Distinctive Destinations

On the shores of the Sea of Galilee (also known as Lake Kinneret) lies the scenic and holy city of Tiberias, the ideal base for excursions throughout the Galilee, including the Mount of Beatitudes and Capernaum, two of Israel's most tranquil spots.

There has never been a better time to visit Israel. To mark the advent of the new millennium, Israel invites you to take a pilgrimage of your own design. A variety of special events, exhibitions, and opportunities have been created to make a visit to Israel in 2000 an even more extraordinary journey. Take part in a variety of tours, conferences, and festivals; enjoy special concerts and museum exhibits; commemorate your visit by fulfilling the Biblical injunction to plant a tree in the Holy Land. Whatever you choose to do, your trip to Israel promises memories to last a lifetime.

FRANCE * More alluring than ever

AS A FITTING FOLLOW-UP TO ITS ULTIMATE New Year's Eve fete on the Champs-Elysees and at the Eiffel Tower, France invites visitors to join in a series of ongoing celebrations throughout 2000 and well into the 21st century.

Among the most notable commemorative programs are the Meridienne Verte and the Bastille Day 2000 Incredible Picnic. On November 25, 1999, over 100,000 French school children and their teachers were invited to participate and witness the simultaneous planting of over 3,500 young trees marking the beginning of the Meridienne Vert, or Green Meridian, a 576 mile-long line along the Meridienne de Paris, running from Dunkerque to the north and descending south, via Paris, to Prats-de-Mollo, a village in the eastern Pyrenees close to the Spanish border. When completed in the late spring, this line of over 10,000 indigenous trees, including oaks, hornbeams, cedars, and olive trees, will traverse 8 regions, 20 departments and 337 cities and towns in France. Fields of poppies, clove, and other predominantly red flowers will be planted at 20 sites along the Meridienne Verte, and are expected to be in full bloom for the Incredible Picnic, a huge national outing to be held along the Green Meridian on July 14, 2000.

On July 8, 2000, Paris will host "PeripheRock," the Millennium edition of the annual "Fete de la Musique" featuring performances by scores of live rock-and-roll bands. The peripherique, the beltway of Paris, will for the first time be partially closed to traffic and transformed into a huge stage and nightclub where revelers will dance the day and night away to the sounds of top music groups from all over the world. The celebration will also continue well into the night in the city's major squares and in the suburbs and throughout the country.

This year also marks the reopening of the Georges Pompidou Center, housing France's National Museum of Modern Art, now tripled in size. The museum exhibits on two full levels a permanent collection of 1,400 works. The contemporary art collection, exhibited on level 4, includes works in the plastic arts, architecture and design from the 1960s to the present. Level 5 houses the modern art collection of 900 works dating from 1905 to the 1960s.