By Lily Rogers, on March 6, 2018

20 Must-see literary destinations around the world

Motivation to travel can strike at any time. One of our favorite ways is through books. Reading about faraway lands or local gems can capture the imagination and turn us into explorers of life. Seeking out the cities where favorite literary luminaries lived, worked, were inspired (and continue to be today), is one of the best ways to find places that will pull you into the same realm of wonder that only the best stories achieve.

Many of you seem to agree, because in our recent survey, over 78 percent of respondents said that books have inspired their vacations. That’s some pretty compelling evidence that the written word is a powerful driving force and book tourism is alive and well, so we went in search of cities across the globe that share this love of literature. And for those of you wondering, “What is literary travel?”, stick around. From book-centric events to intelligentsia-filled cafes to rich literary histories, these places embody all things books, and you may just recognize them from the settings of some of your favorites.

For an added bonus, we’ve created ratings based on the following factors, so bookmark your top picks and make plans to see the literary travel destinations of your dreams:

📚: Are the bookstores plentiful and unique?

📜: Does this city carry hefty literary cred—historical ties, featured literary appearances, and draw for writers?

🎟: How many literary events does the city host?

🖋: What’s the city doing to foster future literary arts through writing programs, lectures, and workshops?

Amherst/Concord/Lenox, Massachusetts

Is it in the water? This area is bursting with literary history, and some of America’s greatest writers hung their hats here. The road from Concord to Lenox is paved with literary gold, and you’ll see why the area was so inspirational to brilliant artistic minds when you traverse its great open spaces.


Bookstores – 📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

Amherst:

  • The Emily Dickinson Museum is the merged properties of two houses the poet called home, set on three acres of natural beauty that inspired much of her work.
  • Robert Frost taught at Amherst College, where the beautiful campus could inspire your own epic verses, and the main library, named for him, is full of treasures.

Concord:

  • Philosopher and poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, lived in Concord for many years, and his house has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
  • Louisa May Alcott’s house, where she wrote and set the beloved classic, “Little Women,” also in Concord, is just how you would picture the March family home.
  • Cruise by Walden Pond to get your Thoreau on and discover how to live deliberately.

Lenox:

  • Edith Wharton’s gorgeous house and grounds, The Mount, brings literature lovers to Lenox to see where the first female Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction lived and worked.
  • The Bookstore is a charming community fixture, which encourages visitors to “get lit” at the on-site wine bar.

Prague, Czech Republic

The setting for many famous novels, including the “Unbearable Lightness of Being” and “Prague Tales,” this UNESCO City of Literature’s part in bolstering the written word unfolded in cozy cafes, literary salons, and scholarly circles that included the likes of Franz Kafka, Milan Kundera, and Bohumil Hrabal.


Bookstores – 📚📚📚📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • One of the highest concentrations of bookstores in Europe includes gems such as Globe (an English-language bookstore and café), Shakespeare and Sons (one of the best in the city, and also hosts author events), and PageFive (a newer, innovative bookstore and publishing house).
  • Events such as the Prague Writers’ Festival and Deti Ctete (a festival that promotes children’s literature) demonstrate the power of free speech that post-communist Prague embodies.
  • Pay tribute to the city’s most famous literary figure at the Franz Kafka Museum, where the long-term exhibit, The City of K. Franz Kafka and Prague, showcases how the city and the artist are inextricably intertwined.

Tangier, Morocco

Famously the home of Paul Bowles and partial setting for his novel, “The Sheltering Sky,” Tangier captures the imagination of travelers looking to understand how “in Tangier the past is a physical reality as perceptible as the sunlight.” The Beat generation were moved to explore Tangier, thanks in large part to Bowles’ descriptions. William Burroughs, for instance, wrote and set “Naked Lunch” in the Blue and White City.


Bookstores – 📚📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • Librairie des Colonnes is a charming bookstore with books in Arabic, French, English, and Spanish, and Les Insolites is the cozy, eccentric atmosphere of your bookstore dreams.
  • What’s more writerly than spending long afternoons discussing ideas at cafes frequented by giants of literature? Café Hafa, with its tiered terrace, may inspire the next great novel.
  • The International Books and Arts Exhibition of Tangier is a bustling event filled with conferences, roundtables, workshops, and readings.

San Francisco, California

Via Yelp/B W.

