Departing every half hour for the 30-mile trip from Edinburgh to Tweedbank along Scotland’s southeastern border with England, the Borders Railway, operated by ScotRail (phone +44 0 344 811 01 41, www.scotrail.co.uk), started service in September 2015. The new route runs through the Scottish Borders area, with stops at Galashiels, Stow, Gore­bridge, Newtongrange, Eskbank and Shawfair. With hop-on/hop-off privileges, a same-day round-trip ticket from Edinburgh to Tweedbank costs £16 (near $25...

On the island of Réunion, in the Indian Ocean, the Musée des musiques et instruments de l’océan indien (4 rue de la Cayenne, 97433 Hell-Bourg, Réunion; phone +262 46 72 23, www.maison morange.fr [in French only]) opened Nov. 5, 2015. Highlighting the island’s musical traditions, a collection of more than 1,500 ancient and modern instruments include examples of music styles from Africa, Asia and Europe. Information is displayed only in French. The museum is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m Tues.-Sun....

At the Southern Hemisphere’s largest collection of armored vehicles and artillery, in Cairns, North Queensland, visitors may ride in an armored vehicle (depending on availability and weather conditions). Visitors ages 12 and up may also shoot bolt-action rifles under officers’ supervision. Opened in September 2014, the Australian Armour & Artillery Museum (1145 Kamerunga Rd., Smithfield, QLD, 4878, Australia; phone +61 07 4038 1665, http://ausarmour.com) is open daily 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m...