Turin Winter Olympics 101

By Kate Appleton
November 16, 2005
0511_olympics
La Presse
How to snag tickets for the February 2006 Games in Italy and find a place to stay, plus cultural goings-on, daytrips further afield, and plenty of resources for schedules, contacts, and maps

The host city of Winter Olympics XX, Turin (Torino in Italian) has been busily beefing up its facilities and cultural programming, hoping to make the most of its moment in the spotlight and present itself as an appealing tourism destination of the first order. The 16-day festivities will cover 15 different sports and dish out 84 medals to the best of 2,500 athletes as determined by 650 judges and referees and witnessed by 1.5 million spectators. Here's all the information you need to be one of them.

WHEN & WHERE: February 10 - 26, 2006. The official website of the Games is Torino2006.org and they have a handy events calendar (PDF).

All the flashy ceremonies and stadium sporting events like figure skating, speed skating and ice hockey will take place in Turin, whereas the Alpine events like skiing, bobsled, and luge will occur in the Val di Susa and Sestriere mountain resorts west of the city.

Turin is also host to the Paralympics, March 10 - 19, 2006, during which athletes with disabilities compete in wheelchair curling, ice sledge hockey, Alpine skiing and Nordic skiing.

GETTING THERE: Flights for travel to Turin in mid-February are currently $572 (Alitalia) from New York; $599 (multiple carriers) from Washington, D.C.; $647 (Air France) from Chicago; $907 (multiple carriers) from Phoenix; $827 (multiple carriers) from San Francisco

WHERE TO STAY: Notoriously short on high-end lodgings, Turin has been booking up rapidly, with many rooms set aside for travel agencies and tour providers at the get-go. The official site for booking area-wide hotel rooms is the zealously named JumboGrandiEventi.it. There are currently 41 hotels listed, with doubles priced anywhere from $74 to $1,000 (63 to 853 euros) per night.

Turin's official tourism website, TurismoTorino.org, has a much more extensive database of hotels, B&Bs, and hostels, allowing you to search by price (from as low as $53/45 euros), area, or type of accommodation. The tour operator Somewhere has apartment rentals and B&Bs available with rates starting at $129/110 euros per night and a five-night minimum stay during the Olympics.

CoSport.com, North America's resource for Olympic ticket sales, offers ticket-accommodations packages (dubbed Hospitality Packages), which can drastically simplify the planning but will be significantly more expensive than the D.I.Y. approach of booking your lodgings and events separately. One of the simplest packages, four nights at the Hotel Continental Torino (double occupancy) and tickets to just one event, costs a whopping $2,778.50 per person.

Given the paltry selection of rooms left in Turin and the reality that many competitions are a good two hours outside the city, it's worth considering the adjacent region of Valle d'Aosta, about a 90-minute drive to the north near the borders of France and Switzerland. You can search for lodgings of all sorts--B&Bs, hotels, camp sites, mountain huts, hostels--on its official website: regione.vda.it

HOW TO BUY TICKETS: In North America, the official channel for purchasing tickets is CoSport.com, , 800-457-4647. Event tickets have been classified as either Type I, anticipated to be in high demand, or Type II, anticipated to be less popular. For each Type I ticket or Ceremony ticket ordered, you must order at least one Type II ticket. (Figure skating is a I; Curling is a II. You can determine the categorization and buy tickets here).

While there is still a decent amount of availability for both ticket types, the cheaper seats are selling faster than the pricey ones. As of November 15, 2005, the only Opening Ceremony tickets left were at the highest bracket, a cool $1,250 a head. If you're still in town and haven't had the Olympic spirit beaten out of you, you'll save a bundle on Closing Ceremony tickets, just $560. Here's a look at others still available:

Type I: Only select women's figure skating tickets remain, mostly at the $490 rate. Among the less high-profile of the high-profile, there's the two-man bobsled at $59, the men's cross-country skiing relay from $50.50, women's snowboarding from $59, and men's ice hockey semi-finals at $235 or $403.

Type II: Men's single luge at $67, women's ice hockey preliminary round (USA vs. Finland) at $67, women's cross-country skiing at $84, and plenty of curling by both sexes starting at $34.

WHILE IN TOWN: The capital of Italy's northwestern Piedmont region is bisected by the Po River and surrounded by the snow-capped Alps. It's both commercial--home to Fiat and Pirelli, the national broadcasting company RAI, and the soccer team Juventus--and cosmopolitan, with French flair and a history of filmmaking, chocolate-making (especially of the decadent Gianduja hazelnut variety), and cultivating Barolo wine and truffles from Alba.

A cut above the rest of Turin's museums, the world-class Museo Egizio houses a treasure trove of ancient Egyptian art, statuary, sarcophagi, and jewelry lovingly amassed over the centuries by the onetime ruling House of Savoy (Via Accademia delle Scienze, 6; museoegizio.org, in Italian only; closed Mon., 6.50 euros).

Two other noteworthy museums focus on home-grown industries: the movies and cars. First, the Museo Nazionale del Cinema traces the history of photography and film and displays vintage movie posters and props from classics like Fellini's Casanova (Via Montebello, 20, museonazionaledelcinema.org; closed Mon., 5.20 euros). Second, the Museo dell'Automobile's collection of 170 cars dotes on local brand Fiat, but leaves room for other dreamy models like Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Ferrari, and Bentley (Corso d'Unità d'Italia, 40; museoauto.it; closed Mon., 5.50 euros).

For an earful of opera, make a beeline for the 18th century Teatro Regio (Piazza Castello, 215; teatroregio.torino.it).

And warm up with some coffee at Caffè Al Bicerin, once the haunt of Nietzsche. The special drink, called a Bicerin, is beautifully layered with chocolate, cream, and coffee (5 Piazza Della Consolata, 011-39/011-43-69-325, Bicerin $5).Excerpted from our recent feature, Where Foodies Love to Eat

HIT THE ROAD: Ditch the crowds and soak up the scenery in the outlying valleys. Ten miles west of Turin in the Val di Susa, the 12th century Benedictine abbey Sacra di San Michele is perched atop craggy Monte Pirchiriano. Its formidable and maze-like structure was the inspiration for the setting of Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose. Follow the trail, about 1 ½ hrs, from the town of Sant'Ambrogio up to the abbey (open daily, 4 euros). Hiking and driving directions available on their website.

The Barolo valley's wine-producing villages lie about 35 miles to the south. Sample the regional fruits at Castello Falletti in the town of Barolo (daily, 2 euros per tasting) or explore by car (complete list of area wineries: barolodibarolo.com).

