Travel Briefs

Now that Thalys runs a direct high-speed train daily between Brussels International Airport and Paris Gare du Nord (Jan. ’12, pg. 47), travelers from India, Canada or the US to Brussels flying Jet Airways can take advantage of a new code-share to transfer to Paris at no extra charge (or land in Paris and take the train to Brussels). When a traveler books his flight, a code-share number for the Thalys ticket is automatically included. The one-hour 47-minute train trip normally would cost €78 (near $104) first class or €66 second class. Contact Jet Airways (877/835-9538).

“The Paris Shopping Companion” by Susan Swire Winkler with Caroline Lesieur (fourth edition, 2006, Cumberland House Publishing, Inc. ISBN 13978581825121 — 257 pp., $14.95 paperback).

“Paris in your pocket” is the back-cover blurb, but I question whether this sizable book (5½"x9") would really be convenient to take on a shopping expedition. Also, the black-and-white photos are surprisingly mundane, given the plethora of pricey goodies on display. The maps, however, are good, as is the overall organization of the book.

It’s organized by areas — left bank, right bank, the...

The man who coined the word “dinosaur,” Sir Richard Owen, campaigned for a “national museum of natural wonders.” Two hundred years after his birth, this founder of the Natural History Museum is being celebrated in London with a special display and self-guided trail (through Oct. 24, 2004).

On display will be specimens which have not been seen by the public for 50 years and some of Owen’s first descriptions of extinct animals, made from the evidence of fossils. Open daily. Admission is free. Call the museum (Cromwell Rd., London SW7 5BD, U.K.) at 020 7942 5000 or visit www.nhm.ac.uk...