1 . To ensure a safe and enjoyable visit, the British Museum continues to work within government guidelines.

Most of our galleries are open. You can visit the treasures of Sutton Hoo, explore the wonderful collection of the Islamic world (Opens in new window), and learn more about Egyptian mummies. Please see the list of available galleries below. Tickets to Nero: the man behind the myth and Hokusai: The Great Picture Book of Everything are available to book.

You’re advised to book a timed slot in advance (Opens in new window) to guarantee entry and help control the numbers of individuals who can visit. Walk-up visits are available each day for those who arrive at the Museum without advance bookings. But this does depend on capacity, as walk-up entry cannot be guaranteed. Please speak to staff on your arrival to enquire about availability.

We take the safety and security of our staff and visitors seriously, so face coverings are recommended for the protection of yourself and others, unless you’re exempt. Please be considerate of others— especially in smaller spaces. Hand sanitizer stations can be found throughout the Museum and we recommend washing or sanitizing your hands regularly. Contactless payment is preferred in our shops and cafes. Staff are available to advise if you have any questions. Please do not visit if you feel unwell or have COVID-19 symptoms.

We look forward to welcoming you.

2 . The Jishou Art Museum is located at the center of an old town in the city of Jishou. A river called Wanrong runs through the old town, adding a touch of serenity to the historical site. The architects decided to build the museum on top of the river in the shape of a bridge. By making the museum into a bridge, they hoped that people in Jishou would encounter art on their way to work, school, or shops, instead of only seeing it on a special trip.

Typical contemporary cultural institutions, such as museums and grand theaters, are treated as freestanding monuments, far away from the communities. The Jishou Art Museum, however, is integrated into the existing urban framework and well-connected with shops, restaurants, and small hotels, often with owners living upstairs.

Covered bridge (廊桥) has a long tradition in this mountainous region of China. It is used not only for crossing a river but also as a public space where travelers can rest and vendors (小贩) can set up stands. As a modern interpretation of this building type, the Jishou Art Museum has introduced art as a new addition to the covered bridge.

The art museum is composed of two bridges, one on the top of the other. The lower level is an open steel structure that looks like a roofed street for passersby and allows the flow of crowds; the upper level is a concrete arch with a small gallery inside. In between the two bridges is the art museum’s main hall for temporary exhibitions. The entrance hall, administrative office, souvenir shop, and tearoom are situated at either end of the bridge.

The Jishou Art Museum Project was initiated and supported by Huang Yongyu, a contemporary Chinese artist. The museum was completed in 2019 and had its grand opening in the summer of 2021.

3 . Best Beaches in Connecticut

With its sandy beaches, nesting seabirds, and a number of seafood stands, Connecticut’s coastline is a hot spot for summer vacations that you shouldn’t miss.

Rocky Neck State Park

If you’re after a place to set up camp near the beach, head to Rocky Neck State Park. The park has the perfect combination of easy beach access, nature trails (小路), and activities to keep your children entertained. Its campground has been built to preserve the natural appeal of the park. With hardly any seaweed (海藻), this is also a great location for crabbing and fishing.

Hammonasset Beach State Park

Characterized by soft sand and calming waves, Hommonasset Beach State Park is one of the state’s busiest parks. It’s the place to visit if you like your beach experience filled with fellow vacationers. Facilities in the park include Meigs Point Nature Center, an environmental education center which houses more than 50 species of wildlife from various habitats.

Calf Pasture & Shady Beach

Do you love the beach but find that you cannot sit still on the sand for more than five minutes? Well, Calf Pasture & Shady Beach is your beach destination. Here, you can spend the day by the water playing games like beach volleyball. For something more challenging, rent a kayak (独木舟) and get out on the water

Ocean Beach Park

Ocean Beach Park has plenty of entertainment for the little ones. There are water slides, a playground, and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. These are the stuff of childhood summer vacation memories. The parking fee includes admission to the beach area, but the pool and attractions all cost extra.

5 . What Is Your Next Destination?

One of the oldest cultural landscapes in China is chosen to become one of the country’s newest UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2022. The Ancient Tea Plantations of Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er features about 1.13 million tea trees. Located in China’s Yunnan Province, the region was a sating point of the legendary Ancient Tea Horse Road. Many of the region’s tea plantations remain, as do the four local ethnic minority groups — the Blang, Dai, Hani, and Wa people — who preserve their own languages, customs, and festivals.

When you arrive here, the stamp in your passport will include the Palau Pledge (誓约), which all visitors must sign, promising that “the only footprints I shall leave are those that will wash away.” The eco-pledge was drafted by and for the children of these remote western Pacific islands to help preserve Palau’s culture and environment from the negative impacts of tourism. Eighty percent of the nation’s waters is preserved as the Palau National Marine Sanctuary.