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Table of Contents

Highlights from the current issue of Budget Travel Movie Quest 2005 The 10 films that are inspiring us to travel--and how you can re-create the best moments yourself Every Day Is a Winding Road When it feels like every moment of your life is scheduled, maybe your vacation shouldn't be The Spirit of St.Lucia For three men raised on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, growing up meant getting out. But each found his way home--and now runs a small hotel there. Whitney Pastorek finds out what drew them back Road Trip: Florida PanhandleThe northwestern coast of Florida sprawls out in one sandy strip. There's plenty of room for everyone--spring breakers and gators included How to Buy World Cup TicketsThe World Cup happens every four years, and the next one, in 2006, is expected to draw 5 million spectators to host country Germany My Hometown: San Francisco The city is a lovely place to spend a weekend--even for a native. My challenge has always been figuring out exactly where to leave my heart Trip Coach: New York City A secret dream getaway that's all about her--the husband is even happy to tag along while his wife goes shopping 40 Best Vacations The real deals right now 20 Tips A new use for postcards, why you should remove the left front hubcap of a rental car in England, and 18 other tips from our readers True Stories Win a trip to Costa Rica! If your response is the best we receive before Dec. 31, you'll win a seven-night walking tour of Costa Rica from Cross Country International Walking Vacations. You can find more in the December 2005/January 2006 issue of Budget Travel magazine. Subscribe now: 10 issues for $12!

Trip Coach: Nov. 15, 2005

Budget Travel Editors: Thanks for joining us for this week's Trip Coach. Let's get to your questions! _______________________ Harrisburg, Oregon: Going to Florence in February..with car to Cortona for 3 days..any surefire tips on "driving in Italy"..Tammy G, Harrisburg, OR Budget Travel Editors: There are several rules of thumb that apply to renting cars in Italy (and Europe in general). 1) You'll pay less if you rent before you go; try AutoEurope.com 2) If you're going for longer than two weeks, consider a short-term lease 3) Request a car that takes diesel, it's cheaper to fill up 4) Rent a manual, or "stick," if you can 5) Take full advantage of having a car, meaning get off the main ateries and travel to places not otherwise accessible-small towns and villages. Michelin (michelin.com) sells the best, most detailed road maps of Italy. Note: Italians drive fast, so don't feel compelled to keep up. _______________________ Stillwater, MN: My husband and I are planning a 2 to 2 1/2 week trip to New Zealand in February/March 2006. We're considering participating in a 2 week trip called the Rimu offered by Active New Zealand ... we're in our mid 50's to early 60's, but quite active and when we travel we love to get off the beaten path and see the country. Should we get one of those camper vans and "do the country" ourselves? Any input, suggestions of what NOT to miss, alternatives, would be MUCH APPRECIATED. Budget Travel Editors: An ideal way to explore NZ is by camper van. While NZ is not an expensive country to visit (only to get to!), you can save a lot of money if your accommodations are taken care of. With only two weeks at your disposal however, I'd recommend sticking to one island. If you're looking for a more active experience and more dramatic scenery then I'd suggest the South Island for its mountains, glaciers, hiking paths, gorges, etc. Your very best trip-planning resource is the country's excellent official tourism website: newzealand.com. It includes driving routes. For example, here's a link to its Southern Scenic Route. There's even a pull-down menu to help you determine the weather and rainfall during the time you plan to visit. Keep in mind that they drive on the left hand side of the road in NZ, so you'll want to take it easy on the road. Go to airnz.com for flight and vacation package info. Go-Today.com has an 11-night South Island Fly-Drive package good for travel the end of February, late summer, for $1,439 per person. _______________________ Madison, IN: My husband and I (both age 29) are wanting to visit Acadia National Park in Maine along with our 12 year old girl. We would like to make this a road trip. We were wondering about the best places to stop along the way (definetely Niagra Falls) and still allow time to explore the park area adequately. We would like to spend some time in nature as well as some time spent in town. I can not find much literature an the National Park at all. What are the best sights to see? Sorry for rambling! Thank You. Budget Travel Editors: A road trip from IN to ME sound like fun. You will most definitely want to stop in Niagara Falls. Here's a link to a story from our October issue you may find helpful. From there, I'd recommend travel across and down NY State to the Berkshires (visiting Mass MOCA in North Adams, Tanglewood in Lenox, Norman Rockwell Museum along the way), and then hopping on the Mass Turnpike to 495, 495 to 95, and 95 to 295 up the coast of Maine. In our July/August issue we published a road trip story on seeing mid-Coast Maine. As for information about staying on Mt. Desert Island or visiting Acadia National Park, I'd recommend checking out these URLs: ; nps.gov/acad/; acadianationalpark.com. Warning: If you intend to camp, be sure to make reservations ahead of time, and also let people know where you are. The cell phone reception in the area is notoriously bad. _______________________ Rye Beach, NH: What are the weather conditions in southern Italy, Sicily and Malta in February? Budget Travel Editors: February is a dicey time to travel to Europe weather-wise, though the southern/Mediterranean areas you mentioned fare better than the chilly and rainy North. In cities like Palermo, Bari, and Naples, temperatures tend to be in the high 40s to low 50s. Malta's capital, Valletta, heats up a bit more and can reach the high 50s or low 60s. You won't need to pack a bathing suit, but you may not need a wool hat either--and at least it should be warmer than New Hampshire! You can read about exploring Italy's southern region of Apulia in our recent article, Once Upon a Time in Italy. _______________________ Phoenix, Arizona: We are trying to plan a trip to New York City for 4 nights starting December 7, 2005. We are finding it impossible to find hotel rooms for less than $400 per night. We are looking for 2 rooms for 2 adults each. The low cost hotel rooms sound like hotel hell after checking Tripadvisor.com. Budget Travel Editors: It's a tall order but certainly not impossible to find affordable hotel heaven in New York. (Tripadvisor.com's reviews should be taken with a grain of salt--after all, you can't be sure who posted them, if their tastes are similar to yours, what agendas they may have, or if they even stayed at the hotel at all!) Here are some of our favorites: Abingdon Guest House, two Federal townhouses in the West Village with doubles from $159 (abingdonguesthouse.com), the Gershwin Hotel (gershwinhotel.com/english/site1.html) in the Flatiron where superior rooms start at $129, Second Home on Second Avenue (secondhomesecondavenue.com), a 19th century townhouse in the East Village with doubles from $100, or the Upper West Side's English-inspired Country Inn the City (countryinnthecity.com), with apartment-style doubles from $150. For more tips on where to stay, eat, shop, and play, download our free New York City Snap Guide. _______________________

