Literary-Inspired Destinations Around the World

Italy has long been a destination for literary tourism, as book lovers make pilgrimages to the settings of beloved tales like A Room with a View and Under the Tuscan Sun. The city of Naples plays a particularly outsized role in the stories told in the wildly popular “Neapolitan Novels” by Elena Ferrante, which trace the life-long friendship between two women from this sometimes-chaotic city. If you’re a fan of the tales of Lila and Lenù, you can join a themed My Brilliant Friend tour that visits landmarks featured in the books, or, alternatively, explore the city’s historic center with a Naples walking tour.

Alaska’s pristine wilderness is the setting for Eowyn Ivey’s story of a homesteading couple struggling to survive in the 1920s frontier. The book may be laced with fairytale magic, but the forested mountains and crystalline rivers that form the backdrop of this fable are very real. A century after the book is set, Alaska still offers up the same untouched, spectacular countryside. On an adventurous literary vacation, you can go whale-watching near Juneau, enjoy wildlife cruises in the Kenai Fjords, head out on Yukon excursions, and even spot the northern lights in Fairbanks.

Though never explicitly named, post-colonial Chile is the setting for Isabel Allende’s lyrical tale that follows the Trueba family over four generations—and through the country’s political and social upheavals. The story takes place mainly in the capital city of Santiago but also includes scenes in the Chilean countryside that surrounds the family estate, Tres Marias. Experience Allende’s Chile with a tour of Santiago or excursions to outlying locations like Valparaiso Port and Viña del Mar, or head to Isla Negra, the former home to Pablo Neruda (the inspiration for the character of “the Poet” in the novel).

No author has inspired as many literary vacations as Jane Austen. Her tales of Georgian high society reference much of England, from its grand cities and aristocratic palaces to its wind-swept hills. Her beloved masterpiece Pride and Prejudice, in particular, bursts with must-visit literary landmarks in Hertfordshire and Derbyshire. The climactic “road trip” that Elizabeth takes with the Gardiners offers a laundry list of locations that are now considered literary tourism hotspots, including Blenheim, Oxford, Warwick, and the ruins of Kenilworth Castle. Austen’s unwavering popularity has also launched an untold number of book lovers’ getaways to Bath and Chawton—the two places the writer spent most of her life.

Zoologist and author Delia Owens renders North Carolina’s​ flora and fauna in meticulous yet poetic detail in this best-selling whodunit. While you can’t visit the impenetrable wetlands where much of the novel is set, you can enjoy the state’s spectacular landscapes through outdoor adventures like a hike through the Blue Ridge Parkway, whitewater rafting in French Broad Gorge, or off-roading in the Outer Banks. Alternatively, you can lean into the dark side of Owens’ tale of an unsolved crime by taking ghost tours in Asheville or Charlotte.

This memoir-cum-travel log, filled with kaleidoscopic descriptions of Mumbai (back when it was still known as Bombay), casts India’s largest city as an unforgettable destination. To follow in the footsteps of Australian author Gregory David Roberts, take a sightseeing tour, shop in the city’s chaotic markets, and get lost in its labyrinthine back alleys. You can also capture the flavors of the city with a street food tour that stops at food stalls and eateries from Mohammed Ali Road and Chowpatty Beach to Bhendi Bazaar.

This Pulitzer Prize-winning story about the lives of a blind French girl and young German radio operator is set all over war-torn Europe. But the bulk of the story takes place in the Saint-Malo, a walled citadel set along Brittany’s coastline. Author Anthony Doerr renders the “City of Corsairs” in minute detail, evoking both its historic beauty and wartime devastation. Today, you can stroll through the charming, reconstructed old town to take in the cathedral, ramparts, castle, and winding lanes where this story of unlikely human connection takes place.

This story of adventure and self-discovery on the Pacific Crest Trail, written by Cheryl Strayed, begins in the Mojave Desert and ends 1,100-miles (1,770-km) later in Washington. While few travelers are adventurous enough to follow in her footsteps and make the entire trek, you can visit the landscapes described in this memoir by exploring some of the areas along the route. Opt for a guided hike (or a series of them) in the Santa Monica Mountains or Mt. San Jacinto State Park and Wilderness; visit Muir Woods National Monument or Mt. Hood National Forest​​, or take an excursion through Mt. Rainier National Park, and you’ll find yourself in the same arid deserts to lush forests that changed Strayed’s life.

The Ngong Hills make an unforgettable setting for Danish author Karen Blixen’s memoir of the years she spent there, as a coffee farmer, at the beginning of the 20th century. Blixen (who also published under the name Isak Dinesen) transmitted a deep passion and respect for Kenya and its people that withstands the test of time and evokes the majesty of the local landscape and culture. Much has changed in post-colonial Kenya, but these hills remain an unforgettable destination for a day trip from Nairobi; while there, make sure to visit the nearby Karen Blixen Museum.