Travel Briefs

Completed in 1873, the Royal Greenhouses on the grounds of the Royal Palace of Laeken in Flanders, Belgium, were built to resemble a glass city, with rotundas and cupolas harboring exotic plants, some of which were brought back from the Congo.

Each year, while the azaleas are in bloom, the Royal Greenhouses are open to the public for three weeks only. In 2015, they will be open April 17-May 8. Entry costs €2.50. Tickets cannot be purchased in advance. Contact the Flanders tourism...

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On the 120-year-old Tower Bridge in London, England, a glass walkway has been installed that allows visitors to see down to the River Thames 138 feet below. The walkway, itself, is 36 feet long and six feet across.

Access to the walkway is included with admission to the bridge — £8 (near $12.50) per adult when booked in advance or £9 at the door (phone +44 0 20 7403 3761, www.tower bridge.org.uk).

In Warsaw, Poland, visitors have a choice of four bike tours with Station Warsaw Tours (phone +48 513 605 518, http://stationwarsaw.com).

 The first, “Wow, Warsaw,” is a laid-back tour of the Old Town, departing at 11 a.m. when booked in advance. The “Communist Tour” departs at 3:30 p.m. Tue., Thurs. and Sat. The “Jewish Warsaw” tour departs Mon., Wed., Fri. and Sun. at 3:30 p.m. If booked in advance, at 8 or 9 p.m., the “Warsaw by Night” tour allows guests to see the city’s nightlife...

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In Brisbane, Australia, visitors may take escorted rides/tours on X-WINGs, 2-wheeled conveyances much like mini Segways. Rides of 15 minutes (AUD25, or near $22), 30 minutes (AUD55, $49) and 60 minutes (AUD99, $88) operate Wed.-Sun. hourly from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Reservations recommended.

The route follows the South Bank Parklands along the Brisbane River. X-WING (phone +61 0419 000 575, http://xwing.com.au).

Guests at Shanghai’s The Langham, Xintiandi (99 Madang Rd., Xintiandi, Shanghai 200021, P.R. China; phone +86 [21] 2330 2288, http://xintiandi.langhamhotels.com) may book a 3-hour class British etiquette that covers afternoon tea, pastry manners and one’s duties as a host or guest. The class costs $450 and must be prebooked.

A room at the hotel costs from CNY1,840 ($300) to CNY2,800 ($456) per night. 

A UNESCO World Heritage Site in the center of Riga, Latvia, the enormous, public Riga Central Market (7 Negyu St., Riga, LV-1050, Latvia; phone +371 67 22 99 85, www.rct.lv/en) comprises five hangar-sized buildings (each 787 feet long and 148 feet wide, with ceilings 123 feet high) with a total of 3,000-plus booths.

A 2-hour food tour of the market is offered by Eat Riga Tours (Riharda Va¯gnera iela 14, Riga, LV-1050, Latvia; phone +371 2 24 69 888, www.eatriga.lv), located in the...

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Thirteen pictures taken at the launch of the Titanic in Belfast in 1911 are among 116 pictures never previously exhibited that have recently been added to the permanent TITANICa exhibit at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum (Cultra, Holywood, BT18 0EU, Northern Ireland, U.K.; phone +44 28 9042 8428, www.nmni.com/uftm).

The sepia-toned pictures were originally owned by the director of Harland & Wolff, the shipyard that built the ill-fated ship.

In addition to hundreds of...

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In the Dutch town of Eindhoven, 123 kilometers south of Amsterdam, cyclists may ride on a bike path patterned with glow-in-the-dark swirls inspired by one-time resident of the city Vincent van Gogh. 

Opened in November 2014 as part of a pilot project for smart highways incorporating the technology, the designs are created using gravel, coated in road-grade luminescent paint, embedded in the asphalt. The paint stores light during the day and glows at night for up to eight hours.

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