Road Trips

Every Day Is a Winding Road in Ireland

It's time to ditch the itinerary and embark on what we call a Choose Your Own Adventure package. You get airfare, a car rental, a week's worth of lodging vouchers, and the freedom to hopscotch around the countryside, booking your next room just a day in advance. The trend began in Ireland in 1999, before spreading to Great Britain, France, and beyond. Barbara Peck test-drives one of the original deals. This past summer, having packed our two sons off to camp, my husband and I were ready for our first child-free vacation in years. Ireland, so compact yet so diverse, seemed perfect for a driving trip. Fortunately for me, David is handy at hauling luggage, driving a stick shift on the wrong side of the road, and lustily singing "Black Velvet Band." We agreed on flying into Shannon Airport rather than Dublin, so we could explore the wild western coast, especially the rugged hills of Connemara. Several companies offer Ireland deals that include flights, a rental car, and vouchers good at roughly 1,400 B&Bs belonging to the Town and Country Homes Association. All the packages have the same weeklong format: six nights in B&Bs or five B&B nights and one night at a hotel or castle. (Ireland and B&Bs are made for each other. The Irish are gregarious hosts, and many have been renting out rooms for decades; while hotels are rare in rural areas, there's always a B&B no matter how far you stray from the beaten path.) But unlike a traditional tour, where there's little room for spontaneity, these packages let you change your itinerary as you go, choosing a different B&B every night, or settling in if you find one that suits your style. After poking around online, I called several tour operators in hopes of speaking with a real person. Everyone was polite and patient, almost soothing. I especially appreciated the Irish lilt in the voice of Catherine, an agent at Brian Moore International Tours. But in the end I settled on Ireland.com, which offered the lowest rate and nonstop flights to Shannon on our preferred airline. A large envelope arrived a few days later, with e-tickets, accommodations and car-rental vouchers, an itinerary, a road map, and the 336-page Bed & Breakfast Guide. We had a rough plan: To steer clear of tourist hordes, I vetoed the famous Ring of Kerry, despite Dave's protest that it'd be like going to Arizona without seeing the Grand Canyon. Instead, we'd loop around the Dingle Peninsula before our castle stay at Adare Manor, then we'd head for Connemara. Following Ireland.com's advice to book our first night in advance, I combed through the guide, scrutinizing photos of Dingle B&Bs. Few fit my image of a quaint thatched cottage. Instead, they were mostly plain suburban houses built in recent decades. It's clearly a popular look to surround a house with asphalt; many B&Bs appear to have enough space to park a semi. I studied the two-line descriptions for clues (looking for gardens in particular) and e-mailed four Dingle properties to check availability. Within hours, all four replied in the affirmative. Ten days later we arrived at Shannon, where we picked up a Ford Fiesta from Dooley Car Rentals. Soon after leaving the highway we plunged into an impossibly green landscape where hedgerows were bursting with ferns and foxgloves. As we approached a confusing roundabout, Dave's eyes narrowed and the chorus of "Whiskey in the Jar" died on his lips. "Okay, which way is it?" he asked. Stalling for time, I offered what was to become my standard advice: "Just keep going around till we figure it out." Once we conquered the roundabout, our first B&B, Strand View House, was easy to locate. Mary Lynch showed us to an immaculate room in the back, with a view of flowering shrubs and a fieldstone wall on a hillside. The bed looked horizontal, which is all we cared about after our overnight flight. We took a brief nap, then got back in the car and drove across the Dingle Peninsula, stopping at Ireland's highest mountain pass, Conor Pass, to marvel at the motley patchwork of fields and lakes below. (Government officials recently announced that Dingle's name would change to An Daingean, a Gaelic word that means fortress and is apparently pronounced awn-dang-in. We called it Dingle, just like everyone else.) We covered a good part of the peninsula, along roads that in some places were so narrow I closed my eyes when a bus approached. In the early evening we retraced our steps to have dinner in the peninsula's biggest town, also known as Dingle. A contemporary bistro called the Chart House convinced us that the old Irish meat-and-potatoes cliché is a thing of the past. We devoured a mushroom appetizer baked with hummus and gubeen (a local cheese), and we lingered at the end over a rhubarb crumble with ginger ice cream. On the 30-minute drive back to Strand View House, we realized it's important to keep in mind where you'd like to eat when booking a B&B. Nobody wants to--or should--drive on winding country roads after a leisurely meal and some wine or Guinness. Waking in the middle of the night, I pondered the name of the B&B. Strand View House certainly implied a view of the strand--in this case, Ireland's longest beach. So why, when the other three rooms were unoccupied, had we been placed in back? I asked Mary about our room at breakfast, which was the best of our trip: amazing pancakes--more like crepes, really--and Ireland's excellent smoked salmon, served with scrambled eggs. We'd checked in early, she replied, so she'd given us the only room ready at the time. (The best room, Mount Brandon, has a stunning view of the ocean.) Before leaving, we handed over the voucher dated for the previous night's stay--so much nicer than a credit card or cold, hard cash. Adare Manor came next. The 18th-century stone castle, all towers and turrets, sits on 840 groomed acres, with a golf course and massive cedar, birch, and oak trees. Our palatial room--we received an upgrade for no discernible reason--was decorated in black, gold, and red, with a stone fireplace. And dinner in the Oakroom was outstanding: a table set with candelabra and white linens, a meal that included seared Atlantic scallops and herb-crusted rack of lamb, and a window overlooking the parterre. Though we were there on a package, we never felt like second-class citizens. The staff was unfailingly pleasant and courteous. We planned to wing it the following night--wandering around Galway until we came upon a B&B we liked the look of, and ringing the doorbell to see if there was a room. Bad idea. Galway's B&Bs were full--the photo in the Irish Independent of Matt Dillon at the Galway Film Festival should have tipped us off. In the late afternoon we stopped at a Tourist Information Center (they're all over the country; a big "I" marks the spot) to spend a half hour with the determined Vincent, who pledged to find us a room nearby. (Staffers at any TIC will perform the service for $5 per booking.) Vincent consulted his computer system and made several calls--all the while displaying his masterful gift of gab. The B&B he found, Lake Side Country House outside the town of Oughterard, turned out to be one of our favorites. "She sounds lovely on the phone," he confided after speaking with Mary O'Halloran, our host-to-be. Galway is a youthful, artsy city, full of people enjoying life. Dave and I strolled the maze of pedestrian-only streets, ducking into bookstores, listening to buskers playing flute and guitar, and inspecting sidewalk vendors' jewelry. After gorging on seafood at McDonagh's Seafood House--we should have split an entrée--we left to arrive just before sunset at Lake Side Country House, on the undeveloped shores of Lough Corrib, Ireland's second-largest lake. Joe O'Halloran has built a rock garden with the oddly shaped pieces of limestone he can't stop collecting (that one looks like a little fox! and there's a spaniel!), while a pasture beside the house provides a home for Connemara ponies and the chicken coop. Lake Side was a peaceful haven, though Dave was disturbed by the whirring sound made by the tiny electric shower ("I always thought water and electricity don't mix"). The next morning, yet another huge breakfast--besides juice and a selection of cereals, there were always eggs, usually accompanied by sausage, ham, tomato, and toast. Many of the B&B hosts are accomplished bakers, and we