While most of us tend to choose our next holiday destination based on the cultural landmarks, what the weather is like or what food there is on offer, if you’re a bit of a bookworm, understanding the literary background of an area could help to make your trip even more enriching.
From learning about the greats that were created and set in big cities like London, New York, Paris, Bath and Edinburgh, to exploring the hometowns of famous writers like Jane Austen, Harper Lee and Louisa May Alcott, there are so many opportunities to immerse yourself in literature while going on your travels.
So whether you like to read the classics, enjoy modern lit-fic, are a fan of the Bard or maybe a Romantic (the period, not the genre) at heart, these are the best places to visit for book lovers who want to learn a little more about a favourite read on your next holiday.
32 places to visit for book lovers
Edinburgh, Scotland
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The first ever Unesco City of Literature, Edinburgh has been home to many famous writers over the decades, including Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. Its cobbled streets are littered with history and points that played inspiration to many a story. Make sure to visit the beautiful and cosy bookshops too.
Yorkshire Moors, England
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The famously hostile setting of Emily Brontë’s 1846 novel, Wuthering Heights, the Yorkshire Moors would make an ideal break for anyone wanting to experience the natural beauty of this doomed romantic setting. Hopefully society’s technological developments against the colder months prevent the same dramatic detours that befell our unfortunate narrator.
Concord, Massachusetts, USA
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If you’re besotted with the autumnal rural romance of Louisa May Alcott’s Massachusetts setting in her 1868 Little Women, head to Concord, the town where Alcott lived, wrote and based the novel on. And if you’re interested in wider literary sources, the town was also once home to poet Ralph Waldo Emerson and writer Henry David Thoreau.
Transylvania, Romania
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In a world of vampire fiction – novels for all ages, films spanning animated, fantasy and horror, and TV series from angsty teen to small-town gritty – is there any darkness more alluring than that of Bram Stoker’s famous 1987 classic, Dracula, and his imposing Transylvanian castle? Visit the area to soak up the misty atmosphere and see if you can get a glimpse of the count himself…
London, England
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Throughout the ages, England’s capital has been the setting to many a book across any genre you can imagine – from Wilkie Collins’ shift into the Gothic with The Woman in White, Dickens’ proletariat Oliver Twist, and Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes’ adventures and investigations, to more modern releases like John Le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Zadie Smith’s multicultural commentary in White Teeth and Helen Fielding’s chaotically romantic Bridget Jones and her diary. Visit to explore the hundreds of literary locations across the city – and don’t miss the picturesque bookshops.
New York City, USA
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From J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye to more recent bestseller list headliners like Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, and of course Fitzgerald’s genre-defining classic The Great Gatsby, New York City provides the backdrop for numerous literary favourites. Roam the city to explore all of the settings and learn about the backgrounds of the famous stories.
The French Riviera, France
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The romance of the French Riviera has provided the perfect backdrop for many stories throughout literature – the meeting place of Du Maurier’s Maxim and Mrs DeWinter in the famous Rebecca, home to the Jazz Age in Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night and of course an appearance by Hercule Poirot himself. Soak up the romance of the place and maybe take some inspiration to make notes of your own.
Bath, England
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A hub to Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, Bath is home to many of the greats, including Persuasion, The Pickwick Papers and the famous Gothic satire Northanger Abbey. There are events and festivals always going on in honour of its literary history, or simply stroll the city and get a feel for the famous stories.
Stockholm, Sweden
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While Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo explores the heavy themes of political corruption, family discord, organised crime and violence against women, the setting provides a much more enticing element with its bustling Swedish city landscape and remote family island.
Mumbai, India
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A bustling city brimming with the magic of literature – and plenty of inspiration to create more – Mumbai provides the backdrop for many stories throughout history, most famously, Salman Rushdie’s magical realism masterpiece, Midnight’s Children.
Winchester, England
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The home of Jane Austen, Winchester has plenty of buildings, landmarks and activities dedicated to the famous Georgian Period writer. Explore the Jane Austen Trail, which goes through the writer’s house, places where she wrote and locations where she set her works.
Colombia
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The setting of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s famous One Hundred Years of Solitude, Colombia has plenty to do and plenty to see, including a museum dedicated to the writer in his hometown Aracataca, and plenty of the settings for his novels.
Paris, France
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While many romanticise Paris for its food, wine and scenery, its charm also extends to literature, with the dreamy city providing the backdrop for many different works across genres. From the stories of Victor Hugo and Alexander Dumas, Charles Dickens and Ernest Hemingway, to more modern reads like The Da Vinci Code, there are plenty of stories to learn about.
