People who love art and travel can have the best of both worlds with packages that include some premier exhibitions:
In Chicago, the Lenox Suites Hotel's ''Double Dutch Package" includes double accommodations in a Queen Studio Suite with full kitchen, double tickets for timed and dated admission to the ''Rembrandt's Journey" exhibit at the Art Institute, in-suite continental breakfast for two, and a Dutch chocolate sampler. The cost starts at $165 per double room, per night, and includes all taxes. The package is valid to May 8 (although the exhibit itself runs to May 19.)
(The fine print: The rate is based on double occupancy. Add $30 for each additional person in the room.)
Rembrandt's Journey Package reservations can be made at www.877Chicago.com or by calling 877-CHICAGO. For information on the Lenox Suites Hotel and other packages, call 800-44-LENOX, or visit www.lenoxsuites.com.
Another Dutch delight: The Delamar Greenwich Harbor Hotel in Greenwich, Conn., has a tie-in with the exhibit ''Love Letters: Dutch Genre Paintings in the Age of Vermeer" at the Bruce Museum of Arts and Science. The Love Letters package includes a deluxe double room, complimentary entry to the exhibit, a free Vermeer's Pearl cocktail, and a copy of the exhibit catalog. You also won't have far to walk: The hotel is directly across the street from the museum. The package is available every weekend this month and next for $219-$1,099 a night, depending upon the room.
Call 866-335-2627 or e-mail reservations@thedelamar.com.
In San Francisco, there's art on the lighter side. More than 130 heart installations, each one 5 feet tall and designed by numerous artists and celebrities, will bring whimsy to sidewalks, plazas, and street corners. The Handlery Union Square Hotel is joining in with a $149 Heart Stopping Art package that includes one night's accommodation, two Muni/cable car passes to see the hearts throughout San Francisco, a map of the city and list of heart locations, a Tony Bennett CD that includes ''I Left My Heart in San Francisco," a split of champagne, and a $10 dining credit.
Visit www.handlery.com or call the hotel at 800-995-HUSH.
Orlando, Fla., has its cultural side, too. The works of glass artist Dale Chihuly will be showcased in the exhibit ''Chihuly Across Florida: Masterworks in Glass" at the Orlando Museum of Art through May 30. Several vacation packages are available at varying prices that include a stay at one of 90 participating hotels and discounted admission to the exhibit.
Visit www.orlandoinfo.com/chihuly or call 407-363-5872.
In Boston, ''Gauguin Tahiti" is drawing crowds to the Museum of Fine Arts. The Fairmont Copley Plaza (which, incidentally, is on the site of the original MFA) is offering what it calls the Ultimate Gauguin Experience. Guests get a night in the Museum of Fine Arts Suite, two tickets to the exhibit, plus a private tour with an MFA docent, a 10 percent discount at the MFA Store, and a Gauguin-themed welcome amenity. The package, available April 15-June 20, starts at $241; a one-bedroom suite is $779.
Call 800-441-1414 or visit www.fairmont.com.
Spain for $589On Spain's Costa del Sol, six-night Petrabax packages from Boston to Malaga start at $589 per person, double occupancy, through March 31, and cost $834 April 1 through June 13. A six-night package to Madrid is priced at $818 through March 31 and increases to $1,090 April 1-June 13. Other packages combine Madrid with the Costa del Sol or with Barcelona, Seville, Bilbao, or Valencia. Three nights are spent in each of two destinations. Starting price for these packages from Boston is $624 per person, double occupancy, through March 31, including round-trip air transportation in Spain. The price is $1,164 April 1-June 13.
(The fine print: Airport taxes and fees are additional and can add $80-$85 to the cost.)
Call 800-265-4842 or visit www.petrabaxusa.com.
Spring training Orbitz, one of the travel mega-sites on the Web, notes that air-and-hotel combos can put you near baseball spring training sites in Florida at reasonable prices. For example, you might see the Red Sox play the Pirates in Fort Myers on March 31. Book flights on US Airways and lodging at the Sanibel Inn, set among eight acres of tropical gardens near the beach. Packages start at $951 per person.
Visit www.orbitz.com.
Azores for $579 A package to the Azores that includes round-trip Azores Express flights between Boston and San Miguel on the islands, six nights' lodging, and all breakfasts starts at $579 plus $75 in airport fees until the end of March. April trips begin at $729.
Call 800-762-9995, or visit www.SATA.pt.
