birthplace, take a “Sound of Music” tour and visit Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest in Berchtesgaden. Then it is on to Vienna to stop at the monastery at Melk and attend a performance of the Lipizzaner horses at the Spanish Riding School. Members will spend an evening at a typical wine stube with music and dancing. Then it’s on to Munich and the Octoberfest to visit the Deutsches Museum, the Glockenspiel, Olympia Park and Nymphenburg Palace where King Ludwig was born.

Cost: $2,785 per person, includes round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, buffet breakfast daily, 11 dinners in Europe, admissions to all museums and activities and motor-coach transportation.

Contact: Jeannette Martin, Atlas Travel Service, tel. (800) 462-8004.

Going Down Under

The Women’s Travel Club, based in Florida, is sponsoring a trip to Australia July 19 for 15 days. The group is limited to 25 with room shares guaranteed. (Men are invited on this trip too.) Participants visit Sydney, Ayers Rock, Kakadu National Park and the Great Barrier Reef from Port Douglas. Side trips include Daintree National Forest and Cape Tribulation and the Blue Mountains.

Cost: $3,375 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, domestic air in Australia, hotels, many meals and sightseeing. An extension to New Zealand is available.

Contact: Phyllis Stoller, Women’s Travel Club, tel. (305) 667-6229.

Waterfalls and Flowers

A Natural History tour of Yosemite National Park departs May 31. The four-day journey is timed to showcase springtime in the High Sierra. With a naturalist, participants will learn about the characteristics of animals, bird life and the park’s geology. Alpine wildflowers and the Mariposa Grove’s giant sequoias are seen. The group will take an all-day outing to Tuolumne Meadows (road conditions permitting), have an optional dinner at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel and eat an authentic Basque luncheon on the homeward route.

Cost: $495 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations at Yosemite Lodge, charter motor-coach transportation from Southern California, three meals, entry fees, sightseeing and the services of a naturalist and tour coordinator.

Contact: Learned Journeys; tel. (800) 682-6191.

Mediterranean Cruise

Cal Poly Alumni Assn., San Luis Obispo, has scheduled a Mediterranean cruise on Holland America’s Maasdam. This is a 12-day cruise beginning Oct. 1 and sails from Rome to Naples, Florence, Pisa, Italy; Monte Carlo and Marseilles, France; Barcelona and Minorca, Spain; the islands of Sardinia and Malta.

Cost: $2,950 per person, double occupancy, including an inside cabin, air fare from Los Angeles, a no-tipping policy and group parties.

Contact: Dick Wroble, 1425 Bryan Ave., Tustin, CA 92680; tel. (714) 832-0392.

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with cruise lines, travel agents or tour operators.