Paris Shopping Spree, Holidays Everywhere

Two holiday shopping trips to Paris with the themes of music, food and fashion are scheduled for Nov. 9 to 16 and Nov. 16 to 23 with Paris devotee and tour guide Anne Block. Each group of eight will go shopping, dining and attend cultural activities. Boutique hotel accommodations are centrally located near the Seine.

Guests will explore the antique markets of St.-Ouen; the department stores of Haussmann Boulevard; a tiny shop for hand-crafted toys and marionettes on the Ile St. Louis; discount clothing stores by the Place de la Madeleine; and the Pont des Vanves flea market for paintings, linens and decorative arts.

Musical highlights are chamber music in a medieval chapel with stained glass; live dance music in a subterranean nightclub where the jitterbug still reigns; jazz atop one of the tallest buildings in Europe, with a view of the Eiffel Tower below; and an evening with a cabaret singer who performs Edith Piaf songs

Culinary adventures include feasting on paella, couscous and Spanish guitar music in a Sephardic flamenco restaurant; dining in a bistro once used as secret headquarters for the newspaper of the French Resistance during World War II; and eating in a classic French brasserie on one of the oldest streets in Paris.

Cost: $2,500 per person, including round-trip air from LAX, hotel, daily buffet breakfast, transfers, taxes, welcome dinner and private guide.

Contact: Take My Mother Please Tours; telephone (213) 937-9073.

Finnish Lapland

A visit from Santa Claus and his reindeer on Christmas Eve, rides in sleighs drawn by horses or snowmobiles and a safari with Siberian huskies are features of Christmas and New Year’s packages in Finland’s Lapland that are offered by Norvista Inc. Both the six-day Christmas tour (Dec. 22 to 27) and the five-day New Year’s tour (Dec. 29 to Jan. 2) are based in Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland.

The Christmas program starts with a visit to Santa’s Village on the Arctic Circle. Dec. 24 begins with a snowmobile excursion to fetch Christmas trees to be decorated in the hotel. On Christmas Eve is a traditional Finnish buffet, and then Santa arrives with his reindeer and a gift for every child.

A church service on Christmas morning is followed by an excursion to a frozen lake for snowmobile driving, lunch, Lapp initiation ceremonies and the presentation of certificates for crossing the Arctic Circle.

New Year’s Eve begins with a champagne reception and dinner. As midnight approaches, everyone walks to a frozen river where the Sami (Laplanders) have built a kota, or tepee, illuminated by candles and campfires. There, Sami shamans make predictions, and fireworks announce the arrival of 1998.

Cost: Christmas in Lapland is $1,899 per person (less for children), double occupancy, including round-trip air from New York, accommodations and transfers, most meals and saunas. The New Year’s program is $1,499 for adults and $599 to $1,199 for children, including round-trip air fare, hotels, most meals and saunas.

Contact: Norvista, Inc., 228 E. 45th St., New York, NY 10017; tel. (800) 526-4927.

Morocco for Holidays

For an out-of-the-ordinary Christmas and New Year’s, a tour to Morocco from Dec. 23 to Jan. 3 is offered by Valhalla Tours. Christmas is spent in Marrakech, with visits to the Islamic Arts Museum, Djemaa el-Fna Square, Dar Si Said Museum of Regional Arts and Crafts, and El Bahia Palace. A tour via Land Rovers is taken to the Erg Chebbi sand desert, with a chance to ride a camel through the dunes.

In the imperial city of Fez, guests can wander the medieval medina (city center), shop its souks (market) and celebrate New Year’s at a gala event. Guests will stop in several Berber villages along the way to see village life and shop for handmade pottery, jewelry, carpets and weavings. The tour also goes to Rabat, with its Hassan Tower and the Royal Palace, before concluding in Casablanca, where sightseeing includes the Grand Mosque.

Cost: $3,145 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from New York, flight from Casablanca to Marrakech, four- to five-star accommodations, several meals, Christmas and New Year’s celebrations and tour guide. Los Angeles air add-on is $350.

Contact: Sandy Nelson, Valhalla Tours, 4140 Stryker, Las Cruces, NM 88005; tel. (800) 525-0113.

Jewish Italy

The University of Judaism’s Department of Continuing Education is hosting a trip to Italy April 28 through May 10. The tour will be led by Rabbi Zvi Dershowitz and his wife, Tova, of Sinai Temple in Westwood. Participants will visit synagogues and Italian Jewish neighborhoods and meet with Jewish community leaders in Venice, Florence, Livorno, La Spezia, Rome and Naples. The tour will include historical background about Jews in Italy. The group will also see the famous sites of each city.

Cost: $3,295 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, hotels, most meals and transportation in Italy.

Contact: Freedman Habush Associates; tel. (818) 994-0213.

English Christmas

A nostalgic yuletide tour to England with vintage train rides, a Dickens festival and music in cathedrals runs Dec. 1 to 12. Participants will ride on a vintage steam train complete with Father Christmas and a traditional holiday treat of mince pie. They also visit the Dickens Festival in Rochester, where the townsfolk dress in Victorian garb and re-create an English Christmas of a century ago.

The tour includes seasonal music at Canterbury Cathedral, the York Minster and the St. Martin-in-the-Fields church in London. There will also be a performance of the “Messiah” at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Cost: $2,135 per person, double occupancy, including first-class hotels, all breakfasts and dinners, touring by train and admissions. Not included: air fare to London.

Contact: Tripp Explorer Ltd., 10 Dewey Circle, Haydenville, MA 01039; tel. (800) 338-1145.

More England

Heritage World Tours is offering its 16th annual Christmas and New Year’s tour to England and Scotland with plenty of Old World Yuletide revelry. The tour departs Dec. 22 and returns Jan. 3, and will be escorted by native-born Englishman Robert Marsh.

The first night is spent in London for a twilight city tour to enjoy the Christmas lights and decorations. The Christmas portion (Dec. 24, 25 and 26) is in England’s countryside for three nights at a hotel that once was a stately home in Hampshire. Enjoy music, dancing and entertainment each night along with all meals. Daytime activities include a Boxing Day excursion to view a gathering of a fox hunt and an afternoon at Kempton Park for the annual Steeplechase horse racing event.

Three more days are spent in London before celebrating New Year’s in Scotland. Guests will stay in Edinburgh for some city sightseeing and New Year’s Eve celebrations that include Scottish pipers, music, banquet and dancing.

New Year’s Day offers a quiet scenic drive through the Scottish countryside, passing historic sites and cities on the way to St. Andrew’s.

Cost: $2,325 per person, double occupancy, including hotels, some meals and sightseeing. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Robert Marsh, Heritage World Tours, 16903 Lilly Crest, San Antonio, TX 78232; tel. (210) 494-6133.

Great Greece

Byron Tours is offering a small-group tour to Greece March 27 to April 13.

Participants will explore Greek ruins and walk through meadows of wildflowers on this 18-day journey led by a Greek American archeologist. Guests will visit historic sites in Athens, Crete and the Greek mainland. The terrain is varied from island retreats to stone villages in remote snowcapped mountains. Hotels are located in the heart of the old towns, near sites, restaurants and shopping.

Cost: $3,600 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, guided tours, and daily breakfast and some meals.

Contact: Byron Tours; tel. (408) 688-1325.

*

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with cruise lines, travel agents or tour operators.