The Beats really got around, and San Francisco was a beloved stomping ground. Many generations of writers have been inspired by the City by the Bay, including Dashiell Hammett, who set “The Maltese Falcon” here, and Rebecca Solnit, whose “Infinite City” reads like a love letter, map, and history lesson to this magic spot.


Bookstores – 📚📚📚📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • Litquake is the largest independent literary festival on the West Coast, and its Lit Crawl event has extended to at least 15 other cities.
  • City Lights Bookstore (and Vesuvio Café across the alley) is a legendary meeting space, Books, Inc. is the oldest independent booksellers in the West, and Book Passage is host to author readings and signings, classes, and conferences.
  • Literary spaces can be found all over the city, like 826 Valencia, Dave Eggers’ brainchild, which is a writing center and creative space for young students. San Francisco Center for the Book is the place to discover the art of books and book making, offering classes and hands-on events.

Columbia, Missouri

Via Yelp/Yellow Dog Bookshop

Home to the “Missouri Review,” which is consistently featured on lists of top literary journals, Columbia is also the primary setting for “Stoner” by John Williams, a book lauded by many book lovers. Other writers influenced by this Missouri city are Thomas McAfee, a professor at the university who set many of his works here, and Alex George, noted Australian lawyer-author who still lives in Columbia.


Bookstores – 📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • Unbound Book Festival attracts writers and thinkers on every writer’s must-see bucket list. Past guests include Salman Rushdie, Mary Jo Bang, Ishmael Beah, and 2018’s keynote speaker is the incomparable Zadie Smith.
  • Find untold treasure in area bookshops like the family-owned Yellow Dog Bookshop (named for their beloved yellow lab mix), and genre shop, Village Books, which also runs a reading group.
  • Just under 100 miles northeast sits Hannibal, Missouri, Mark Twain’s childhood home and inspiration for the fictional setting of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Take a short road trip and visit the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum and other landmarks of his life, such as the Huckleberry Finn House.

Iowa City, Iowa

This city is legendary in the lit scene, and until 2017 was the only UNESCO City of Literature in the U.S. and the third in the world to be given the title. The University of Iowa consistently produces bright literary talent, and its Iowa Writers’ Workshop has seen notable staff like James Alan McPherson and alumna like Jane Smiley, as well as produced 17 Pulitzer Prize winners, six poets laureate and many other prize winners.


Bookstores – 📚📚📚📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋🖋🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • Prairie Lights Books is as famous as bookstores come, and a must-visit while in town if you want to count yourself among the who’s who.
  • The Prestigious Iowa Summer Writing Festival holds The Eleventh Hour lecture series, which is free and open to the public every weekday, beginning June 8. Another worthy event is Mission Creek Festival, a 6-day celebration beginning in early April, which focuses on quality performance, literature, and community that make this place such a hotbed of talent.
  • Iowa City Literary Walk pays tribute to 49 writers with Iowa ties, and includes bronze panels of quotes from the likes of Josephine Herbst, Flannery O’Connor, Philip Levine, Robert Lowell, and Raymond Carver.

Portland, Oregon

Maybe it’s the rain, or the amazing coffee, or perhaps it’s the lush green landscape—whatever its secret ingredient, Portland has borne writers such as beloved children’s author Beverly Cleary; PEN/Faulkner finalist Molly Gloss; “Geek Love” author, Katherine Dunn; and multi-hyphenated artist Carrie Brownstein.


Bookstores – 📚📚📚📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • Wordstock is Portland’s ever-growing book festival that includes a huge book fair, writing workshops, and pop-up readings. It’s put on by Literary Arts, a non-profit organization that also runs the Portland Arts & Lectures series, which has welcomed authors such as Margaret Atwood, Jeffrey Eugenides, and George Saunders.
  • While in town, pop into the renowned Powell’s Books and pick up a copy of Portland-based Tin House, arguably one of the best lit journals in the country.
  • The Loggernaut Reading Series highlights authors across genres as they share readings and thoughts on select nights at Mother Foucault’s Bookshop.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Via Flickr/Kyle Taylor

With a long literary tradition, and home of bright names in literature, including J.K. Rowling, Irvine Welsh, Robert Burns, and Muriel Spark, Edinburgh was also the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature. Jackie Kay, Scottish poet laureate, was born here, and the city maintains its well-read stature with one of the highest concentrations of libraries, at over 60 per 100,000 people.