quickly developed a taste for Irish brown bread, slightly sweet with a cakey texture. At Lake Side, too full to get back in the car right away, we took a short walk down a country lane lined with blackberry bushes to see Aughnanure Castle, a six-story stone tower where O'Flaherty chieftains barricaded themselves against the British in the 16th century. Our kids would have loved reading about the resident bats and seeing the "murder hole"--an opening above the front door that allowed defenders to drop stones onto anyone who had managed to breach the fortified walls. From Oughterard, the landscape opens up to Connemara's high, lonely moors, with their peat bogs, fragrant wild roses, and countless lakes and streams. By now the generally rainy weather hadn't just broken--it had turned sunny and hot. Heat-wave hot. Few Irish B&Bs have air-conditioning, and we were soon lamenting the absence of even a fan in the bedroom. I booked our three remaining B&Bs the easiest way possible, by simply asking our host at one place to call the next. Each did so willingly, and offered helpful advice as to choices. We spent a night at Winnowing Hill, a hillside B&B with a solarium overlooking lush rosebushes, a manicured lawn, and, beyond that, the steeples of Clifden, Connemara's main town. Then, since I still yearned for a B&B with a lot of history, we traveled deeper into Connemara to Kylemore House, a high-ceilinged Georgian villa more than 200 years old, beside Lough Kylemore. Kylemore Abbey, a big-ticket attraction for Connemara, was a five-minute drive away. Built as a private home in 1867, the Gothic Revival castle later became a Benedictine abbey, whose nuns now run a girls' boarding school there. While the $13 entrance fee seemed pricey, for that we were able to view several beautifully restored formal rooms and take a 10-minute shuttle ride to the six-acre Victorian walled garden. Mitchell Henry, son of a Manchester cotton tycoon, spent four years building the castle for his wife and nine children. Only three years after moving in, his wife died in Cairo--a tantalizing detail (nine kids and she was vacationing in Egypt?) that made her death seem that much more tragic. Henry built the exquisite chapel in her memory. For our final night, to position us within easy reach of Shannon Airport, I reserved a room near Killaloe, a pretty village on the River Shannon. Carramore Lodge had a huge velvety lawn out front, flanked by colorful perennial beds and a goldfish pond. We'd come to expect the pink walls that we found in our room--every B&B we stayed in had pink walls, or pink sheets, or pink floral comforters, or a combination of all three. To escape the stifling heat, we passed the evening on the breezy roof deck of Molly's, a lively bar and restaurant at one end of the bridge that links Killaloe with its sister town of Ballina. Couples and families crowded around the tables, while teenagers milled about down by the river, in the way that teenagers do everywhere. At sunset we each raised a Guinness to toast our trip--and the last of these footloose days. We were ready to be parents again. B&B basics Book the castle first. Brian Moore International Tours and Ireland.com both offer nights at Adare Manor, Waterford Castle, Dromoland Castle, and Ashford Castle. BMIT can also book Cabra and Lalyseede Castles. Celtic Tours has even more options. Your choice will dictate at least part of your itinerary. I picked Adare Manor, which is near Shannon Airport, and found out when I booked that only one night was available there--our second. Since we were flying into Shannon, we couldn't roam too far from Adare on our first day. Fine-tune the package. Call tour operators directly and book only what you think is essential. As part of our Emerald Castle package, Ireland.com would reserve our first night at a hotel near Shannon Airport. Since we were arriving in the early morning--and had all day in front of us--we wanted to hit the road. I booked that night myself elsewhere and saved $5 because the hotel room would have cost more than our night at a B&B. Avoid the high season. Our visit was in early July. Later in the month and throughout August, many B&Bs get even busier, and it's recommended that you prebook both your first and last night. That'll take away a lot of your flexibility. Rooms in and around Dublin must always be reserved well in advance, as the demand is high. You'll pay an extra $9 per night in Dublin from June through September (in cash, directly to your host). Splurge appropriately. We chose B&Bs that had rooms with private baths. A less-expensive option gives you shared baths, sometimes in farmhouses. Our total with taxes and fees: $1,693 each, as peak-season flights were $1,000 per person. But once in Ireland, our only real expenses were meals and gas. Most tour operators offer low-season rates of $499 to $599 for the standard B&B package. Go manual. The basic packages include stick-shift cars. Upgrading to an automatic costs up to $50 more, depending on the season. Extra charges will include $67 for the Collision Damage Waiver, which is mandatory in Ireland (add it on when you book because it'll cost twice as much if you wait to buy it in Ireland); a government car-rental tax of $29 payable at pickup; and a possible $7 per day for an extra driver, even a spouse. Cars usually come with a CD player, so pack some Irish music--The Chieftains, Van Morrison, U2. Sneak a peek online. Log on to the Town and Country Homes website tandctrade.com to get a look at the B&Bs. Be sure to specify "vouchers accepted" so that you'll see only those that participate in the program. Confirm ahead! When you reserve a room, call to make sure that the B&B does accept vouchers--even if the Town and Country Homes website says it does. Apparently some hosts have withdrawn from the program, as it can take a while for them to be reimbursed (one owner told us she wasn't paid until December for a summer booking). Pack light. Though all the B&Bs we stayed in were comfortable, we were glad we didn't have much luggage, as space was tight. Many of our rooms had been retrofitted to hold a small bathroom with a shower (none had a tub). And in some cases, the sink was outside the bathroom, in the room itself. However, there's often a sitting room where you can spread out. While we'd expected to be able to trade B&B tips with Americans, we often found ourselves among Danish, Swiss, and English travelers. Who sells B&B packages?   Brian Moore International Tours Also has packages to Great Britain. 800/982-2299, bmit.com.   Celtic Tours Also offers Great Britain. 888/833-4373, celtictours.com.   Dooley Vacations An offshoot of Dooley Car Rentals. First night is prebooked. Also Great Britain and France. 877/331-9301, dooleyvacations.com.   EuropeASAP You won't know the airline or the exact departure date until after you book (enter two possible dates and you're guaranteed to get one). Also Great Britain and France. 415/750-5449, europeasap.com.   Ireland.com Ireland packages only. Unless you request otherwise, your first night is prebooked in a hotel near the airport. 800/896-4600, ireland.com/travel.   Sceptre Tours Ireland only. First night is prebooked unless you request otherwise. 800/221-0924, sceptretours.com. Lodging   Strand View House Conor Pass Rd., Castlegregory, Co. Kerry, 011-353/66-713-8131, strandview.com   Adare Manor Adare, Co. Limerick, 800/462-3273, adaremanor.com   Lake Side Country House Ardnasilla, Oughterard, Connemara, Co. Galway, 011-353/ 91-552-846, lakesideaccommodation@hotmail.com   Winnowing Hill B&B Ballyconneely Rd., Clifden, Co. Galway, 011-353/ 95-21-281, winnowinghill.com   Kylemore House Kylemore, Connemara, Co. Galway, 011-353/ 95-41-143, connemara.net/kylemorehouse   Carramore Lodge Ballina, Killaloe, Co. Clare, 011-353/61-376-704, carramorelodge.net Food   Chart House The Mall Rd., Dingle, Co. Kerry, 011-353/ 66-915-2255, three-course value menu $42   Oakroom Adare Manor, Adare, Co. Clare, 011-353/61-605-200, four-course menu $68   McDonagh's Seafood House 22 Quay St., Galway, Co. Galway, 011-353/91-565-001, entrées from $16   Molly's Bar & Restaurant Ballina, Killaloe, Co. Tipperary, 011-353/61-374-928, pint $4 Activities   Aughnanure Castle Oughterard, Co. Galway, 011-353/ 91-552-214, heritageireland.ie, $3   Kylemore Abbey Kylemore, Connemara, Co. Galway, 011-353/ 95-41-146, kylemoreabbey.com, $13

