Scandinavia, Estonia and Russia in the Autumn

You can add two countries to the Scandinavian itinerary on a tour from Sept. 12 to Oct. 1 that visits Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia and Russia. Among the highlights are lakes, fiords, ancient castles, cathedrals and scenic drives. The trip, offered by Trafalgar Tours, begins and ends in Copenhagen.

Cost: $2,150 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, most meals, ground transportation and guides. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Betty Leonard, travel agent; telephone (949) 470-0301.

China: An Overview

Historian Bob Feldman, a professor emeritus from Cal State, Fullerton and a frequent visitor to China since 1986, will escort a 17-day China tour beginning Oct. 26.

Guests will tour Beijing, Xian, Chongqing, Guilin and Shanghai and take a Yangtze River cruise. Feldman will lecture on Chinese history, culture and current affairs. The tour is limited to 25.

Highlights include the Forbidden City, the Ming Tombs, Tiananmen Square, a walk on the Great Wall, the terra-cotta army (archeological dig) of China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, and the limestone karsts of the Li River Valley. The final destination, Shanghai, includes the Children’s Palace, the new Shanghai Museum and an acrobatic show.

Cost: $4,090 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, ground transportation, deluxe hotel accommodations, tips to guides, all meals, entrance fees, cruise and three theater performances.

Contact: East-West International Tours, 925 Acapulco St., Laguna Beach, CA 92651; telephone (800) 359-6719, Internet https://www.eastwest-tours.com.

Northwest: History

Trace the voyage of Lewis and Clark on a seven-day steamboat cruise rich in American history. The group will sail from Portland, Ore., on July 7 aboard the Queen of the West, a 163-passenger sternwheeler. The itinerary includes cruising the Columbia, Willamette and Snake rivers and going ashore each day to explore historical sites.

Excursion highlights include Mt. Hood Railroad; Bonneville Dam; Multnomah Falls; Pendleton, Ore., and a country-western day; sites that explore the culture of the Nez Perce Indians; Hells Canyon Jet Boat; wine tasting; Columbia Gorge Discovery Center; Mt. St. Helens; a trip to Lewis and Clark’s Ft. Clatsop; and a drive along the Oregon coast to Cannon Beach.

Cost: $2,754 per person, double occupancy, including all meals, shore excursions and port tax. Air fare to Portland is additional.

Contact: Caren Erickson at Unique Vacations; tel. (800) 713-2207 or (909) 682-6101.

France: An Artful Tour

Paint “Old France” on a week in the tranquil spa village of Bourbon-Lancy, on the Loire River in the heart of Burgundy, July 16 to 27.

Artist Debra McKillop will accompany the group, which will spend each morning painting and will gather each evening for informal critiques. Afternoons will be free for exploration; some studio space will be available for artists wishing to continue with projects.

Cost: $1,490 per person, including accommodations, daily breakfast and dinner, transfer to Bourbon-Lancy, and one spa visit. A price of $2,050 is available for couples with one non-art participant. Air fare to France is extra.

Contact: Olga Geczy, 3700 Dean Drive, Ventura, CA 93003; fax (805) 650-8631, https://www.bourbon lancyfrance.com.

Spain: History

UCLA Spanish professor John Dagenais will lead a historical and cultural tour on “The Pilgrims’ Route” through northern Spain, Sept. 3 to 14.

Tracing the way of St. James, the tour starts in Bilbao and visits Olite, Burgos, Leon and Santiago de Compostela. Highlights include the Guggenheim Museum of Art, lodging in restored historical buildings, Gregorian chants at the monastery of Leyre, Gothic and Romanesque cathedrals, a private performance by madrigal singers and a walk along one of the most beautiful stretches of the camino from Eunate to Puente la Reina. Throughout the study tour, Dagenais will lecture on the story of St. James and its impact on European and Spanish culture.

Cost: $4,905 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, hotel, meals and all group land transportation in Spain.

Contact: UCLA Extension Department of Humanities; tel. (310) 825-2272.

Paris: For Families

Poet and editor Larry Wilson and architect and educator Phoebe Wall Wilson will lead an art and literary tour of Paris and the Loire July 10 to 22. Guests will visit the haunts of Eloise and Madeline (from the children’s book series), take a day trip to Monet’s Giverny gardens, tour an open-air market and boulangerie, and take walking tours of the Left and Right banks. Picnics in the Tuileries gardens, family dinners, parents’ nights out on the town and plenty of other kids to play with will keep the young ones happy.

Participants will settle in for six nights in a hotel near the Luxembourg Gardens followed by two nights in the Loire Valley and then four nights at an intimate hotel near the Place des Vosges on the Right Bank. Optional pre-trip intensive drawing classes will be offered in June.

Cost: $2,240 per person, double occupancy, including lodging, five dinners, ground transportation, entrance fees, guides and five evenings of child care. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Phoebe Wall Wilson at Wilson Associates; tel. (626) 577-9091.

Italy: Culinary Walks

Walk away the calories from eating and drinking the best of Italian cuisine and wines. Tre Laghi, a luxury walking-tour specialist, is offering seven-day trips to discover the culinary secrets of Barolo and Asti in northeast Italy’s Piedmont region. This area is known for its superb wines (Barolo, Barbaresco, Dolcetto and Asti Spumante) and prized recipes that use truffles and mushrooms. A van accompanies walkers.

Cost: $3,280 per person, double occupancy, including lodging, meals, wine tastings and guided tours, among them Serralunga Castle. Air fare is extra. Tours depart June 16 and July 20.

Contact: Tre Laghi Tours; tel. (800) 293-1117.

Greece and Turkey

From Sept. 17 to 30 you can follow the footsteps of St. Paul on a trip to Greece and Turkey. The group will visit Istanbul and take a cruise on the Bosporus, the waterway separating the European and Asian parts of the city. They will then fly to Ankara and take a luxury coach to Cappadocia, Konya, Pamukkale, Ephesus and nearby Panaya Kapulu, where some Christians believe the Virgin Mary spent her last days.

Boarding a ship at Kusadasi, the group will cruise to the Greek islands of Patmos, where St. John wrote the Book of Revelation; Rhodes; Santorini; and Heraklion (Crete). Tour the Bay of Salamis and biblical Corinth, viewing sights familiar to St. Paul, including the Fountain of Peirene, the Baths of Eurykes and the Lechaion Road. Then it’s on to Mycenae to see the Lion Gate and the Tomb of Agamemnon. Finally, visit the amphitheater of Epidaurus and, in Athens, the Parthenon, the temple of Athena, the theater of Dionysus, Mars Hill (Areopagus, where St. Paul preached), the Agora and the temple of Hephaestus.

Cost: $2,890 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, most meals, first-class hotels and three nights with outside cabins on a cruise ship.

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

Utah: Rafting

Mix nature and music on a “Classical Music Journey.” The rafting trip is July 28 to Aug. 4 on the Green River in Utah. Chamber orchestra members from the Santa Fe Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic give nightly performances. Concert venues will be canyons, alpine forests and ancient sandstone caverns along the river.

Cost: $1,811 per person, double occupancy, including rafting and camping gear, all meals and guides. Transportation to Utah is extra.

Contact: Dvorak Expeditions; tel. (800) 824-3795, https://www.dvorakexpeditions.com.

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