Travellers' Checks | Luxe releases travel apps; Palace Hotel Tokyo deal for Japanese culture vultures

Hong Kong guidebook publisher Luxe City Guides has just released 25 apps, which can be downloaded at the Apple App Store or Google Play and used either online or offline. Destinations range (alphabetically) from Amsterdam and Bali to Tokyo and Venice. Each app costs HK$78 but you can download a free preview version that contains enough content to let you decide if the app is fit for purpose. Listings are fairly comprehensive and location-specific information and regular updates make the most of the format. You can find further details, and a polished but fairly pointless introductory video, at luxecityguides.com/apps.

In 1913, a once well-known bon vivant and pioneer aviator called James Radley and his business manager, Reginald Hope, took part in the Österreichische Alpenfahrt, one of the earliest motor rallies. They drove from London to Vienna, via Paris, the Alps and the Dolomites. Choosing the best available car of the day, Radley and Hope made the arduous but spectacular voyage - part driving holiday, part competition - in a grand Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. In 2013, the car's current owner, John Kennedy, celebrated the centenary of the seven-day journey by recreating it as closely as he could, taking many photos along the way from the exact spots where Hope, a keen amateur photographer, had set up his more cumbersome equipment. Published this month, Mr Radley Drives to Vienna: A Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Crossing the Alps - 1913 & 2013 records both trips with comparative images in a handsome, hardback volume that celebrates the vintage Rolls-Royce and the pleasures and freedom of the open road. Mr Radley Drives to Vienna is available from amazon.co.uk for £19.99 (HK$245).

The Palace Hotel Tokyo (above) has added two more offerings to its portfolio of "Palatial Pursuits", which offer guests an insider look at various aspects of Japanese culture. Sensationally Sumo includes a behind-the-scenes tour of the Ryogoku Kokugikan sumo-wrestling stadium and tickets to one of three annual tournaments held there, in the company of a former sumo broadcaster and writer. As these events only take place in June, May and September, an off-season package is also offered, including a visit to the wrestlers "stable" and a lunch of traditional chanko nabe, a stew they gobble down to bulk up. Package prices include two nights' hotel accommodation and transport, and start from 500,000 yen (HK$31,500) and 627,000 yen, respectively. The second package, called Unmasking Tokyo, includes tickets to a traditional kabuki performance with backstage access at the recently restored Kabuki-za theatre. Prices for this starts from 458,000 yen with two nights' accommodation. The hotel offers these and several other tours in conjunction with upmarket cultural experience provider Toki, and if you are not staying at the Palace Hotel, you can browse their offerings and book directly at www.toki.tokyo. Don't expect much of a discount, though; prices are only provided after registration.