Movie Quest 2005

10. Sahara In the world's most famous desert, plausibility is but a mirage Based on the Clive Cussler novel, Sahara follows the adventures of dashing Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey), an ex-Navy SEAL who, with his sidekick Al Giordino (Steve Zahn), heads to Africa in search of a Civil War battleship potentially filled with Confederate gold. The pair join forces with Eva Rojas (Penélope Cruz), a World Health Organization doctor investigating a mysterious plague in Mali. It's a far-fetched tale, but good popcorn fun. And the North African backdrop is breathtaking. But forget about visiting Mali. The U.S. State Department advises against going to the country's northern regions (beyond Timbuktu) and warns travelers to exercise caution in isolated areas. Besides, the majority of Sahara was filmed in Erfoud, Morocco, a tiny desert town 340 miles east of Marrakech. "We stayed in a hotel called the Kasbah Xaluca Maadid," says director Breck Eisner. "It's made out of mud and straw. You can actually pull straw out of the wall." Doubles at the Xaluca Maadid start at $100, including breakfast and dinner (011-212/55-57-84-50, xalucamaadid.com). Once a French military settlement, Erfoud still shows signs of its past--like the Foreign Legion fort that Dirk, Al, and Eva ride through on camelback. And aside from the town's 10,000 inhabitants, the only people it generally sees are movie crews--the recent Mummy films were shot there--and travelers eager to view the giant Merzouga dunes that straddle the nearby Algerian border. From January 1 through April 9, Adventure Center is running a two-week trip for $760 per person double (800/228-8747, adventurecenter.com); the land-only package includes hotels, breakfasts, and guided tours--aboard a bus, a four-wheel drive, and, for $24 extra, a camel--of Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, and those big Merzouga dunes. "They're the size of a 30- or 40-story building," says Eisner. "Galloping across them on a camel is incredible." The shoot made Eisner a Sahara convert. "If you're really adventurous, you should absolutely go to this place known as Chez Michel, where Matthew and I stayed for a couple days," he says. "It's in the middle of nowhere. It's about an hour from Erfoud on a road that's just tracks in the dirt. The hotel has 25 rooms and an amazing restaurant." Doubles at Chez Michel--its official name is Auberge Kasbah Derkaoua--start at $116, and that includes breakfast and dinner (011-212/55-57-71-40). 9. Match Point Woody Allen crafts a love letter to a city--and it's not New York As much as Match Point claims to be about the importance of luck, it's really about class. Then again, perhaps anyone born rich should be thankful for his luck. The melodrama, which comes out December 25, concerns a former pro tennis player, Chris (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), who gets taken up by a posh London family--the kind of people who shop for art at a museum. He starts dating the daughter, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), and, this being a Woody Allen movie, having an affair with the son's fiancée, Nola (Scarlett Johansson). If Match Point is any indication, Woody Allen loves London as much as he loves New York City. "He shows off London in its glory," says coproducer Nicky Kentish Barnes. The city scenes were filmed mainly in the neighborhood of Notting Hill, with forays into Belgravia and the West End. "It's like the Upper East Side of Manhattan," says Barnes. Conveniently enough, Allen also shot at several London landmarks. There's the Tate Modern, on the South Bank of the Thames, where Chris is thrilled to spy Nola after not having seen her for a while (011-44/20-7887-8000, tate.org.uk/modern, free). The family regularly attends opera at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden (011-44/20-7304-4000, royalopera.org, standing room from $7). And London being famous for its theater, Allen can't resist sending two characters to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White at the Palace Theater (tickets from $26 at the box office or womaninwhitethemusical.com, or try your luck at Leicester Square's half-price TKTS booth for same-day performances). Chris's office is in what Londoners call the Gherkin, the pickle-shaped headquarters of insurance giant Swiss Re. You can get a good look at it from the square in front of the Tower of London. Your best bet for snagging a peek inside is London Open House, held each September (londonopenhouse.org, free). The Gherkin participated in 2004 but not 2005, and at press time next year's plans were undecided. The fancy racquet club where Chris works briefly, Queen's Club, is similarly accessible to the general public just once a year, in June, for the Stella Artois Championships (stellaartoistennis.com, from $25). "The pub where Chris and Chloe go for drinks is the Audley," says Barnes (41-43 Mount St., 011-44/20-7499-1843, pint from $4.50). "It's not particularly fun, but Woody loves it. He used to drink there when he was making Casino Royale in 1965." Barnes herself prefers the Cock and Bottle--"a fabulous old pub" in Notting Hill (17 Needham Rd., 011-44/20-7229-1550, pint from $4.75). As for the magnificent country house owned by the family, those scenes were filmed at Englefield Estate in Barkshire, an hour from London. The gardens and the 1,800 acres of woodland are open to the public--though it's best not to roll around in the field like Chris and Nola (englefieldestate.co.uk, $5.25; open Mondays year-round and Tuesdays-Thursdays from April through October). But you're not allowed to set foot inside the house. Unless, of course, you're fortunate enough to know the right person. 8. Grizzly Man The most fascinating animal on-screen isn't a bear Grizzly Man is a love story: Timothy Treadwell spent 13 summers camping in Alaska, obsessively documenting bears and his life among them. It's also a tragedy: Treadwell and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, were eaten by a bear in 2003. The documentary is a mix of Treadwell's video diaries and director Werner Herzog's interviews with Treadwell's friends and acquaintances. "It's certainly not a film about wild nature," Herzog told NPR. Just the same, anyone who watches Treadwell's footage will be sure to want to see bears in person--if from a safe distance. Alaska is home to 98 percent of the U.S. brown bear population (out of hibernation from April to October). Though technically the same species, there are three types of brown bears within the state. Kodiaks, named for the archipelago they inhabit, are the world's largest bears; grizzlies have bristly, silver-tipped coats and live inland; coastal brown bears are larger and darker, due in great part to their high-protein salmon diet. The latter can sometimes be seen from the comfort of a ship's deck (and with help from binoculars), particularly along Glacier Bay. Cruise West does three-night sailings of Glacier Bay from $1,350 (888/851-8133, cruisewest.com). Other small cruise ships travel the Katmai Coast (along Katmai National Park, where Treadwell and Huguenard died), which has the world's highest concentration of brown bears. In Denali National Park, you can see bears from the windows of the buses on the Tundra Wilderness tour (800/622-7275, reservedenali.com). Buses run from May to September, and the tour is four to five hours ($50) or six to eight hours ($74). Those who prefer to