Bookstores – 📚📚📚📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • Edinburgh International Book Festival takes place each August in a whimsical tented village specially created for the over 800 events that include a debates and discussion series, book signings, workshops, and panel discussions.
  • Sit in the very pubs and cafes where authors and poets have worked and played, such as “Poets’ Pub,” Milnes Bar and The Elephant House.
  • Pay respects at The Writers’ Museum, which honors three of Scotland’s greats: Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Robert Burns. Displays include personal items and rare manuscripts of these three giants.

Austin, Texas

Via Flickr/MBandman

Austinites embrace all things books, and the city finds many ways to celebrate that. One example being it has the world’s 10th-most number of bookstores per capita (8.2 for every 100,000). Austin is home to authors such as Louis Sachar (his YA novel, “Small Steps” is set in the city), and political writer and legend, Liz Carpenter. O. Henry lived and wrote in Austin, and you can visit his home-turned-museum. The city’s also producing envelope-pushing publications like Fields magazine, which promotes the works of contemporary artists, including many writers and poets.


Bookstores – 📚📚📚📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • The Texas Book Festival in October is one of the largest in the country, and includes the black-tie First Edition Literary Gala, which raises money for the festival and outreach programs. Austin is also one of the growing number of Lit Crawl cities, which is a literary romp of the most fun proportions. Events include games, flash fiction composition, and storytelling performances in spaces across the city—there’s even a reading in the cemetery.
  • BookPeople is the place to buy interesting works and has been since 1970. No Austin trip is complete without a visit to this independent bookstore.
  • University of Texas at Austin houses the Harry Ransom Center, a prestigious research library that collects and preserves writing’s finest. Public tours are available, and includes viewing the Gutenberg Bible, the first full printing-press book, which dates from between 1450 and 1455.

Hay-on-Wye, Wales

Via Flickr/Stephen Cleary

It may be small in size, but its commitment to literature is mighty. Described as a town of books, it’s also designated the National Book Town of Wales. Hay-on-Wye loves its books so much its ratio of bookstores to people is around 2 for every 150. Traverse the castles, the historical town, and the surrounding countryside and get lost in a story of your own.


Bookstores – 📚📚📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋


Places and events of note:

  • Honesty Bookshop at Hay Castle began in the 1960s and continues to be a lovely place to peruse, read, and take in the sights of the inviting outdoor space. The Poetry Bookshop is one of the only second-hand, (and the largest) all-poetry bookstores in the UK, and its selection will have poetry lovers swooning.
  • Richard Booth’s Bookshop is many things at once and includes a café, cinema, studio for workshops, and, of course, shelves and shelves of beautiful books. Careful though, once you walk in, you may never want to leave.
  • Try your best to see the Hay Festival at least once, and though it has expanded to six other international destinations, the original is still in Hay-on-Wye. The 2018 theme is Imagine the World, and events include discussions by Margaret Atwood and Philip Pullman.

New Orleans, Louisiana

The setting for countless novels and poetry, this city’s literary ties are tight. It’s been home to authors of all kinds, from queen of the underworld, Anne Rice, to stream of consciousness master, William Faulkner. Kate Chopin’s Louisiana roots show in many of her works, including the seminal “The Awakening,” meanwhile, the poet, journalist, and activist, Alice Dunbar Nelson was born in the city.


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Literary cred – 📜📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • Enjoy the Big Easy the third week in March, when the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival brings authors, actors, and musicians together to celebrate and benefit literary and theater programs.
  • Faulkner House Books has been described as America’s most charming bookstore, and its association with the local literary community also makes it a most worthy stop on any NOLA visit. Just down Royal Street to Canal, is the Ignatius J. Reilly statue, which honors the idiosyncratic hero of the Louisiana-set classic, “A Confederacy of Dunces.”
  • Writers flock to certain haunts for various reasons, but once a location is part of the literati, the draw tends to remain. Such is the case with the Hotel Monteleone, where Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, and William Faulkner notably stayed. Tuck into the on-site classic Carousel Bar & Lounge, too, for an unforgettable drinking experience that echoes the toasts of writers past.

Stockholm, Sweden

Scandinavian noir hit the literary world with a bang, especially after the late Stockholm resident and writer Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium” trilogy captured international imaginations (the city even runs a tour following in the footsteps of the characters). Sweden has a long and distinguished history of the written word, too, and its first literary text, the Rök Runestone, dates to 800 AD.


