5 Literary Cities Every Book Lover Needs To Visit

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

The world is filled with magnificent, far-off lands to explore. If you’re an outdoorsy type, you might make your way to New Zealand. If you’d love nothing more than to lounge on the beach, maybe you’d go to Hawaii. If you’re looking for an entirely new experience and culture, you could try Tokyo.

But where should you go if what you love most is words? If you’re a literature lover, a bookworm, a voracious reader? We’ve got five magical cities for you to consider visiting on your next vacation.

01 | Oxford, England

Photo by Lina Kivaka

This English town is known for its almost one thousand-year-old university where kings, queens, and some of the greatest minds the world has ever known studied. Oxford is one of the must-visit places for book lovers. Having been the home to beloved authors like C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Oscar Wilde, and Dorothy Sayers, you’ll almost feel as if this town is frozen in time with its cobblestone streets, dusty libraries, and ancient architecture. Grab a cup of tea at Vaulted Gardens (a cafe in an ancient church), get lost in the shops on Cornmarket, sit in Bodleain Library, and grab a pint at the Eagle and Child, where the Inklings used to meet.

Bookstore to visit: Blackwell’s

02 | Edinburgh, Scotland

Photo by Szymon Shields

Visit a city that feels like you’ve traveled to a fantasy world, under gray skies and within a mist of a time-past. As you wander through the ancient streets of Edinburgh, past both cathedrals and castles, you’ll understand why great writers like Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle called this enchanting city home. Make sure to stop at The Writers’ Museum, before getting a cup of tea at many an author’s favorite, The Elephant Cafe. And if you’re time and wallet allow, book a night at Balmoral Castle, where Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows was written. 

Bookstore to visit: Armchair Books

03 | Paris, France

Photo by Elina Sazonova

The City of Lights is known for many things; love, art, food. But it is also a literary lover’s paradise. Not only did it produce some of the greatest authors in history like Victor Hugo, Voltaire, Marcel Proust, George Sand, Colette, and Alexandre Duma, but it also drew wordsmiths from around the world to its magical streets, like Henry James, Ernest Hemmingway, Oscar Wilde, and James Baldwin. Once you’re done exploring the Palace of Versailles, make sure to venture to the infamous brasserie, Les Deux Magots, where many of the classic writers wrote, met, and ate throughout the years. 

Bookstore to visit: Shakespeare and Company

04 | New York City, U.S.A.

Photo by Sam Kolder

Called the greatest city in the world, The Big Apple is home to some of the greatest sights, sounds, and tastes in the world. It has drawn tens of millions with its hustle and bustle of living streets to its fantastic Broadway theaters, its seemingly endless art museums, and its top notch dining. But it’s also known for its literary history. Aside from being home to the largest and most respected book publishers and newspapers in the world, it’s also been the home of some of the greatest American poets, authors, and playwrights like Walt Witman, Edith Warton, Herman Mellville, F. Scott Fitsgerald, J.D. Salinger, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, and many more. Aside from visiting your favorite writer’s historic home, you can grab a slice of pizza, and head to Union Square or Central Park, where you can contemplate your Great American Novel before seeing a classic play on Broadway.

Bookstore to visit: The Strand Bookstore

05 | Florence, Italy

Photo by Josh Hild

For an even older and more ancient place to inspire your love of words and discover those who wove them, Florence is the city for you to explore. Home to some of the great authors of history like Dante, Collodi, Eva Cattermole, and the infamous Machiavelli, this city is unlike any on our list. Florence will astound you with some of the richest history, both literary and artistic, of any city in the world. Your breath will be taken away as you encounter the magnificent cathedrals, beautiful works of art from Leanardo Divinci, Michelangelo, and Caravaggio, and the greatest food you’ve ever eaten—all of which will help inspire your stories, poems, and words.

Bookstore to visit: Nardini Bookstore