explore on foot should check out Brooks Camp, in Katmai National Park (907/246-3305, nps.gov/katm) and accessible by air taxi from King Salmon, for about $156 round trip. After a free orientation, you walk to platforms over waterfalls where the bears hunt for fish. During the hike, you'll be on level ground with them--prepare to get off the trail so they can pass. Whenever you're in bear country, be noisy; it makes your presence known. Should you encounter a bear, wave your arms above your head and speak in a strong, even tone, backing away slowly. If one approaches, stay still. When it stops moving, continue to back away. In the event that you're actually attacked, pull your knees to your chin and stay as quiet as you possibly can. 7. Everything Is Illuminated Looking into the past can be both fraught and deeply fulfilling One reason director Liev Schreiber's film works as well as it does is that it pares down Jonathan Safran Foer's ambitious 2002 novel to a single narrative thread: A young New Yorker (Elijah Wood) goes to Ukraine to investigate his ancestry. His guides provide both comic relief and emotional resonance. Everything Is Illuminated was shot in the Czech Republic rather than in Ukraine, and the locations aren't so alluring--except for two. One is Rybárna, an hour's train ride from Prague, where the Trachimbrod scenes were set. Producer Peter Saraf says the area is as beautiful as it appears: "The river, the incredible rock formations above us..." The other location is the sunflower field--which the filmmakers planted. "We built that house in the middle of an empty field and prayed," says Saraf. "Sunflowers only peak for about two days, but the morning we got there, it was like magic. Thousands of six-foot-high sunflowers all looking toward the sun." Illuminated is more inspiring in general terms, and seeing where your family is from is often the best way to find out its secrets. How you go about it obviously depends on your ancestry. The town where your ancestors came from may not be on the tourist grid--remember that boundaries and place names change. A village that was in Hungary in 1910 might be in Ukraine today, and called something totally different. Census, marriage, and death records usually list the country of birth--but ship passenger lists, naturalization records, and newspaper obituaries are more likely to give the name of the exact town. To learn how to use these sources--and many others online--pick up a how-to book such as Genealogy Online for Dummies by Matthew and April Leigh Helm. A good roundup of websites is at cyndislist.com. Specialized travel agencies and even some operators can arrange family history tours. JewishGen ShtetlSchleppers, for one, leads trips to explore Jewish roots in Eastern Europe (jewishgen.org). Or plan your own trip and ask the local tourist office to recommend a guide, at least for your first day. Many European countries--including Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland--have emigration museums. They'll help put your ancestors' lives in historical context, and their research-library staffs are experienced in working with Americans. For a list, see aemi.dk; click on Addresses. Allow for as much time in your ancestral hometown as you can. You may find the locals are as curious about you as you are about your roots, and it'll be impolite not to accept an invitation for a snack or a drink. There's one thing, however, that you can't prepare for: how powerfully you'll be moved. During the shoot, producer Safar took his mother to Vienna. "We saw the house she lived in until she was 4, when the Nazis threw them out, and the corner where my grandfather was picked up and taken to Dachau. It was very emotional," he says. "My father came to visit, but we didn't have time to go to Lodz, Poland, where he lived until he was 7, when his family escaped the Nazis and went to Palestine. That is a trip I will make with him." 6. Duma A boy and his cheetah explore the true meaning of friendship After raising an orphaned cheetah named Duma on his parents' farm in South Africa, 12-year-old Xan (Alex Michaeletos) sets off on his own to fulfill a promise he made to his father to return the animal to the wild. Along the way, he meets Ripkuna (Eamonn Walker), who befriends the boy and his unusual pet. The threesome travel deep into the wilds of Africa, exploring deserts, jungles, and plains. Director Carroll Ballard, who also was at the helm of The Black Stallion, Never Cry Wolf, and Fly Away Home, has made a name for himself exploring the relationships between animals, humans, and the great outdoors. He continues mining those themes in Duma--which is based on a true story, believe it or not--using backdrops such as the Kalahari Desert, the Okavango Delta, and South Africa's Northern Cape. Some 75 locations were involved, so the crew was able to see much of the continent's landscapes. "If you go deep into the Kalahari you'll find bushmen and the fabulous salt flats that seem to go on forever," says Stacy Cohen, one of the film's producers. Operator 2Afrika is now selling a nine-day Duma tour that includes three nights in a tent on safari in the sprawling 24,000-acre Entabeni Game Reserve, home to the Big Five: lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards, and buffalo. (Cheetah sightings are rare.) The package, available January-March, comes with round-trip air to Johannesburg from Washington, D.C., or Atlanta, and a stay in Entabeni, with six game drives and a visit to an indigenous Pedi village. On day five, you fly to Cape Town for three nights. The package costs $2,995, kids under 12, $2,195 (866/462-2374, 2afrika.com). Lion World Tours' nine-day family safari, also available January-March, begins with a flight to Cape Town from New York or Atlanta. During the four nights in the city, there are several excursions, including a visit to Spier, a wine-country estate that houses the Cheetah Outreach Program, and where kids can view a farm-raised cheetah. On day six you fly to Johannesburg and then to Hoedspruit--an hour north--for three nights at the Ngala Chalet. It's outside Kruger National Park (800/387-2706, lionworldtravel.com, $3,299, kids under 12, $2,099; all meals, transfers, and tours included). 5. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe If only getting there were as simple as opening a door . . . To avoid the London air raids of World War II, four young siblings are dispatched to the country estate of an eccentric old professor. One discovers that a dusty wardrobe is actually the entryway to Narnia, a magical land inhabited by minotaurs, centaurs, and fauns, as well as Jadis, an evil witch (Tilda Swinton), and Aslan, a wise lion (voice by Liam Neeson). Jadis rules over Narnia, which she has cursed with eternal winter, while Aslan waits for a chance to bring back sunny days to his former domain. Based on the first of the famous series of children's novels by C.S. Lewis, The Lion (in theaters December 9) hopes to replicate the eye-popping success of Lord of the Rings, and it's following literally in the hobbits' footsteps. Both were directed by Kiwis--Peter Jackson did LOTR, Andrew Adamson of Shrek is behind The Lion--who filmed most scenes in their native New Zealand. Canterbury Sightseeing started taking advance reservations for its new Through the Wardrobe Tour months ago, and has exclusive rights to bring visitors in four-wheel-drive vehicles to many of the film's high-country locations. That includes