Green shoots of regeneration are appearing in Australia, of which some 72,000 square miles were, burned during the 2019-2020 bushfires, leading to the deaths of nearly three dozen people and more than a billion animals. Drive the Great Ocean Road, in Victoria’s Otways region, and then take a hike at Wildlife Wonders, an educational ancient forest and waterfalls. Wandering through bushes gives a chance to spot koalas unique to this ecosystem.

Mining and steel production once dominated the crowded Ruhr Valley, in Germany’s western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Today, the region is repurposing previous industrial sites as parks and open air cultural spaces. The most famous is the UNESCO Word Heritage site of Zeche Zollverein, now home to an outdoor swimming pool, ice rink, and walking tails. You can rent a bike in Essen for a car-free Ruhr Valley trip along cycling routes.

6 . Bangkok’s Grand Palace is the busiest tourist stop in the city. People keep coming because the Grand Palace could arguably be called the birthplace of Bangkok

How to Get to the Grand Palace

Making your own way to the Grand Palace in Bangkok is more enjoyable and rewarding. Moving around by river taxi is inexpensive. Additionally, you’ll have a good excuse to see the Chao Phraya River up close. Going by boat won’t make you caught in traffic jams. It will let you see beautiful river scenery!

People staying in the Khao San Road area may choose to walk (around 20 — 25 minutes) to the Grand Palace.

Opening Hours

The Grand Palace is open seven days a week from 8:30 a. m. until 3:30 p. m. Occasionally, the Grand Palace does actually close for official visits and state functions. However, this is rare. Don’t believe any driver who states the Grand Palace is closed. If the statement of closure is too convincing, confirm it by calling: +6626235500 ext.3100.

Entrance Fees

Considering that temples in Thailand are often free, the 500 baht (around $16) per person entrance fee at the Grand Palace is relatively expensive. Thai nationals do not have to pay. An audio tour can be rented for an additional 200 baht. Besides, human guides are available for hire. Choose an official guide rather than accepting someone’s offer on the outside.

Dress Standards at the Grand Palace

To show enough respect, you shouldn’t wear sleeveless shirts in any temple or state building in Thailand. But unlike many of the other temples, dress standards are strictly required at the Grand Palace.

Men must wear long trousers, women must cover legs to just above the knee.

Don’t wear shirts with religious themes or symbols of death on them.

You may be told outside that flip-flops (人字拖鞋) are unacceptable footwear.

7 . It had been a long, hard, wonderful day. The two of us had walked from the sea’s edge through the length of a beautiful valley, climbed a superb mountain, travelled its narrow, rocky ridge, and now stood on its final peak, tired, happy and looking for the perfect campsite.

The experienced backpacker has a natural feeling for such things, and our eyes were drawn to a small blue circle on the map. We could not see it from where we were, but we followed our judgement and went down steeply until it came into view.

We were right. It was a calm pool, with flat grass beside it. Gently taking our packs off, we made the first of many cups of tea before putting up our tent. Later that evening, over another cup of tea and after a good meal, we sat outside the tent watching the sun set over a sea dotted with islands, towards one of which a ferry was slowly moving. It is not always so perfect, of course. On another trip, with a different companion, a thoroughly wet day had ended at a lonely farm. Depressed at the thought of camping, we had knocked and asked if we could use a barn as a shelter.

Backpacking could be defined us the art of comfortable, self-sufficient travel on foot. Everything you need is in the pack on your back, and you become emotionally as well as physically attached to it. I once left my pack hidden in some rocks while I made a long trip to a peak I particularly wanted to climb. I was away for nearly three hours and ended up running the last stretch in fear that my precious pack would not be there. It was, of course.

The speed at which the backpacker travels makes this the perfect way to see any country. You experience the landscape as a slow unfolding scene, almost in the way it was made；and you find time to stop and talk to people you meet. I’ve learned much local history from simply chatting to people I met while walking through an area. At the end of a trip, whether three days or three weeks, there’s a feeling of achievement, of having got somewhere under your own power.

10 . San Francisco better local garden

The San Francisco Botanical Garden is one of the most diverse (多种多样的) gardens in the world. The garden is a living museum within Golden Gate Park, offering 55 acres (英亩) of both beautiful gardens and open spaces.

The San Francisco Botanical Garden is open during COVID-19. The garden is free to all San Francisco residents and garden members. We are also continuing to offer free admission every morning to everyone from 7:30 am to 9 am---a fantastic time for bird watching. The second Tuesday of the month is also free to everyone.

Second Tuesday of every month

Free daily from 7:30-9 am

Always free for San Francisco city and county residents

Always free for garden members and school groups

S9/ adults weekdays, S12/ foreign adults weekdays; S7/ youth and seniors;

S3/children; children 4 years old and younger free

fall and winter

October through early November: Last entry at 5 pm

I st Sunday in November through January: Last entry at 4 pm

February through 2nd Saturday in march: Last entry at 5 pm

Spring and Summer

2nd Sunday in March through September: Last entry at 6 pm

(The garden closes one hour after last entry.)