A travel guide to the cities, towns and islands that live inside our favourite books. The Read and Travel Challenge is the thread: read the book, then go to the place. The list below is where to start.
Start with the challenge
One book a year. One trip a year. The reading is the planning, the planning is the reading, and somewhere in the middle of it you find yourself standing on a bridge that’s smaller in real life than it was in the chapter. Take the Read and Travel Challenge here.
Browse the guides
British Isles
- London for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone — King’s Cross, Leadenhall, the Studio Tour decision.
- Bath for Persuasion — the Pump Room, Royal Crescent, where Anne Elliot walked.
- Inverness for Outlander — Culloden, Clava Cairns, a Highland route worth driving yourself.
Europe
- Stockholm for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — Lisbeth’s Söder, Mellqvist café, the address that matters.
- Amsterdam for The Fault in Our Stars — the Anne Frank House timing trick, Vondelpark, where to actually eat.
- Athens for Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief — the Acropolis with kids, Plaka, a Delphi day-trip.
- Paris for The Da Vinci Code (coming soon)
- Cortona for Under the Tuscan Sun (coming soon)
- Procida for The Talented Mr Ripley (coming soon)
North America
- Forks, Washington for Twilight (coming soon)
- Prince Edward Island for Anne of Green Gables (coming soon)
- Asheville, North Carolina for The Hunger Games (coming soon)
Asia and Pacific
- Singapore for Crazy Rich Asians (coming soon)
- Matamata, New Zealand for The Lord of the Rings (coming soon)
What to expect from a guide here
Every guide is built so you can use it whether or not you’ve read the book. The book gives the article its personality. The city is the actual substance. Where to stay, what’s worth your money, what to skip, which view you can’t see from the photos. The book references are the salt, not the meal.
Travel content here is opinionated. If a famous attraction isn’t worth the queue, the guide will say so. If a hotel marketed as “in the heart of the city” is actually six tram stops out of where you want to be, the guide will say so. The plan is always to write the kind of guide a friend who’s actually been there would write you on a napkin in a pub.
About
One reader, one writer, several library cards. More on the about page. Or send a question.