a privately owned area on the South Island called Flock Hill. "It's the size of 10 football fields, on top of a mountain with stunning panoramas in every direction," says producer Mark Johnson. "It's where we shot the final battle, which is a huge part of the movie." Canterbury's full-day tours depart out of Christchurch beginning in January (011-64/3338-0982, lionwitchwardrobetours.co.nz, tour with lunch, $195). But you don't need to book a guide to view much of the amazing scenery in the movie. Tourism New Zealand lists many of The Lion's locations on its website, newzealand.com (click on Media, then search "Narnia"), and touring by car or RV is a popular way to explore the country; look into a package with airfare from Sunspots International (800/334-5623, sunspotsintl.com) or ATS Tours (800/423-2880, atstours.com). For mountain vistas as pretty as any in the movie, drive from Christchurch up Hwy. 73 toward Arthur's Pass National Park. There are turnoffs for the Cave Stream Scenic Reserve, which has a 1,188-foot-long cave and landscapes typical of Narnia, and the Flock Hill Lodge, which housed some of the film's crew (011-64/3318-8196, flockhill.co.nz, doubles from $84). Further south, near Duntroon, is the Vanished World (vanishedworld.co.nz). Millions of years ago, the area was underwater. When the sea receded, it left behind limestone hulks on the sandy ground. One of the more peculiar sights is Elephant Rocks--huge, rounded gray monoliths on flat, dark earth. It's where filmmakers set up Aslan's Camp. About 20 percent of the movie was filmed outside New Zealand. Los Angeles's Griffith Park was doused in fake snow for a handful of wintry scenes (323/913-4688, laparks.org), and the finger-like rocks shown in The Lion are found in the Czech Republic, a popular location of late. From the village of Adrspach, near the Polish border, you can take a three-mile walk amid rock formations shown in the movie, such as one called the Lovers, which juts 300 feet from the forest floor (011-420/491-586-012, skalyadrspach.cz). 4. Brokeback Mountain A pair of men find themselves in the Canadian Rockies "Brokeback called and said they wanted to match Wyoming," says Tina Alford of the Alberta Film Commission. "I said, 'Perfect, done.' Clint Eastwood, who shot Unforgiven here, said it best: You can get five different looks in Alberta--badlands, prairie, rolling hills, mountains, and grasslands." Then again, Clint Eastwood never made a movie quite like this. Released December 9, director Ang Lee's moving film concerns lovers Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhall), who discover their feelings while tending sheep on "Brokeback Mountain." When they return to their small-town lives, the mountain becomes a metaphor for a better world, one where they can be themselves--and be together. It's certainly one of the most physically beautiful metaphors you'll ever see. The Brokeback Mountain scenes were filmed in Kananaskis Country, provincial parkland in the Rockies (search "Kananaskis Country" at travelalberta.com). Location manager Darryl Solly says his team chose the Upper Kananaskis Lakes campground and day-use areas such as Mud Lake and King Creek. As the movie proves, it's an area perfect for exploring via horse. To find a stable that leads rides, check out ranchcanadianrockies.com. The crew stayed in the ski town of Canmore. "You fly into Calgary," says Solly, "and then it's only a 45-minute drive." Canmore has the services you'd expect--though it's still wild. "The Marriott is a good place to stay," Solly advises. "It's the most remote from the town but closest to the park." Summer rates for the Residence Inn by Marriott start at $129 (800/331-3131, marriott.com). Solly also recommends the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis. "You wake up and there are deer and elk and moose outside minding their own business. People always ask how the animals are kept so tame." The Delta Lodge's bed-and-breakfast packages start at $145 (403/591-7711, deltahotels.com). The town scenes were a challenge for Solly: "There's an economic disparity between Alberta now"--where oil has brought a fair amount of prosperity to small towns--"and Wyoming in the '60s and '70s." So the production cherry-picked from among eight different locations. One they featured quite a bit was Fort Macleod, 90 minutes south of Calgary. "It's a gorgeous place," says Tina Alford. "A stereotypical prairie town with two streets, sandstone buildings, and a great old-time hotel called the Queens Hotel." Rates at the Queens Hotel start at just $38 (403/553-4343). 3. Memoirs of a Geisha Inside the secretive city of Kyoto, there's an even more secretive society The geisha in question is Sayuri (Ziyi Zhang). As a young girl, she's abruptly removed from her fishing village in Hokkaido and sold to a geisha house in Kyoto. The crux of the story is her training in, and mastering of, the arts of the geisha, under the tutelage of Mameha (Michelle Yeoh). Shooting in Japan is expensive, so the producers of the long-awaited adaptation (due out December 9) of Arthur Golden's best-selling 1997 novel spent three months scouting locations around the world. Director Rob Marshall certainly had experience making one place sub for another; he shot Chicago in Toronto. Much of the action in Memoirs of a Geisha takes place at studio soundstages and sets that the crew built outside Los Angeles. For garden scenes, they used the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, near Pasadena. "We did a scene from the baron's cherry blossom viewing party there," says Patty Whitcher, unit production manager (626/405-2100, huntington.org, $15, $6 kids; closed Mondays). The end of the film was shot at the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park (415/752-4227, $3.50). The Hokkaido scenes were filmed south of San Francisco in Moss Beach, at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. It has a harbor seal rookery and extensive tide pools (650/728-3584, fitzgeraldreserve.org, free). The Memoirs crew did go to Japan, packing as much as they could into two weeks. The emphasis was on exteriors, particuarly at temples, which have remained more or less unchanged for centuries. "We spent a magical day at Kiyomizu-dera, a temple on stilts," says Whitcher. All the shots of "epic sunrises" were done there. "What was really neat was seeing all of the elderly people starting their day with sunrise yoga." The temple is open daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (011-81/75-551-1234, $2.60). After Sayuri meets the Chairman (Ken Watanabe) and he gives her some coins as a gift, she offers them to the Buddha as thanks. Those scenes were shot at the Yoshimine-dera temple (011-81/75-331-0020). Whitcher learned that people go to specific temples depending on what they want to pray for or whom they'd like to honor. "This temple, at the very top of the Kyoto mountains, was probably the most calming place I've ever been," she says. "So I asked one of the monks what is special about the temple. He said it's where people come to heal their broken hearts." As readers of Golden's novel learned, Kyoto's most famous geisha neighborhood is Gion. It's one of the prettiest parts of the city, and it still holds its secrets very close. Meeting a geisha is costly and difficult to arrange, but if you walk around Gion early in the evening you may spot them hurrying to their appointments. Gion Corner is a touristy production displaying seven types of traditional Japanese arts, including a dance performed by maiko, or apprentice geisha (011-81/75-561-1119, kyotoguide.com/gion_corner, $24.50). Meanwhile, the International Hotel Kyoto, across from Nijo Castle, hosts free maiko performances in its lounge every evening (011-81/75-222-1111). Anticipating interest in Kyoto as a result of the movie, Kintetsu International has created a package covering airfare from New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles on American Airlines, five nights at the New Miyako Hotel, transfers, and tours of various landmarks, including Kiyomizu temple. Rates start at $1,229 (800/422-3481, japanforyou.com). 