New Year`s Eve dinner and a gala ball at the Ramada Hotel in Vienna are part of a package from American Express Vacations that also includes stays in Munich and Salzburg.
The unescorted 10-day trip departs Dec. 29.
Air fare is extra, but land cost ranges from $969 to $1,199 (double occupancy), depending on choice of hotel.
The price includes hotel, breakfast, sightseeing tours of the cities, first-class rail travel between the cities, airport transfers and other incidentals.
For more information, call 800-241-1700.
St. Louis deals
Through next February, St. Louis has a Warm Welcomes, Cool Savings winter discount program with savings on hotel accommodations as well as shopping and sightseeing.
Call 800-247-9791 and ask the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission for the brochures explaining everything: the Warm Welcomes, Cool Savings discount coupon booklet, a St. Louis Visitors Guide, a map and a Holiday Calendar of Events.
The address is Suite 300, 10 S. Broadway, St. Louis, Mo. 63102.
A spa Finnish
Where can you combine a spa stay with a reindeer safari? In Finland, of course. To expedite matters, Finnair`s Unique Spas packages allow visitors to stay at European-style spas with a Nordic touch. The idea is to mix spa facilities and treatments with outdoor adventures.
Spa locations vary from the medieval town of Porvoo to Kuusamo, a small town in the wilderness of northern Finland.
At the Eden spa near Oulu, gateway to Lapland, outdoor winter activity choices include ice-breaker cruises and snowmobiling.
Airfare is extra, but spa packages begin at $163 (double occupancy) for 3-day/2-night weekend getaways. Eight-day/7-night weeklong packages begin at $524 (double occupancy). Rates include accommodations, some meals, sauna, swimming and various beauty, stress-reduction and fitness programs.
More information is available from the Finnish Tourist Board, 655 3rd Ave., New York, N.Y. 10017; 212-949-2333. Or call Finnair, 800-950-5000.
Currency guide
If you are heading abroad anytime soon, here`s a handy item worth packing, the winter edition of a foreign currency guide for 24 countries, from Australia to Yugoslavia. Exchange rates for the current issue are based on November figures.
Also included is information on tipping and import/export restrictions.
The free, pocket-size guide is published four times a year by Ruesch International, a foreign exchange specialty company.
For a copy, send a stamped, self-addressed business-sized envelope to Foreign Currency Guide, c/o Ruesch International, Suite 2020, Three First National Plaza, Chicago, Ill. 60602.
Top chefs
As if the world-renowned skiing and many fine restaurants were not enough of a draw, there`s another reason to visit the Colorado Rockies ski resort of Vail Jan. 15-19. Those are the dates of the 1991 Gastronomic Affair featuring top American chefs.
The five-day event will take place in the Wildflower Inn at The Lodge at Vail, one of the resort`s poshest hotels.
Participating chefs are Lydia Bastianich, of New York`s Felidia Ristorante; Lydia Shire and Susan Regis, of Biba Food Hall in Boston; Nancy Silverton and Mark Peel, of L.A. Campanile in Los Angeles; and Diana Kennedy, Mexican food expert/author/teacher.
Nightly dinner cost is $85, or five dinners for $400. Each five-course dinner with wine will be preceded by champagne and hors d`oeuvres.
Food will be paired with wines from Simi Vineyards, Buena Vista, Chappellet Vineyards and Murphy-Goode. Winemakers will be on hand to discuss selections.
Further information about the culinary event is available from The Lodge at Vail, 800-331-LODG.
For accommodations information, contact Vail-Beaver Creek Reservations, 800-525-2257.
Free for the writing
For a copy of the Southeast Wisconsin Travel Guide, call 800-776-3583. . . . For a copy of Alberta`s Winter Vacationer`s Guide, write Alberta Tourism, Box 2500, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5J 2Z4. . . . For a copy of the 1991 International Bicycle Tours brochure, contact the company at 7 Champlin Square, P.O. Box 754, Essex, Conn. 06426; 203-767-7005. . . . For a copy of the Fall/Winter 1990-`91 Guide to the Virginia Peninsula Tourism, write to the Virginia Peninsula Tourism and Conference Bureau, Suite 3-B, Dept. PR, 8 San Jose Dr., Newport News, Va. 23606. . . . For a brochure listing biking and walking trips, contact Backroads Bicycle Touring, Suite PR75, 1516 5th St., Berkeley, Calif. 94710-1713; 800-245-3874.