Bookstores – 📚📚📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • Stockholm Writers Festival is an invaluable resource for writers looking to enter the industry. Agents, editors, and established authors are on hand for networking and teaching with speaking events, panels, and breakout sessions held over three days in April.
  • Another superb event is Stockholm Literature, a festival held in October that brings together international figures and includes lectures, poetry walks, readings, and more.
  • There is perhaps no other place that lets you step into the realm of imagination as immersively as Junibacken. Based on the cherished children’s stories of Astrid Lindgren, the fairytale museum is also home to the largest children’s bookstore in Sweden.

Atlanta & Decatur, Georgia

Via Yelp/Ben P.

Emory University has a highly esteemed writing program and a library worth losing yourself in, especially in the Matheson Reading Room. Atlanta was home for a time to both Flannery O’Connor and Margaret Mitchell, and other notable literary-leaning residents have been former U.S. poet laureate, Natasha Trethewey, Alice Walker, and W.E.B. Du Bois.


Bookstores – 📚📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • The largest independent book festival in the country, AJC Decatur Book Festival, takes over downtown Decatur over Labor Day weekend.
  • Write Club Atlanta hosts monthly events at the Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge and produced a 2015 anthology of local literary voices.
  • If you’re looking to score your own piece of Georgia literature, head to the stylish yet cozy Read Shop, mini-chain Posman Books’ third (yet first outside NYC) shop, and get something for the kids at Decatur’s charming Little Shop of Stories.

Santiago, Chile

Via Flickr/Rafa Alvez

The list of great Chilean writers is long, and Santiago has been home to or influenced many, including: Isabel Allende, Gabriela Mistral, poet Nicanor Parra, Roberto Bolaño (though he was distanced from his native country), feminist novelist and short story writer María Luisa Bombal, Marcela Serrano, and, of course, Pablo Neruda. Evidence of their influence can be seen in murals, on the 5,000-peso bill, and at book-loving spaces like Café Literario.


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Literary cred – 📜📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟
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Places and events of note:

  • The Neruda Foundation runs three of the poet’s area homes as museums. La Chascona is the only in-city location and is fascinating for its clandestine origins as the house he built for his secret lover.
  • Santiago houses some wonderful bookstores, including the Feria Chilena del Libro (Chilean Book Fair), and for floor-to-ceiling options, try independent bookstore, Ulises in the Lastarria neighborhood.
  • Café Literario has several city locations, but Bustamante is the liveliest, where books, food, and conversation meet, so come hungry for pastries and thirsty for knowledge.

Monterey & Salinas, California

American literary hero, John Steinbeck, has close ties to this area, as it’s both his birthplace and source of material for many of his works, including the classics, “East of Eden” and “Cannery Row”. Perhaps his influence was instrumental in how the community formed a love of literature, but other factors, such as the beauty, history, and charisma of the area should not be overlooked.


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Places of note:

  • While in Monterey, hit up the following literary landmarks and hotspots: Old Capitol Books stocks new, used, and antique books and has a special interest in American and regional authors; Robert Louis Stevenson House is the place where the poet wrote “The Old Pacific Capital,” and was likely inspired to write “Treasure Island”; and the famed Cannery Row still houses buildings that were the bases for scenes in the eponymous story.
  • Visit and dine at the Victorian-style boyhood home of John Steinbeck, The Steinbeck House, in Salinas, where dinners are hosted on the first Friday of every month, and lunch is available Tuesday – Saturday. And don’t miss the National Steinbeck Center in Oldtown to further celebrate his legacy with interactive exhibits, photos, documents, and more.
  • Look out over all of Salinas Valley, as Steinbeck once did and chronicled in “Travels with Charley,” at Fremont Peak.

Seattle, Washington

Via Yelp/Austin G.

The second U.S. city to be named a UNESCO City of Literature, Seattle certainly loves a good book more than the next city. So many bookstores are on hand for discovery, and plenty of lit-leaning bars will lift your bookish spirits and cafes will boost your creative drive. It’s also another Lit Crawl city, during which lyrical love and merriment abound.


