MILLENNIUM COUNTDOWN

Fats Domino and the Neville Brothers’ Cyril Neville will entertain on New Year’s Eve at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. A two-night package, priced at $1,000 per couple, includes the show plus lodging at the hotel, a dinner buffet, all-night open bar, a magnum of champagne and a gospel brunch on New Year’s Day. Fireworks can be viewed from the hotel’s revolving rooftop Top of the Dome Steakhouse. Telephone (504) 561-1234.

DEAL OF THE WEEK

Got a week? That’s enough time to see Rome, Florence and Venice on CIT Tours’ “Highlights of Italy” package this winter. Starting at $1,153 per person, double occupancy (plus airport taxes), you get round-trip air between LAX and Italy via Alitalia, six nights’ lodging, daily continental breakfast, first-class train tickets between the three cities and two- to three-hour city tours. The deal is good Jan. 10 through March 31, subject to availability, Hotels include the Savoia & Jolanda in Venice and the Machiavelli Palace in Florence. Tel. (800) 248-8687.

For more deals, see our Web site, http://stats.nohib.com./travel.

FREE FOR THE ASKING

Blossoming peach, plum, nectarine and almond trees are among highlights of the “Fresno County Blossom Trail,” a 62-mile route that can be done by bike or car in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The usual blooming time is late February through mid-March. For a guide, call the Fresno Convention & Visitors Bureau at (800) 788-0836.

This Week’s Holidays

Banking and government offices will be closed or services curtailed in these countries and their dependencies this week because of national and religious holidays:

Monday: Malta

Tuesday: Israel, Taiwan

Thursday: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, South Africa

Friday: Bhutan

Saturday: Niger

Source: Thomson Financial Publishing