From the September 2011 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine
- Edinburgh, Scotland
It’s
practically mandatory that visitors to Edinburgh travel by the book. The
atmospheric city—which has inspired more than 500 novels—passionately keeps its
written tradition alive, from the verse of 18th-century bard Robert Burns (who
even merits an iPhone app) to the works of modern-day writers like Ian Rankin
and Alexander McCall Smith. On tap are two different pub crawls, a walking
tour, and excursions specific to Rankin’s Inspector Rebus and Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting.
If you’re
short on time, head straight to the Writers’ Museum located in a 17th-century
building reached by a narrow stone passageway. Exhibits are devoted to a
powerhouse literary trio: Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson.
For more adventures in Edinburgh and beyond, VisitScotland.com offers “A
Traveller’s Guide to Literary Scotland.”
- Dublin, Ireland
In the
Irish capital, the written word is as celebrated as a pint of Guinness. Join
the revelry on the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl as spirited
actor-guides serve up entertaining facts in taverns where James Joyce and other
scribes sought sustenance and found inspiration. Follow famed Joycean character
Leopold Bloom through the city with VisitDublin.com’s “In the Steps of Ulysses”
self-guided tour (audio or print).
The Dublin
Writers Museum celebrates the spectrum of the country’s literary heritage,
beginning with its roots in Irish poetry and Celtic storytelling. The Abbey
Theatre, founded by poet W.B. Yeats in 1903, is still going strong with
productions by classic and contemporary playwrights. Don’t leave town without
being dazzled by the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript from the
Middle Ages housed in the Old Library at Trinity College.
- London, England
Listing London’s literary-related sites and pastimes
could fill a book even lengthier than Harry Potter’s seven wizardly adventures
combined. For starters, get out and about on one of London Walks’ lively
jaunts. More than a hundred are offered every week, among them Shakespeare’s
and Dickens’ London and the Literary London Pub Walk. Be sure to get an
up-close look at the Bard’s First Folio at the British Library, unusual in that
its literary gems are on display and not tucked away in a vault.
For
Sherlock Holmes fans, VisitLondon.com has an itinerary for following in the
sleuth’s footsteps. If your style is more suave James Bond, stop by Dukes Bar,
where the martinis inspired Ian Fleming to make it 007’s signature drink.
Before strolling the city’s streets, download the Get London Reading app, or
check out the interactive map version, featuring more than 400 books associated
with specific locales around town.
- Paris, France
Pucker up
and leave a lipstick print on Oscar Wilde’s tomb in Père-Lachaise Cemetery. The
Irish playwright, whose grave is a magnet for zealous mourners, was one of many
expatriate writers who sought inspiration and joie de vivre in the City of
Light. Would-be Hemingways can polish up their own masterpieces at a sidewalk
table at Les Deux Magots, a St. Germain café he frequented, or explore the
literary side of the Latin Quarter, his onetime home, with Paris Walks.
French
writers, though, have pride of place here with house-museums devoted to Victor
Hugo and Honoré de Balzac. Bibliophiles will feel right at home at the hotel Le
Pavillon des Lettres, where each of the 26 rooms is dedicated to a letter of
the alphabet and represents a famous writer.
- St. Petersburg, Russia
This
vibrant baroque- and neoclassical-style city in western Russia has a dark side to its literary history.
Trace the route of Crime and Punishment’s murderous Raskolnikov from his
abode to the unlucky pawnbroker’s storefront with Peter’s Walking Tours (by
private booking; there’s a forum for finding fellow travelers to split the
cost). Visit the residence of the epic’s author, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, where he
spent his final years and penned The Brothers Karamazov.
The
Aleksandr Pushkin Memorial Apartment Museum marks the spot where the
37-year-old author died in the study and plunged the country into mourning.
Like an unfortunate character in his most famous work, Eugene Onegin,
Pushkin was fatally wounded during a duel. At the nearby Literary Café, he
dined for the last time before meeting his tragic end.
