If you're looking for a knowledgeable traveling companion, consider installing the Detour app on your smartphone.
The app offers 150 audio tours for walks through fascinating nooks and crannies in popular destinations, such as New York, London, Paris, Washington, Boston, New Orleans and Rome. Tokyo, Seoul and others are coming soon as part of a partnership with room-rental service Airbnb.
The tours revolve around themes. "Spirits and Spies" offers a journey through Washington bars frequented by patrons who mixed espionage with pleasure. "The Last Frontier of Bohemia" looks at how playwright Tennessee Williams lived in New Orleans' French Quarter.
Some narrators offer unique perspectives. For instance, actor Peter Coyote talks about his good and bad experiences during 1967's "Summer of Love" on a walk through San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.
Most cities have multiple tours, which typically cost $5. Some cost a few bucks more. The app works with iPhones, iPads and Android devices.
Travelers can also point their camera at a building or street featured on the tour and view a digital re-creation of how things looked in the same place at a different point in time.
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More information: www.detour.com/