Travel Between the Pages: Destinations for Book Lovers

Books have a wonderful ability to transport us without ever leaving home. They introduce us to cities we've never visited, landscapes we've never seen and cultures we've never experienced. Sometimes we become so familiar with these places through stories that finally seeing them in person feels strangely like visiting somewhere we've already been.

So perhaps it's time to pack your favorite books into your suitcase and see the place for yourself. Just remember to leave room in your luggage for new books.

Britain Was Practically Made for Literary Travel

If you're planning a vacation around books, it's difficult to find a better place to begin than England and Scotland. Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis all have connections here, while generations of fictional characters have made Britain's streets and landscapes almost as famous as the authors themselves.

London alone could fill several days. Sherlock Holmes fans can visit Baker Street and the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street, while families with younger readers can begin a Paddington adventure at Paddington Station. Harry Potter fans can visit King's Cross Station, explore filming locations around the city and head outside central London to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter.

Beyond the borders of London, we can journey to the city of Bath. Jane Austen readers can explore the city where Austen lived in the early 1800s and which appears prominently in Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Georgian architecture, the Royal Crescent, Assembly Rooms and Jane Austen Centre all help bring that world to life. Serious Austen fans can even visit during the annual Jane Austen Festival, complete with Regency clothing, promenades and plenty of bonnets.

In Stratford-upon-Avon, visit Shakespeare's birthplace and buildings connected to his family before seeing one of his plays performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. If you ever sat through Shakespeare in school thinking this would be much more interesting if you were actually in England, here's your opportunity to test that theory.

Oxford brings several literary worlds together. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis both taught at Oxford and were members of the Inklings, an informal group that gathered to discuss literature and share their writing. Lewis Carroll also studied and taught there, while the historic Bodleian Library provides another reason for any book lover to visit. Some Oxford locations have even appeared in the Harry Potter films.

Walk Into Anne of Green Gables

Some literary destinations aren't simply connected to an author. The landscape itself feels like part of the story.

Prince Edward Island is one of those places.

Lucy Maud Montgomery used the Canadian island as the setting for Anne of Green Gables, and generations of readers have discovered the island through Anne Shirley's eyes. Visitors can explore Green Gables Heritage Place, learn more about Montgomery and see some of the landscapes that inspired her writing.

But don't spend the entire visit rushing between Anne attractions. Look around at the red cliffs, green fields, beaches, country roads and small communities. Part of the experience is simply seeing the island that became such an important part of the books.

And if you've spent years wanting to visit Prince Edward Island entirely because of Anne Shirley, that is a completely valid reason to book a trip to Canada.

Europe Through the Eyes of Its Writers

Paris and literature have been flirting with each other for centuries. Victor Hugo, Ernest Hemingway, James Baldwin, George Sand and Simone de Beauvoir are among the many writers connected to the city.

One of its best-known literary stops is Shakespeare and Company, the English-language bookstore across the Seine from Notre-Dame. But literary Paris doesn't need to become a checklist. Bring a book to a café, wander along the Seine or disappear into a neighborhood bookstore. Read Hemingway in Paris, Victor Hugo near Notre-Dame or something completely unrelated while sitting somewhere beautiful.

In Dublin, literary history is woven throughout a city associated with James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, Samuel Beckett and Bram Stoker. Museums, libraries, statues and literary tours explore those connections, and Dublin has been designated a UNESCO City of Literature.

And here's a fun connection: Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, was born in Dublin. Dracula may forever be associated with Transylvania, but the man who created him was Irish.

Which gives us an excellent opportunity to combine a book-lover vacation with a Halloween trip.

Edinburgh, the world's first UNESCO City of Literature, feels like somewhere a novel should begin. A castle towers over the city while a narrow closes wind between old stone buildings. Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns and Arthur Conan Doyle all have connections here, while modern readers may recognize Edinburgh's associations with the early writing of the Harry Potter books.

Then there's Porto, where the bookstore itself can become an attraction. Livraria Lello is famous for its dramatic staircase, stained glass and ornate interior. Afterward, explore Porto's historic center, walk along the Douro, try Portuguese food or even connect your literary vacation with a Douro River cruise.

Beyond Western Literature

Literary travel doesn't have to revolve around Western classics, either. Tokyo offers enormous bookstores, specialty shops and an entire world of manga. For teenagers who love manga and anime, exploring Tokyo's bookstores and pop-culture districts can be their version of visiting Shakespeare's England.

And literary travel doesn't only let you celebrate books you already love. Browse a Japanese bookstore, find a translated author you've never read or pick up something connected to the destination.

You may come home with your next favorite book.

Literary Adventures Closer to Home

You don't have to cross an ocean to build a vacation around books.

In Key West, visitors can tour the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, where Hemingway lived during the 1930s. The house explores his life and writing, but it also has another group of famous residents: its polydactyl, or six-toed, cats.

For classic American literature, Concord, Massachusetts brings together an extraordinary collection of writers and thinkers. Louisa May Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne all have connections to the area. Visit Orchard House, where Alcott wrote and set Little Women, see Walden Pond and explore the historic landscapes associated with these writers.

Concord would pair beautifully with a larger New England fall trip. Historic towns, autumn leaves, old bookstores and Little Women?

In Hannibal, Missouri, families can explore the world that helped inspire Mark Twain. Samuel Clemens grew up along the Mississippi River here, and the people and places he knew influenced the settings and characters that later appeared in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Reading one of the stories before visiting can turn an ordinary town into somewhere children already recognize.

And then there's New York City, where the magnificent New York Public Library, The Strand and independent bookstores throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn could easily fill a literary afternoon. New York appears in so many books that you may find yourself stumbling across familiar settings without deliberately looking for them.

Where Will Your Books Take You?

If there's a story, author or literary destination that's quietly tugging at your imagination, maybe it's time to follow where it leads. I can help turn it into a vacation while leaving plenty of room to discover everything else waiting for you once you arrive.

Because sometimes the best answer to "What should I read next?" might actually be: "Where should I go next?"

And if a couple of new authors just happen to catch your eye?

Even Better.

Dream. Pack. Go.