- Stockholm, Sweden
Inventor
Albert Nobel put Stockholm on the international literary map a century ago with
the Nobel Prizes, which laud the achievements of writers along with those of
scientists and peace activists. Head to City Hall, site of the annual December
awards banquet and an iconic landmark in its own right. In the on-site
restaurant Stadshuskällaren, savor the cuisine served at the most recent Nobel
dinner.
For a
not-so-highbrow thrill, take the Stockholm City Museum’s guided Millennium Tour to
see places depicted in Stieg Larsson’s bestselling crime novel The Girl With
the Dragon Tattoo and its two sequels. Before tattooed computer hacker
Lisbeth Salander turned up, spirited children’s book character Pippi Longstocking
was Sweden’s most famous fictional lass. A statue in Tegnérlunden park honors
her creator, Astrid Lindgren.
- Portland, Oregon
If it
weren’t for a color-coded map, customers might get lost among the stacks at
Powell’s City of Books. Spanning an entire city block, it’s the largest
new-and-used bookstore in the world and stocks more than a million volumes.
Nearby
Heathman Hotel’s “Books by Your Bedside” package includes a personal tour of
the lodging place’s 4,000-volume library, made up entirely of signed books by
author guests (other package perks are a hardcover tome, a travel reading
light, overnight lending privileges, and a donation to a children’s literacy
organization).
For more
literary immersion, see what’s scheduled at the renowned Portland Arts and
Lectures series (September through May). A Portland tradition, it’s one of the
biggest lecture events in the country and draws heavyweight headliners like
Annie Proulx and Sebastian Junger.
- Washington, D.C.
Start
uncovering the capital city’s bookish side at the Library of
Congress, founded in 1800 and still the world’s largest library. A free guided
tour of this grandiose edifice illuminates its literary and architectural
significance and offers a look at the opulent Main Reading Room with its
stained glass, marble, and murals.
A gratis
audio walking tour by the Poetry Foundation visits sites associated with Walt
Whitman, Langston Hughes, and other bards who found inspiration in the city. At
indie bookstore Politics and Prose, sit in on a book group discussion or attend
one of the regularly held author events. Kramerbooks and the adjoining
Afterwords Café and Grill are open 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays. Pick up
some bedtime reading such as The Camel Club or another one of David
Baldacci’s D.C.-set thrillers.
- Melbourne, Australia
Founded as
a frontier outpost in 1835, Melbourne flourished during a gold rush and has
since blossomed into Australia’s cultural capital. Check out the State
Library of Victoria, constructed in the mid-1800s and declared by its founding
president to be free to everyone over age 14 “if only his hands are clean.”
View exhibits in three different galleries, attend a talk at the Wheeler Centre
in the south wing, and marvel at the domed, octagon-shaped La Trobe Reading
Room adorned with quotes by famous writers.
Explore
“Melbourne by the Book” on a walking excursion with Hidden Secrets and browse
at the sizeable weekly book market on Saturdays in Fed Square. When you need a
respite, Narrelle M. Harris, author of the Melbourne Literary app, recommends
the Drunken Poet, where portraits of Oscar Wilde and other scribes line the
walls.
- Santiago, Chile
Revered
“people’s poet” Pablo Neruda, best known for his romantic verse, secretly
rendezvoused with his mistress and muse at his home, called La Chascona. The
bright blue-and-yellow domicile is located in the hilltop Bellavista
neighborhood, which can be explored with La Bicicleta Verde tours. Chile honors another Nobel Prize–winning bard,
Gabriela Mistral, with an elaborate mural in Cerro Santa Lucia park—and with
her visage on the 5,000 peso note.
The
exorbitant cost of new books in Chile has resulted in a robust market for
secondhand publications. Peruse the offerings at the weekend market on
Lastarria Street near the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, or visit the numerous
merchants in the small shopping center near the intersection of Providencia
Avenue and Miguel Claro Street. Java-seeking bibliophiles should head to one of
several branches of the library Café Literario, including an outpost in
Balmaceda Park that has 30,000 books.