Cornwall, England
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If you’ve spent years ‘dreaming of Manderley’ and exploring the natural beauty of its setting, head to Cornwall to see the real backdrop of Daphne Du Maurier’s famous Rebecca. Most of her novels were set in this seaside county, so there are so many settings to see.
Los Angeles, California, USA
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The City of Angels where dreamers go to make all their aspirations in life come true, Los Angeles provides the backdrop to many a story of people looking to make a goal a reality. A favourite of modern author Taylor Jenkins Reid and one of the locations in 2022 bestseller Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, it’s somewhere for the dreamers to explore.
Kent, England
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The London-adjacent county might seem not too different to the capital nowadays, but in the era of Charles Dickens and his Great Expectations protagonist, it was worlds away. Head to the county to visit the places that inspired the author and even featured in his works.
Venice, Italy
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Today it’s a hub for tourists, foodies and art lovers looking to soak up a bit of culture for a weekend, but in the 17th century, Venice provided the backdrop for some of the most iconic plays in literary history – Shakespeare’s Othello and, of course, Merchant of Venice.
York, England
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A city packed with all the architectural English romance of the Georgian period, York is the perfect place to soak up the inspiration behind many of literature’s heroes. Take a walk down the cobbled streets, wander into a bookshop and sit down with one of the classics.
La Mancha, Spain
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The famous setting of Miguel de Cervantes’ 1605 classic Don Quixote, La Mancha is depicted as relatively flat and featureless wilderness. These days, you can visit the more populated areas, like nearby Toledo, where you can explore the background of the book and even take a day visit out to the more novel-centric areas.
Mississippi, USA
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If you’re a fan of Mark Twain’s American classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn head to the Mississippi to glimpse the famous river that plays such a vital role in the coming-of-age story. There are also exhibitions and museums to see to learn more about the literature of the area.
Oxford, England
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A city that truly romanticises academia, visit Oxford to soak up the creative and literary energy of one of the most intellectual cities in the world. And make sure to visit the area’s many bookshops and libraries, including the university’s famous 26-library-strong Bodleian group.
Monterey, California, USA
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The setting behind John Steinbeck’s famous East of Eden, this coastal town will give you an intimate break with an outdoor feel. And if you’re a fan of fairytales, head to nearby Carmel-By-The-Sea for their fairytale village-like city centre.
Dublin, Ireland
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A hub for well-known novelist, poet and literary critic James Joyce, who wrote the famous Ulysses, the Irish capital hosts an annual literature festival, where readers can meet authors, learn about their works and get some inspiration for their own stories to come.
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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While Boston is now a bustling cosmopolitan city people visit for sports, culture and perhaps a more relaxed alternative to Manhattan, it was once the setting for historical works of fiction by writers like Louisa May Alcott, Henry James and Henry David Thoreau.
Peru
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With extensive areas of rainforest alongside busy, activity-packed cities to see, the birthplace of Paddington the Bear is an ideal destination not only for lovers of the books (and movies) but also for those who like to curate a varied itinerary when they jet off to somewhere new.
Stratford-Upon-Avon, England
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The famous home of the even more famous William Shakespeare, Stratford-Upon-Avon is filled with nods to the celebrated playwright. Visit theatres putting on Bard’s plays, see the house where he was born and spent his childhood and take in the iconic works of literature.
Amsterdam, Holland
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A favourite for works of historical fiction, as well as the city where Anne Frank wrote her The Diary of a Young Girl, Amsterdam is filled with bookshops, markets and libraries. You can even do walking tours to learn more about Anne Frank’s life and the background of her story.
China
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There are numerous stories that have been set across over beautiful China over the years. Visit the bookshops to explore the literature that the country offers and take some time to learn about their more classic novels that dig into important themes of the history of the country.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
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While most of us have Buenos Aires on our travel wishlists for the steak, the Malbec and maybe the Argentinian Tango, the city is actually known for having more bookshops per person than anywhere else in the world. So not just one of the best places for wine lovers to visit then…
Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka has a rich history of literature, with many books across various genres set in the south Asian country. If you’ve read any, it’s a wonderful backdrop to explore on a trip – and you can visit the Galle Literary Festival on the country’s south coast too.
Monroeville, Alabama, USA
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The hometown of American literary great, Harper Lee, Monroeville provided the inspiration behind her setting in 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird – as well as its follow-up Go Set A Watchman. It was also the birthplace of In Cold Blood writer Truman Capote.
Kerala, India
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Not only is Kerala known for its rich culture, delicious food and beautiful backwater landscape, but it also provided the setting for Arundhati Roy’s famous 1997 novel, The God of Small Things. Read the book and explore the region to get a real feel for the novel.
