Travel Briefs

iPhone users can load over 2,000 walking tours of more than 180 cities worldwide with GPSmyCity applications.

For two generations, the art-collecting Nahmad family has invested in classic paintings, including works from the Impressionist, Surrealist and Abstract periods by Picasso, Kadinsky, Magritte, Monet, Modigliani, Renoir and Degas.

For the first time, over 100 pieces from the private collection will be exhibited in one venue, the Kunsthaus Zürich (Heimplatz 1, CH-8001 Zürich, Switzerland; phone +41 044 253 8484), Oct. 21, 2011-Jan. 15, 2012. Open 10-6 Sat.-Tues., 10-8 Wed.-Fri. CHF22 (near $27) adult or CHF14.50 senior.

The website www.cyclecopenhagen.dk allows travelers to plan bike routes through Copenhagen and nearby Frederiksberg, Denmark. Users can select multiple stops, then choose the shortest route or the route with the most bike lanes or the route with the most green spaces visible. Also at no cost, maps may be printed out with turn-by-turn directions.

The first third of “Antarctic Wildlife: a Visitor’s Guide” by James Lowen (2011, Princeton University Press. Stiff, large-format paperback, 240 glossy pages, $22.95) has general tips on spotting wildlife, then it lists plant, sea and bird life by geographic regions. Densely illustrated with photos (both juvenile and adult animals), the rest tells how to identify varieties of seals, whales, dolphins, gulls, penguins, ducks, etc., with short text descriptions of their behaviors.

Those exploring Britain by bicycle can use a collection of pocket-sized map cards called “Cyclist’s Britain in a Box” (2011, Interlink Publ,. ISBN 1566568579 — 50 cards, $19.95).

Each card has a cycling route fully illustrated, with directions, plus info on transportation and points of interest. Routes vary in difficulty, and many begin near transportation hubs in towns.

In Zambia’s remote South Luangwa Valley, you can take a “Return to the Wild” sleepout safari with Norman Carr Safaris (Mfuwe, Zambia; phone + 260 216 246025).

It costs $200 each (four guests, maximum, ages 12 and up) and is available during the dry season (May 25-Oct. 31) as part of a three-night or longer stay in one of their bush-camp sites ($480-$550 per person per night, double occupancy) or the Kapani Lagoon House ($455-$525 per person, double occupancy).

At Coventry, England’s, AIRBASE Living Air Museum, a converted (and nonflying) 1958 Douglas DC-6 prop liner has been converted to a diner. The fuselage seats 40, and visitors can summon servers by pushing the stewardess call button.

The DC-6 Diner (Coventry Airport, Coventry CV8 3 AZ, U.K.; phone 024 7688 2604) serves dinner nightly and serves lunch Wednesday through Saturday. The bar remains open till midnight all week.

Travelers to Latvia’s northern Vidzeme Province can ride the only functioning narrow-gauge diesel-engine train in the Baltics. The line was originally built in 1903 and covered 212 kilometers, but only 33 kilometers of the original track remain, connecting the towns of Gulbene and Aluksne.

Pack For A Purpose, a nonprofit founded in 2009, suggests that travelers to any of 100-plus destinations on five continents pack at least five pounds of helpful supplies in their luggage to be delivered to a community in need.

In the area you’re visiting, find a participating hotel or lodge and drop off the supplies at the reception desk. (You are not required to be staying at any of the lodgings, most of which are high-end.)

The central London location of Hertz (35 Edgware Rd., London; phone 0843 309 3049) is offering rentals of electric bicycles, which increase pedalers’ speed. They are powered by rechargeable batteries that last for a day of riding. For multiday rentals, an ordinary wall outlet can recharge the battery.

A bike can be rented for £19.99 (near $28) per day, which is less than the full-day fee of £51 ($72) with the city’s bike-sharing program.