Get a Running Start on Seeing the Sights in China

Run a 5K, 10K, half-marathon or full marathon in Beijing on a tour that departs Oct. 7 for 10 days. The race starts at Tiananmen Square past the State Guest House and finishes at National Olympic Stadium. More than 2 million spectators will cheer you on.

Tour highlights include two full days of sightseeing, including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace and a cruise on Lake Kunming. The second day of sightseeing includes the Great Wall and Ming Tombs.

Cost: $1,195 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, accommodations, some meals, transfers and taxes. Marathon registration is $150 extra. A longer version of this package includes the marathon and Beijing sightseeing and adds Xian and a four-day Yangtze River cruise. It begins Oct. 9, lasts 15 days and costs $3,050 per person, double occupancy.

Contact: Elite Travel Adventures, 460 Ward Drive, Suite E, Santa Barbara, CA 93111; telephone (800) 563-9252.

France and Ireland

A Catholic pilgrimage to France and Ireland packs in a bundle of historic and religious sites over 14 days. The tour begins in Paris Aug. 23 with visits to Notre Dame and the Chapel of the Virgin’s Miracles, and then proceeds to Lisieux, home of the Carmelite St. Therese, known as the Little Flower.

Visits in Ireland include the town of Knock to see the Shrine of the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin, Ballintubber Abbey, Croagh Patrick holy mountain, Connemara, Kylemore Abbey, the Cliffs of Moher and Limerick. Participants will also see Adare, Killarney, the Ring of Kerry, Blarney Castle, Waterford, Tipperary, the Rock of Cashel where St. Patrick preached, Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Trinity College.

Cost: $2,695 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, first-class hotels, two meals daily in Ireland and breakfast only in France, with transportation, sightseeing, entrance fees and guides.

Contact: Santiago Pilgrimages; tel. (949) 581-9936.

Paris to Rome: Art

A 16-day art history trip to France and Italy, sponsored by the Art Department of Cal Poly Pomona, begins June 17. The tour, led by two art professors, focuses on monuments, art, architecture, history, culture and cuisine.

The program begins in Paris with visits to the Louvre Museum to see the “Mona Lisa,” the Musee de l’Orangerie for Monet’s “Waterlilies,” the Center Pompidou of Modern Art, the Musee d’Orsay to see Impressionist works and the Picasso Museum. At night participants enjoy a Seine River cruise, the Eiffel Tower and shopping along the Champs-Elysees. The group will be joined by a French historian for a tour of Louis XIV’s lavish Versailles Palace.

On the way to the south of France, a stop will be made at the Papal Palace in Avignon and then the French Riviera. Along the Mediterranean into Italy and the medieval walled city of Lucca, guests will stop in Florence to see the Uffizi gallery and Michelangelo’s “David.” A stop is made in Orvieto before going to Rome to see the Colosseum, the Forum, St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican City.

Cost: $2,399 per person, double occupancy, including first-class hotel accommodations, daily breakfast and seven dinners, ground transportation, entrance fees, lectures and entrance fees. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Cal Poly Art Department; tel. (909) 869-3512.

England: Art

UCLA Extension is offering a 15-day travel study program showcasing the heritage of art, architecture, interiors, gardens and cuisine of England. “Treasures of England” was developed by artist and educator Judith Corona. Students will visit such architectural landmarks as St. Paul’s Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge. Also included are stops at Hampton Court Palace, Chiswick House, Blenheim Palace and the Royal Pavilion at Brighton.

A London city tour includes the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum and Sir John Soane’s House. In the West Country, the tour will be based in Bath, with tours to the Lake District. A visit to Stratford-on-Avon to see Shakespeare’s home and birthplace is also planned.

Cost: $3,600 per person, double occupancy, including course fee, accommodations in first-class hotels, some meals, ground transportation, guides, entrance fees and transfers while on tour.

Contact: UCLA Extension’s Architecture and Interior Design Program, tel. (310) 825-9061, Internet https://www.uclaextension.org.

Ireland: Landscapes

Artist Susan Hazard will guide a small group on a 10-day tour to Ireland to paint and draw its green landscapes. The group departs Los Angeles Sept. 22 and will be immersed for 10 days in Irish history, music, art and local culture. Artists will see the Burren region’s stark limestone hills and heather-covered bogs, the archeological sites of medieval Inishbofin Island and the 5,000-year-old Ceide Fields. Also seen are Galway, Abbeyglen Castle in Clifden and Westport.

Cost: $2,985 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles to Shannon, transfers, chartered coach, deluxe accommodations, all meals, taxes, service charges and entrance fees.

Contact: Carolyn Edwards at Mesa Travel, 5458 El Carro Lane, Carpinteria, CA 93013; tel. (805) 684-6601.

Japan: Alpine Hikes

A hike into the Kita Alps on Honshu will help show that Japan isn’t only teeming cities. The tour runs Sept. 8 to 22 from Journeys East. Limited to 17 participants and two guides, one of whom is Stanford fellow James Robson, a veteran Asian traveler, the trip begins in Tokyo, ends in Kyoto and offers four full days of hiking. The trek’s maximum altitude is 7,500 feet, though there is an optional climb to the summit of Mt. Hotaka, which is over 10,000 feet.

Cost: $4,485 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, some meals, guides and ground transportation. Air fare to Japan is extra.

Contact: Journeys East; tel. (800) 527-2612 or (707) 987-4531.

France: Art Workshop

Through its travel abroad program, the Brentwood Art Center offers a Drawing and Painting workshop in Nerac, France, from Aug. 11 to Sept. 8. This tour is offered to artists who enjoy drawing and painting with oils, acrylics, watercolors and mixed media. Ada Pullini Brown, director of the program, and instructors David Limrite and Barbara Ashton will conduct classes in a studio overlooking the River Baise, as well as outside in the surrounding landscape. Students are housed in a local hotel.

Cost: $4,600 for four weeks, $3,900 for three weeks, from Aug. 18, per person, double occupancy, including most breakfasts and dinners, accommodations and ground transportation. Air fare is extra. An optional weekend visit to the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, will be offered.

Contact: Linda Buttwinick or Ada Pullini Brown; tel. (310) 451- 5657.

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