Jamaica: A NYC party, a book, and a package trip

An amazing optical device dubbed the Telectroscope has been installed at the Brooklyn base of the Brooklyn Bridge and by London's City Hall, miraculously permitting New Yorkers and Londoners to see each other--live. Through June 15, this art installation at Old Fulton Street at Fulton Ferry Landing will be open and part of the celebrations for the 125th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge's opening. Peer into a giant copper and wood lenses that poke out of the Earth's surface, and you can see excited crowds in London waving back. Details at the Telectroscope website. Or watch this video at CNN.com. EARLIER New York City: Four giant waterfalls arrive soon

Planning to travel to China this summer? The government has enacted new visa rules in order to keep better tabs on the more than 1.5 million visitors expected for the Olympic Games in August. While the new regulations are having more of an impact on foreigners living and working in China, tourists are also being required to jump through a few extra hoops. According to the Chinese consulate in New York, people applying for a 30-day tourist (L) visa must now provide proof that they have purchased round-trip airplane tickets and have made reservations at hotels for their entire stay. Here are the required documents for tourist visas: —A completed visa application form, which can be downloaded at nyconsulate.prchina.org/eng or china-embassy.org/eng. —A passport with plenty of extra pages, valid for at least six months. —One recent passport photo. —Copies of hotel bookings from the day you arrive to the day you leave. —Copies of your round-trip airplane tickets. There are other changes to be aware of. China has suspended multiple-entry visas until October, meaning you cannot leave China (to take a side-trip to Thailand, for example) and return to China on the same visa. Also, the government is requiring tourists interested in going to Tibet to fill out a form issued by the Tibet Tourism Bureau—when you call the Chinese consulate in New York, a recording instructs you to call the tourism bureau directly at 011-86/891-683-4313. I don't think this form will be easy to get—China has really tightened access to Tibet following the riots there this spring, mainly to keep out foreign journalists. Lastly, you cannot submit a visa application to the Chinese embassy or any consulate in the U.S. by mail—you have to either take it to the office personally, or have a friend or travel agent do it. Visa prices have also gone up to $130 for individual applicants, and $110 per person for people applying as part of a tour group. A good source for up-to-the-minute information on visa regulations is the English-language China travel website Chinatravel.net. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL —Do-It-Yourself China —The 2008 Beijing Olympics Planner —How to Get Visas For Countries Around the World —More Do-It-Yourself China advice.

Good news: Short-term sublet prices drop in the summer. Sure, you'll spend more on airfare to fly to Europe in July and August. But summer price hikes don't apply to lodging if you go the apartment-rental route. In fact, the cost of short-term sublets drops in the hot months, when Parisians take their own vacations in the provinces, putting their homes in the city up for rent. The surfeit of available spaces makes prices go down. Classified ads websites such as Kijiji and Craigslist have powered this growing trend; now, intrepid French apartment-owners are using blog software to create websites for their pied a terres, with images, maps, and neighborhood tips. Obviously, it is buyer beware when it comes to transactions with individuals you don't know. For the wary, there are several established companies for furnished sublets, such as Kudeta (kudeta-home.com), that are more legit. --Laurie Pike, for our Affordable Europe series.