Your passport to the latest destinations and airline promotions

Take in a Halloween Parade in New York

New York City celebrates Halloween on Oct 31 when, according to the New York tourist office, visitors can mingle with thousands of the city's citizens in fancy dress at the annual Village Halloween Parade on Sixth Avenue.

Other parts of the city will also be celebrating Halloween. Brooklyn, for example, will scare visitors on Oct 30 with witches and headless horsemen. Meanwhile, 500 carved-out pumpkins will be on display in the Botanic Gardens in the Bronx from Oct 9-31.

Ghost tours around London's old sites

Travelers to London can now enjoy a 90-minute long ghost tour of Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London, the Historic Royal Palaces foundation said. Both tours cost 25 pounds ($40) each and must be booked in advance. Appropriately, the tours of Hampton Court Palace start from Halloween on Oct 31 while those in the Tower of London commence on Nov 3.

Major Michelangelo exhibition in Vienna

The first major exhibition showing the works of Italian master Michelangelo in over 20 years has opened in the Albertina Museum in Vienna.

Around 100 works are on view with the focus on Michelangelo's figure drawings, while the show also traces his career from juvenile works and designs for The Battle of Cascina to the world-famous frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Visitors can also view a letter written by Michelangelo in sonnet form and sent to a lover.

Hotel Chelsea up for sale

New York City's Hotel Chelsea, the bohemian landmark where the poet Dylan Thomas collapsed before dying in 1953 and where the girlfriend of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious was fatally stabbed in 1978, is up for sale, its owners announced Tuesday.

Celebrated in songs like Joni Mitchell's Chelsea Morning and Nico's Chelsea Girl, the 1883 building has offered short- and long-term shelter to generations of artists and musicians. Notable residents have included Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, Arthur Miller, Eugene O'Neill, Patti Smith, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison.

New hiking routes open in Lanzarote

Ten new tourist walking routes have been signposted on the island of Lanzarote. There is a map at the start of each route, giving information about the terrain, length and degree of difficulty, according the Spanish tourism office. The routes have a total distance of 147 kilometers and are designed so hikers can walk each one in a single day.

Driverless subway trains to start

A new metro line with driverless trains will soon open in Guangzhou, where the 16th Asian Games will be held next month.

Stretching 3.94 kilometers, the APM line, or Automated People Mover system, links two business areas in downtown Guangzhou. It will open at the beginning of November before the Asian Games.

Along the 9-station underground line, trains will travel at no more than 60 kilometers per hour. Each train can take a maximum of 138 people, and a ticket for the ride will cost two yuan ($0.30).

Airline news and deals

New Haneda runway, terminal:Tokyo's second biggest airport Haneda opened a new runway and passenger terminal on Thursday, making it a fully-fledged international airport and boosting Japan's capital as an Asian air hub.

Over the next few months, the new-look Haneda will launch direct services to cities including London, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Vancouver, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Bangkok.

CSA arranges Mecca flights:China Southern Airlines has arranged 18 chartered flights between Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, to Jidda, Saudi Arabia, carrying Chinese Muslims to the annual Mecca pilgrimage.

The flights will run from Oct 18 to Nov 30, carrying 352 passengers at a time.

New bus route launched:Airport Limousine opens a new route between Beijing Capital International Airport and Langfang, Hebei province, with the tickets selling at 40 yuan (US$6).

The route will run eight times each way daily. Buses from Langfang leave from 6 am to 5.30 pm, and return from 10 am to 8.30 pm.

Continental Airlines begins food charge:Continental Airlines has announced that it will charge for food on some international flights and domestic flights shorter than 6.5 hours.

Spokesman Mary Clark from the airline said it is to satisfy passengers' diverse needs. The new menu will have chicken salad, Asian-flavored noodles and cheeseburgers, with prices starting from $1.50.

Food is still free in first and business classes, and beverages are free for passengers in all cabins.

China Daily - Xinhua - Associated Press - Deutsche Presse-Agentur