Like groovy, man!

What do you get when you combine parallel lines and concentric circles with electric colours and wonky shapes?

Op Art. And possibly a mind-blowing headache.

The genre is also known as retinal art because of the havoc the artists wreak on the viewer's vision by manipulating depth, perspective, space and colour. The movement started in the 1950s, peaked in the '60s and virtually disappeared due to a lack of critical interest.

But Buffalo's Albright-Knox has delved into its own collection to put together Op Art Revisited, an exhibition of 43 paintings and sculptures from the masters of the movement -- guys most of us have never heard of, such as Julian Stanczak, Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley. It's interesting to note that most of the works in the exhibit were acquired shortly after their creation, illustrating the gallery's tradition of buying artwork "while the paint was still wet."

There's been a resurgence of interest in Op Art, and the exhibit includes more recent works by contemporary artists such as Olafur Eliasson, the Danish-Icelandic artist responsible for the New York City Waterfalls installation currently cascading into the East River. His Triple Ripple 2004 is a fantastic arrangement of three large suspended glass and mirror disks, that are optically multiplied by the use of motors, spotlights and wire.

The Albright-Knox show runs through Jan. 25. The gallery is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on other days.

Call 716-882-8700 or visit albrightknox.org.

Royal treatment

You don't have to be rich or famous to enjoy the ambience of a swank hotel.

Despite its blueblood name, the Fairmont Royal York frequently offers great deals that even we commoners can afford.

The Castles and Towers package, for instance, combines a stay at the palatial Toronto hotel that has hosted three generations of the British royal family, admission for two to Casa Loma or CN Tower, a $25 food and beverage credit to use in the Royal York's restaurants, and free accommodation for children sharing their parents' room. It's priced from $199 per room per night Thursdays to Sundays inclusive until Dec. 30.

The Green Getaway package, available until Oct. 13, is a little pricier, but here's what you get for $269 per room per night, the starting rate for two adults and two children: a one-night stay, full picnic lunch for the group, a reusable picnic tote, Toronto Island Ferry tickets, a Green Toronto map and a $10 donation from the hotel to the Toronto Environmental Alliance. Guests who book for a Friday or Saturday night also receive a complimentary TTC pass. It's available until Oct. 13.

And even at $349 per room per night, the Planetary package is a good deal. It includes accommodation for up to two adults and two children in a deluxe room, breakfast in the hotel's York's Kitchen, space explorer snacks, the Know-It-All's Guide: Amazing Space, and four tickets to the Ontario Science Centre where the current featured exhibition is Facing Mars: Would You Survive the Journey? It's available until Jan. 4.

For more information or reservations, call 1-800-441-1414 or visit fairmont.com.

Horse feathers

You've heard of studio tours, house tours and garden tours.

Well, put on your wellies because this time we're heading out to the barn.

The first Headwaters Stable Tour is being held today and tomorrow at 15 facilities in Caledon, Erin and Dufferin County.

Visitors will be able to see behind the scenes at some of the finest stables and training facilities in southern Ontario, meet the horses and their trainers, and watch equine demonstrations.

The Hills of Headwaters -- which encompasses the communities of Orangeville, Dufferin, Shelburne, Mono, Erin and Caledon -- is major horsey country. The area is home to some of Canada's premiere breeding farms, coaching and training facilities, riding schools, boarding stables, ranches, suppliers (including farriers, veterinarians, feed, bedding and tack shops) and even an equestrian factory outlet for discount riding gear.

The tour is on from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., daily, and admission is free.

For a list of open stables, directions on how to get there, and information on the area, visit horsesinthehills.ca, or contact the Hills of Headwaters Tourism Association at 1-800-332-9744 or thehillsofheadwaters.com.

Scary stuff

This is no ordinary bus tour. This one's haunted.

Haunted Hamilton, the outfit that conducts ghost tours in Hamilton, is heading to Niagara on Saturday, Sept. 20 to check out the local goblins, ghoulies and things that go bump in the night.

The bus leaves Hamilton at 11 a.m., makes a pickup stop at Vineland and continues to Niagara Falls to visit the Screaming Tunnel, Drummond Hill Cemetery and the old Stone Jug, an abandoned customs house said to be haunted by the Lady in White.

Then it's off to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a guided ghost walk in what's billed as Canada's most haunted town.

After a two-hour dinner break, it's back on the bus and over the border for a four-hour sunset tour, ghost investigation and seance at Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown.

It was built in 1726 and is absolutely crawling with ghostly apparitions -- candles lit by unseen hands, shapes without faces, even German shepherd ghosts baying at the moon.

The Old Fort Niagara Castle is said to be frequented by a headless ghost who first showed up in the 1830s. Apparently he is a French officer who lost his head during a duel and was tossed into a well.

During the full moon, he wanders the castle in search of his head.

Haunted Hamilton's Stephanie and Daniel Cumerlato say the chapel is also pretty creepy, filled with the sound of heavy benches being dragged to and fro, and so formidable that police dogs refuse to enter. The bus tour group will have full access to the castle before returning to Hamilton for midnight.

The tour, which is not recommended for young children, costs $89, which includes transportation, taxes, a bag lunch, guides and lots of bottled water.

Divining rods, spirit boards, pendulums and pendulum boards will be available for purchase. A valid passport or a birth certificate and photo ID is required.

To register or obtain more information, call 905-529-4327, visit hauntedhamilton.com or e-mail info@hauntedhamilton.com.

mnolan@thespec.com

905-526-4689

Talk back to Mary K. Nolan on her Internet blog by going to the Traveller site and clicking on Roaming: the travel blog