Waltz Into a Viennese Palace, Barcelona Winery

Even if you can’t waltz and your name isn’t Matilda, you are invited to the Imperial Ball on Dec. 31 in Vienna’s Hofburg Palace. The former winter residence of the Austrian emperors hosts a night of dining and dancing for New Year’s Eve, and a variety of orchestras and bands entertain throughout the evening’s festivities. The tour starts Dec. 28 with a tour of Vienna, a New Year’s Day orchestra concert and ballet performance, and a concert by the Vienna Boys Choir in the Imperial Chapel.

Cost: from $2,250 per person, double occupancy, including five nights in a deluxe hotel, sightseeing excursions, buffet breakfast daily, some meals and transfers. International air fare is additional.

Contact: Kathleen Dutton of OMO Travel, 16787 Beach Blvd., No. 440, Huntington Beach, CA 92647; telephone (800) 465-8132, Internet https://www.omotravel.com.

Spain: Catalonia

Discover the region of Catalonia on a tour of Spain from Oct. 19 to 30. The group will spend seven nights in Barcelona to explore the city’s historic sites, art collections and cathedrals. Guests will also go on a private tour of the government palace, meet a contemporary artist at his studio, attend a soccer match, view traditional papier-ma^che “giants” and enjoy a night at the opera. A daylong excursion south of Barcelona includes an 11th century monastery and a tour of a private winery. A free day is built into the tour for optional extensions to Bilbao or Madrid.

The group will also stay three nights north of Barcelona in a refurbished 14th century building. From there, the group will visit Gerona, explore the Dali Museum and see the Costa Brava.

Cost: $2,945 per person, double occupancy, including first-class accommodations, mini coach transport, breakfast daily and some meals, all transfers and sightseeing fees. Air fare is extra. Tour size is limited to 15 people.

Contact: Maria Blanc Tours; tel. (949) 488-0840, Internet https://www.mariablanctours.com.

Canada: Autumn Color

Autumn in Alberta can be enjoyed on an eight-day air/motor coach tour offered by Great Western Tours of California.

Guests will fly from LAX to Calgary on Sept. 28 and take a motor coach to Banff for a two-night stay, with visits to Johnson Canyon, Victoria Glacier, the Spiral Tunnels, Natural Bridge and Emerald Lake. A tour of Banff and lunch at Chateau Lake Louise are included.

The Icefield Parkway and Columbia Icefields, with a ride on the Athabasca Glacier, are scheduled on the way to Jasper for a two-night stay. Excursions to Patricia and Pyramid lakes and Maligne Canyon and a cable lift to the top of Whistler Mountain are included.

Tours of Edmonton and Calgary round out the trip.

Cost: $1,095 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air from LAX to Calgary, deluxe motor coach transportation, seven nights’ hotel accommodations, nine meals, sightseeing and admissions.

Contact: Great Western Tours; tel. (800) 344-7090.

Bali: Weaving

Kim Saunders, a Singapore-based author and textile expert, will lead a small-group tour on “Weavings and Wanderings--Woven Arts and Culture in Bali” from Oct. 22 to Nov. 2. Participants will be based at the Alam Indah, an intimate retreat in Ubud. Three half-day workshops, including weaving on a back-strap loom and decorative weaving of palm and other fibers, will be taught by masters of Balinese woven crafts.

The tour includes invitations to traditional Balinese family compounds for a look at the native culture, guided nature and village walks, dance performances and visits to the studios of local artists.

Participants will see a demonstration by a traditional herbal healer, visit rural areas noted for producing songket, ikat and batik fabrics, explore the ancient village where gamelan instruments are made, and attend a Balinese cooking school. Ample time is given for shopping and spa treatments.

A two-night extension is available to Yogyakarta, Java, to explore Borobudur, a 9th century Buddhist monument. Also planned are visits to other ancient temples and to the studio of an American batik designer who has adopted the ancient Javanese craft.

Cost: $2,945 per person, double occupancy, including air from Los Angeles, accommodations, all breakfasts and many other meals, tours and workshops, guides and transfers.

Contact: Sandy Chaves, Perfect Spot Tours; tel. (800) 499-8250.

Nebraska: Indian History

“Ft. Robinson and the Indian Wars” is a learning vacation offered by History America Tours in partnership with the History Channel. The six-night tour starts July 8 in Denver. Tom Buecker, curator of the Ft. Robinson Museum and author of “Fort Robinson and the American West, 1874-1899,” will guide the tour.

Tour sites range from Ft. Laramie and the area of the Grattan Fight in Wyoming to Ft. Robinson in Nebraska, where the group will be headquartered for four nights. The journey will include stops at the Museum of the Fur Trade, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, Wounded Knee and the Red Cloud School. On the return to Denver, the group will visit two Oregon Trail landmarks, Chimney Rock Historic Site and Scotts Bluff National Monument.

Cost: $1,295 per person, double occupancy, including six nights’ accommodations, transportation and 12 meals.

Contact: History America Tours, P.O. Box 797687, Dallas, TX 75379; (800) 628-8542, Internet https://www.historyamerica.com.

Mexico: Food Festival

Explore the traditional cuisines of Oaxaca, Mexico, during the 5th annual Food of the Gods Festival, Oct. 7 to 14. Five dinners, market trips and archeological tours are planned.

Cost: from $650 per person, double occupancy, including hotel room for seven nights, transfers, daily breakfast, five dinners and guides.

Contact: Nancy Selby at Your Travel Agent, 445 S. Emma Ave., Ventura, CA 93003; tel. (800) 537-2369.

Korea: Past and Present

From the modern shopping mecca of Seoul to the ancient burial grounds of kings at Kyongju, an 11-night tour of South Korea covers a broad spectrum of the Korean culture. The accompanied tour, which will be aboard a motor coach, departs Oct. 9. Stops along the way include the Demilitarized Zone, Korean Folk Village, the Standing Buddha, Damyang Bamboo Market and Museum, the city of Pusan, Kyongju and Mt. Sorak.

Cost: $1,936 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air from Los Angeles, hotels, most meals and ground transportation.

Contact: Paul Garver at Travelbridge; tel. (623) 935-4294.

Southwest: On Horseback

The Crow Canyon Archeological Center is offering Monument Valley on horseback. Riders will explore Navajo culture and the geology and archeology of one of the most photographed regions of the American Southwest. The tour will be led by Navajo tribal member Harry Walters and archeologist Ricky Lightfoot. The program begins and ends in Cortez, Colo., Oct. 6 to 11.

Cost: $1,595 per person, including meals, shared accommodations, horses, guides and camping gear.

Contact: Crow Canyon Archeological Center; tel. (800) 422-8975, Internet https://www.crowcanyon.org.

Ireland: Theater

Experience the Dublin International Theatre Festival in Ireland’s mellow autumn weather with Laura Hitchcock, an arts journalist, and Michael Hoffer, a former studio executive. The theater tour runs Oct. 3 to 10.

Travelers will meet theater people and attend plays in Dublin. The group will then drive across Ireland for a visit to Galway and the Gaelic center of Connaught on the west coast.

Cost: $1,268 per person, double occupancy, including deluxe hotel, full Irish breakfast daily, tickets to plays, literary pub crawl, city tour, motor-coach transportation, dinner party. The Galway excursion includes private Pullman motor-coach transportation from Dublin to Galway, four-star hotel, full Irish breakfast daily, two dinners in Galway, a city tour and tour of Connaught. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Professional Travel Service, tel. (323) 852-0549, Internet https://www.theatours.com.

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