2. Pride & Prejudice With apologies to Keira Knightley, the real estate steals the show A ridiculously reductive plot summary: Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley), whose family could use some good fortune, takes what seems like forever to get over her negative first impressions of the very wealthy Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen). The pleasure of watching Lizzie and Darcy realize they're right for each other is mitigated only by the nagging awareness that you'll never marry so well. Of the eight historic buildings used in Pride & Prejudice, two make a deeper impression. "We were in the most beautiful houses in England," says location manager Adam Richards, sighing. "Chatsworth and Burghley." Chatsworth stands in for Pemberley, Darcy's palatial estate--and in fact, the 16th-century Chatsworth was rumored to be Austen's inspiration for Pemberley. It's the seat of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, and a three-hour drive from London (two hours by rail; a one-way ticket to Chesterfield, 11 miles from Chatsworth, starts at $11). Chatsworth's size is staggering: There are 297 rooms in the main house (one-third are accessible; you wander at your own pace), 105 acres of formal gardens (including a hedge maze made with 1,200 yew trees), and 1,000 acres of parkland (011-44/1246-565300, chatsworth-house.co.uk, $17 for house and garden). Note: Chatsworth is closed December 21-March 15. While Lizzie was unfazed by her first encounter with Darcy's snobby aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Judi Dench), anyone else would be cowed simply by laying eyes on Burghley ("Rosings" in P&P). The house was constructed between 1555 and 1587 by Sir William Cecil, Lord Treasurer for Queen Elizabeth I. Subsequent members of the Cecil family filled the house with objets d'art from their travels. "The paintings are just stunning," reports Richards. Particularly notable are the Heaven Room and the Hell Staircase, painted by Antonio Verrio. "The Heaven Room is where the drawing room scene was shot, and the Hell Staircase leads off that room. It's a big double staircase painted with images of hell." Burghley is a mile from the village of Stamford (see below). The house is open April 1-- October 29 (011-44/1780-752451, burghley.co.uk; $16, kids $7). The Lincolnshire town of Stamford, a two-hour drive from London, subbed for Austen's village of Meryton. "We chose Stamford because there were no trees," says producer Paul Webster. "When you look at any drawings of market towns"--back in the time when Austen's novel is set--"there's no greenery." Webster recommends a pair of establishments in Stamford: a hotel called the George (011-44/1780-750700, georgehotelofstamford.com, doubles from $204, includes breakfast) and the Crown Inn, a pub (011-44/ 1780-763362). "They're funky but not stuffy," he says. Visit Britain, the British tourism organization, is distributing a map of the locations (from the film version and the much-loved 1995 BBC adaptation), and has loaded visitbritain.com with film-related information. Likewise, the East Midlands region, which is home to Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, and the Peak District, where most of P&P was shot, created its own website, visitprideandprejudice.com. Finally, Austen aficionados won't want to leave England without stopping at two attractions: the Jane Austen Centre, in Bath (011-44/1225-443000, janeausten.co.uk, $10.50), and Jane Austen's House and Museum, in the village of Chawton, a mile from Alton, which is only a half-hour train ride from London (011-44/1420-83262, jane-austens-house-museum.org.uk, $8). The former explores Austen's time in Bath; the latter is the house where she lived from 1809 to 1817--and where she finished Pride & Prejudice. 1. March of the Penguins It's the year's big success story--and there's a new star on the adventure travel circuit There was no such thing as a blockbuster documentary before Fahrenheit 9/11 came out in 2004. Now there's another, and it couldn't be more different. French director Luc Jacquet and his crew spent 13 months deep within Antarctica filming March of the Penguins. It has grossed $73 million, and forever anthropomorphized everyone's favorite formally dressed bird. Each year, thousands of emperor penguins abandon the ocean waters and waddle hundreds of miles inland. Once at their breeding ground, they find a partner to monogamously mate with. When the female lays an egg, it's passed to the father, who cares for it (amid 100-mph winds and in temperatures 70 degrees below zero) while the mother makes the brutal walk home, returning two months later with food stored in her belly for her chick. The father, by then starving and cold, heads back to the water and waits to be reunited with the mother and their baby, who follow soon after. Spotting emperor penguins in person is wildly expensive, since the majority live inside the Antarctic Circle, far from the peninsula where the bulk of tour operators go. "Mating occurs in the most remote and inaccessible place on earth," says Denise Landau, executive director of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators. "Plus it happens at the beginning of the Antarctic winter, thereby assuring the penguins' privacy." TravelWild Expeditions' 15-day tour goes to where the emperors are, but it starts at $12,000 per person. Catching a glimpse of other penguin species is much easier. Canadian outfitter G.A.P Adventures runs a 19-day cruise of the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia, and the Falkland Islands, for $6,470 per person (it departs from Ushuaia, Argentina, and the price does not include airfare; 800/708-7761, gapadventures.com). You get a shared triple cabin aboard the 108-passenger Explorer, all meals, visits to scientific research stations, shore excursions, and stunning views of king, chinstrap, and gentoo penguins (as well as seals and orcas and other whales). The next two departures are December 11, 2006, and January 16, 2007. To see penguins without the bitter cold--and the expense--visit Australia's Phillip Island Nature Park, 75 miles south of Melbourne. The two-hour, ranger-led Ultimate Penguin Tour leaves at sunset with no more than 15 visitors in a group (011-61-3/5951-2800, penguins.org.au, $45). You go to protected Summerland Beach, where the aptly named "little" penguins--at 13 inches tall, they're the smallest of all 17 species (adult emperors are more than four feet tall)--pass in front of you en route to their burrows. Once the sun sets, you watch them with infrared binoculars. You must not touch them, of course, and photography is forbidden. But the photos in the gift shop benefit penguin conservation--and unlike the March of the Penguins crew, you don't have to worry about frostbite.