Bookstores – 📚📚📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • Seattle Arts & Lectures series brings the foremost thinkers and writers to town—from Ta-Nehisi Coates to Jesmyn Ward—and also borrows from the city’s own hefty supply—from Sherman Alexie to Timothy Egan. Another opportunity to engage is during Clarion West Writers Workshop’s summer reading series, when instructors read and discuss new works.
  • Elliott Bay Book Company boasts a huge selection of books and an engaged staff, and also hosts frequent author events and book group gatherings.
  • Authors, Publishers and Readers of Independent Literature, or APRIL, is an organization featuring small press and independent literature. They hold an annual festival, which we recommend for anyone who loves to get into a movement on the ground floor.

Krakow, Poland

Home to Matras, the oldest bookstore in the world (the location being in continuous operation since the early 1600s), and housing publishers of literary and poetic periodicals stretching back to the 1690s, Krakow is a city that has literature in its blood. It should come as no surprise then that it was among the earliest chosen as a UNESCO City of Literature.


Bookstores – 📚📚📚📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • Milosz Festival, the largest celebration of poetry in Central Europe, was first organized by the Book Institute Poland—which is an incredible artistic asset—and sees poets from all around the world, who ponder a particular theme each year as audiences and fellow artists read, listen, and discuss.
  • You know a city is a good one when it possesses as many bookstores as Krakow does. Standouts include English-language Massolit Books & Café, Pod Globusem under the iconic metal globe clock tower, and café/bookstore Bona, which also boasts incredible city views.
  • Various spots around the city tell the story of Krakow’s literary heart and soul. Make stops at the statue of romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz; the mural, Lem’s Robot, dedicated to science fiction writer, Stanisław Lem; and long-time literary cabaret Piwnica pod Baranami.

Middlebury, Vermont

Home to Robert Frost for many years, Middlebury is the place to celebrate all things Frost. Within his thinking grounds, Green Mountain National Forest, his spirit echoes strongly. From the Robert Frost Wayside picnic area to the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail, where you’ll find several of his mounted poems along the way, to the scenic Robert Frost Memorial Drive, you’ll feel transported to the world of his inspired poetic mind.


Bookstores – 📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • The New Yorker has called it “the oldest and most prestigious writers’ conference in the country,” and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference lives up to the hype. For 10 days in August, talented attendees are guided by luminaries such as poets laureate and winners of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award.
  • Middlebury College is one of the most elite liberal arts schools in the country, and their literature programs are responsible for helping shape very fine authors of our age and through history. Visit the campus and pop into one of the libraries for an afternoon of reading, or wander the lovely campus to see if inspiration strikes.
  • Get lost in the impressive stacks at Monroe Street Books north of downtown. While perusing the over 100,000 titles, your day can really slip away from you.

Bath, England

Bath has been the center of attention both in real life and in the pages of fiction, and readers will recognize it from many scenes in Jane Austen’s oeuvre. The whole southwestern region of England is of a literary state of mind, with strong historical roots and exciting current activities, so schedule some time to explore the International Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay and the Fowey Festival to honor Daphne du Maurier.


Bookstores – 📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • Jane Austen Centre in Bath pays homage to Austen’s life and times, and true lovers of her work should not miss out on the costumes, readings, and revelry that the annual Jane Austen Festival has perfected.
  • Continue the book-loving festivities at The Bath Festival, a multi-arts event featuring music and literature. Or, visit late September for the Children’s Bath Literature Festival, the largest of its kind in Europe.
  • Don’t skip town without spending some real time in Topping & Company Booksellers, where you can find an author event, reading group, and rolling ladders to peruse shelves and shelves of books.

Kolkata (Calcutta), India

The unofficial literary capital of India, the city that bore Rabindranath Tagore (the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature), has not slowed down in its creative and lyrical output. Writers have used the city as inspiration and setting, from Jhumpa Lahiri’s “The Namesake” to “Bengal Nights” by Mircea Eliade.


Bookstores – 📚📚📚📚
Literary cred – 📜📜📜📜
Literary events – 🎟🎟🎟🎟🎟
Writing programs – 🖋🖋🖋


Places and events of note:

  • The International Kolkata Book Fair is the world’s largest non-trade book fair, and it’s estimated that over 2 million people attend.
  • Any creative and curious thinker will find themselves right at home on College Street, nicknamed Colony of Books. Meet fellow scholars at intelligentsia hot spot Indian Coffee House then peruse the book kiosks and pop into Seagull Books, the shop face of the independent publisher and art foundation.
  • If you like your literature with a side of celebration, make a bee-line for Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival. It promises an unforgettable intellectual journey over hot chai in historical venues all around the city.

Which literary cities inspire you to travel?