Art and Architecture of Colonial Mexico

Explore the historical richness of Mexico in Cultures of Colonial Mexico, a study tour offered by UCLA Extension. The 11-day study tour leaves Dec. 16.

The tour explores how the indigenous and European cultures converged in the art and architecture of colonial Mexico. Participants will drive through the Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl mountains; visit major pre-Columbian archeological sites in Mexico City, Monte Alban and Mitla; and experience the Night of Radishes Festival in Oaxaca. The tour is limited to 28 participants.

Cost: $2,370 per person including hotels, some meals and sightseeing.

Contact: UCLA Extension, 10995 Le Conte Ave., Suite 711, Los Angeles, CA 90024; telephone (310) 825-9971.

Cooking India

A cooking tour offered by the Julie Sahni School of Indian Cooking runs Jan. 30 to Feb. 15 (with an optional seven-day eastern India extension). The tour takes guests to where spices and herbs are grown, rice is harvested, and tea and coffee are cultivated. Guests see how cardamom and black pepper are processed, natural sugar is produced from the sugar cane and oil is pressed from seeds.

The tour also stops at colorful markets, temples and the Taj Mahal. Guests see wild elephants in Periyar Game Preserve and on another day they will ride a painted elephant to see the 17th century Amber Fort built by Rajasthan rulers. Participants also will see Mt. Everest and witness daily rituals along the Ganges.

Cost: $6,385 per person, double occupancy including the round-trip flight from New York, internal flights within India, ground travel, hotels, most meals, cooking demonstrations, boat cruises, elephant rides and entrance fees.

The seven-day eastern extension (includes Delhi, Varanasi, Calcutta, Darjeeling and Gangtok in Sikkim) is $1,685.

Contact: Julie Sahni School of Indian Cooking, 101 Clark St., Brooklyn, NY 11201; tel. (718) 625-3958 or toll-free (888) 547-9488.

Swiss Trains

Kuoni Swiss Alpine Tours is offering “The Southern Trail,” a year-round train tour to Switzerland’s south. The five-day itinerary begins in Zurich and ends in Geneva. Two nights are spent in Locarno, on Lake Maggiore, which extends from Switzerland into Italy, and two in Zermatt, the Alpine resort dominated by the Matterhorn. In winter, when Zermatt is a ski resort, accommodations are in Brig.

From Zurich airport, trains go via the city’s main station and Arth-Goldau to Locarno. The tour continues from there by narrow-gauge train through the Cento Valley to Domodossola, Italy, and then by express train through the Simplon Pass to Brig and by cogwheel rail up to Zermatt.

From Zermatt, the rail route to Geneva airport, where the tour ends, is via Visp.

The two-night stay in Locarno, a resort town with a Mediterranean climate, provides a full day to wander the old streets.

Cost: $700 per person, double occupancy, including second-class rail, accommodations and daily breakfast. Air fare to Switzerland is not included.

Contact: J.F.O. CruiseService Corp., 323 Geary St., San Francisco, CA 94102; telephone (415) 392-8817 or (800) 858-8587.

Art of the Mayans

Paul Kravagna, professor of art at Cal State Northridge, is escorting an arts and crafts tour to Guatemala and Honduras for 10 nights. The tour visits Guatemala City, Antigua, Copan (Honduras), Chichicastenango and Quirigua, with optional tours to Tikal and Lake Peten.

Participants will leave Los Angeles Jan. 17 from LAX to Guatemala City, with an overnight stay in the colonial city of Antigua. The next day the group will visit markets and meet with the crafts people and tour the old city. From Antigua the group continues on to Lake Atitlan, then to Chichicastenango to see crafts markets. Guests attend a program of traditional Mayan dances.

Returning to Guatemala City, participants continue onto Copan to tour the ruins and museum. The following day is in Quirigua to view the ruins.

Cost: $1,888 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles or San Francisco, hotels, sightseeing and admissions, airport transfers and baggage.

Contact: Connie Swanson Travel; tel. (800) 767-1977.

Brazilian Festival

Attend the Zumbi Festival in Bahia, Brazil, Nov. 16 to 24 with Southern Connections Tours. This four-day festival celebrates the cultural, musical, artistic and historical contribution of African culture in Brazil. Participants will have the opportunity to attend expositions and displays of handicrafts and art, folklore, mysticism and religion, and also see street performances of dance from around the world, including Caribbean, Central and South America styles. Excursions included in the program are a day trip to Cachoeira and Boa Morte, a full-day tropical island cruise, as well as a night tour of Bahia, including a typical Bahian dinner.

Cost: $1,549 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, seven nights’ hotel accommodations, Brazilian buffet breakfast daily, some meals, transfers and tours. An optional extension to Rio de Janeiro is available.

Contact: Southern Connections Tours; tel. (800) 635-3303.

Christmas in Venice

A 10-day program called An Opulent Christmas in Venice, Italy, from Dec. 19 to 28, will be sponsored by the Art Department of California State Polytechnic University. Participants will be taken to a little visited Baroque cathedral with a painted ceiling of hundreds of figures. An expert Jewish scholar will guide the group through museums and synagogues of the historic Jewish Ghetto.

Christmas Eve will begin with a traditional Venetian Christmas banquet in the penthouse setting of the Renaissance Danieli Palace, followed by High Midnight Mass in St. Mark’s Basilica. Christmas Day is devoted to a trip through the Alps with a cable car ride to a high peak. Also included is a Vivaldi concert, staged with period instruments and 18th century costumes in the church where Vivaldi was choirmaster; a visit to the Harry’s Bar frequented by Hemingway; private visits through Venice’s many fine art museums, palaces and cathedrals; a boat excursion to the picturesque lace-making island of Burano; and private visits to craftsmen’s studios.

Cost: $2,995 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, accommodations at the Europa & Regina Hotel, breakfast daily and some dinners, transfers, all admission fees and guides.

Contact: Art College of Environmental Design, 3801 W. Temple Ave., Pomona, CA 91768; tel. (909) 869-3508 or (800) 525-0525.

Central Coast

A natural history and photography tour of the California Coast, from Cayucos to Cambria, will run Dec. 4 to 7. Participants will explore the rugged coastline and rural back roads, and view California’s newest colony of sea lions that have taken up residence on the southern edge of Big Sur.

Cost: $245 per person, double occupancy, including motor coach transportation, accommodations and some meals.

Contact: Image Quest Photography Tours, 1164 Alvira St., Los Angeles, CA 90035; tel. (213) 939-2819.

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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.