Europe
Maienfeld
Harry Potter may have conquered the globe with his magical powers, but this summer the bespectacled boy wizard is being out-hyped by a much older orphan-Heidi. To mark the centenary of the death of her creator, author Johanna Spyri, Heidi is being celebrated in her Swiss homeland with exhibitions, plays, a festival, walking tours through Heidiland-the Alpine area where Spyri set her story-and daily goatherd trails from "Heidi's village," otherwise known as Maienfeld. Also on offer are Heidi-branded products, including water, tableware and Edelweiss-playing dolls. See .
Middle East
Jerusalem
Revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, the 14-hectare complex at the heart of old Jerusalem has been out of bounds to tourists since a dispute over control triggered fighting and helped derail peace talks last October. But visitors can still "tour" the area-as it looked before its destruction by Roman troops some 2,000 years ago-thanks to an interactive computer simulation at the Davidson Virtual Reconstruction Center, which opened recently in the basement of a 7th century caliph's palace near the Al Aqsa Mosque. Also on view are historical artefacts from the area and images of Jerusalem through the ages.
North America
Tampa
Every July, some 2 million wildebeest migrate across the arid Serengeti plain to Kenya's vast Masai Mara game reserve, where they graze and mate before returning to Tanzania in October. The Serengeti Plains attraction an ocean away at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, Florida, cannot recreate that awe-inspiring event. But a new safari adventure at the theme park combines up-close wild animal sightings with off-road riding and whitewater rafting. Billed as a "slice of authentic African culture," Rhino Rally takes 17 visitors at a time on an 8-min. journey featuring "chance" encounters with rhinoceros, elephants and crocodiles and a simulated flash flood that plunges participants down a raging river.
Philadelphia
After 25 years of making magic together, Penn and Teller have proclaimed that they are "moving into the field of religion and will be performing real miracles." But the Las Vegasbased magicians are still willing to reveal some of their secrets with the "Amazing Living Head," one of four illusions custom-made for "Magic: The Science of Illusion." The Franklin Institute exhibition features demonstrations and explanations of illusions like levitation, mind reading and transformation. Also on display are mementoes of famous magicians, including a milk can and handcuffs once used by escape artist Harry Houdini. Through Aug. 26.