There are no places in the world that bookworms have not travelled to. Starting from the streets of London to the villages of India, we have been everywhere. The descriptions of places in every book that we read have been our little bubbles of peace. And, we have all enjoyed the solo tours through the pages that take us to places. Sometimes, some places become a part of us. Some places, although imaginary, become so real to us. Some places, we add to our bucket list because they are worth a real visit.
It is the third type that I am going to talk about in this article. A list of best cities around the world for all the bookworms to visit in 2021!
Sit back and read till the end to know more about the literary destinations in your bucket list. Look out for the quizzes that come in between!
First off, we’ll start with the centre of Literature;
London!
London is the heart of many best-selling novels of all time. An inspiration for many of our favourite authors, like William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, JK Rowling, Jane Austen, and many others.
I know most of you already know this, so let’s talk about what more London has for you as one of the best cities to visit in Europe. Of course, for the bookworms!
Get on the Hogwarts Express & Head to the WB Studio Tour!
Before I plunge into the information, let’s see how many of you can get the answer right for this question!
We grew up in the streets of London as children every time we read Harry Potter. Besides wanting to visit Hogwarts, we have all wanted to visit the Platform 9¾ at least once in a lifetime.
This opportunity for you is open at the King’s Cross Station, London! Although the platform is not as J.K. Rowling describes it as in the book, you can still take a picture to treasure.
Photo tips include: A picture with the cart, wearing a scarf and holding a magic wand in your hand. Or, get someone to shoot a video of you trying to run through the secret wall.
In addition to all this literary fun, you will also find the official Harry Potter Platform 9 ¾ Shop!
London does not have only one place to visit for the Harry Potter fans. I know how much this makes you happy! So, the next best thing for you to do in London is to,
Take a ride on the Hogwarts Express and Go shopping in the Diagon Alley
These are the two best things to do in London that’ll make you feel like a real wizard/witch. The train heads to Scotland (pretend like its Hogwarts), cutting through the lush countryside. This two-hour ride to Scotland would be enough for you to fill your gallery with many iconic images to recreate.
If that isn’t enough, then you still have an option to select a two-day train journey around the highlands.
Won’t say ‘to wind up’, but maybe if you haven’t seen enough, then the Diagon Alley is the best place for you to go next.
It is a cobblestoned wizarding alley allocated for shopping in London. The alley, just like the one described in the book, is an assortment of shops and restaurants. Besides London’s Leadenhall Market and Borough Market, this is the ideal place for you to do your muggle shopping!
As much as these places in London excites the Potterheads, the next literary spot is going to satisfy the wannabe Sherlock Holmes! Because, next, you are going to,
Embed your footprints in 221B Baker Street!
Being London’s iconic places to visit in 2021, 221B Baker Street is the Home to the famous (fictional) consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes! What is so special about Baker Street is that it covers Sherlock Holmes art and memorabilia.
Take this quiz before you read about the next best place to visit.
For those who want to get a full-on detective experience, the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B located between 237 and 241 is fantastic! Why? Because it recreates the rooms from the series, including Holmes’ laboratory (I know you wouldn’t want to miss this).
Besides this, you can also check out the Sherlock Holmes Public House and Restaurant located nearby.
Apart from the signature drink, thrills at the Platform 9 ¾ and Baker Street, you can also, visit the famous museum of Charles Dickens, to find a lock of his hair (a little weird, I know) and his lemon squeezer! The die-hard fans can also encounter personal letters and manuscripts of Dickens.
Next,
Try out Jame's Bond's signature drink!
“Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?”
If you remember this, then you sure know what signature drink we are recommending you try.
The Duke’s Hotel in London serves this signature drink of 007 in its most original form. Inspired by James Bond’s way of ordering, the golden rule to this martini is for it to be “shaken, not stirred”!
Once you had tried the Vesper Martini, here’s
A list of other things to do in London;
- Visit the garden squares of Bloomsbury, where lots of great writers, artists and intellectuals have met in the 1920s and 30s.
- Explore the British Library, famous for Jane Austen’s writing desk!
- Enjoy drama at the Shakespeare’s Globe
- Take a look at the Keats House
- Encounter the famous Elephant House
- Pay a visit to the Eagle and Child
- Check out the Greenway House
- Be a part of the Poet’s Corner
- Experience the wild Ashdown Forest
- Take a look at the Hilltop House
- Visit the Brontë Parsonage
- Walk into the George Inn
It’s just mind-blowing how London counts as one of the best cities to visit in 2021 for the bookworms. The city constitutes innumerable literary things-to-do that I could write a whole other article on! (You can let me know down in the comment if you want one!)
I know I have told you way too much about London here. But, this is not the end. We have more best cities around the world for you to visit!
In that list, let’s see what the city of Love has for the bookworms;
PARIS
While for the rest of the world, Paris means love, for the bookworms, Paris means Les Misérables! The city was the heart of Victor Hugo, who based his novel ‘Les Misérables’ in the 19th-century Paris. Paris has always been in the romantic bucket lists but here’s why it could now be in your literary bucket list;
You can take a literary tour in Paris by foot or a metro
It’s as simple as that! Just save more Euros to visit Disneyland Paris and take the literary tour on foot. Metro sounds excellent too. But walking around the streets would give you an experience that’s more than just a literary tour.
However, you get to choose your convenient mode of transport. Meanwhile, here are some of the best literary spots in Paris that we don’t want you missing out!
First, visit the park that Hugo highlights in Les Misérables,
Jardin du Luxembourg!
It is where the first meeting between Marius Pontmercy and Cosette happened!
Besides Les Misérables, Henry James also had featured Luxembourg park in The Ambassadors.
It also has been a favourite spot for American writer Gertrude Stein and her partner, Alice B. Toklas.
Fun fact: Many famous writers are said to have spent time wandering in the park for inspiration.
Next,
A trip to the Home of famed French writer Victor Hugo
I know we talk a lot about Hugo as we stroll through the literary streets of Paris. It is because there was perhaps no other significant writer who wrote about the enchantment of Paris the way Victor Hugo did. His Home has now become a museum dedicated to his life and his works.
So, if you are a fan of his writing, you should not miss this out. Not a fan? Then this visit is still worth it! Because you are sure to become a fan overnight!
Can’t decide whether you are really a fan or not? Then take this quiz before you see the next place to visit in Paris.
After a visit to two of the memorable Les Miserable spots, you should,
Experience the authentic literature spot, La Closerie des Lilas
Fun fact: Legend has it that F. Scott Fitzgerald showed Ernest Hemingway the manuscript to The Great Gatsby at this place!
It has been a significant meeting point for literary geniuses, where they had recited and shared their work during the days. At night, the spot had been a place for debate and literary discussion for many American novelists as they enjoyed the chilly nights of Paris.
Paris, like London, is one of the best cities to visit in 2021 to quench your thirst for literary destinations. Besides these literary activities, you also have a whole range of places to visit, like; the American Library in Paris, Maison de Balzac, Harry’s New York Bar, Musée de la Vie Romantique, Café de Flore, Shakespeare & Company and much more!
Next in the list of best cities to visit in 2021 for bookworms is,
Cairo
One of the best cities around the world for bookworms to visit! Why? Because it is the birthplace for many famous novels like Fates’ Mockery by Naguib Mahfouz, Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie and The Spy Who Loved Me by Ian Fleming!
You can start your literary tour in Cairo from the Egyptian Museum. Here you can discover more about the origins of the hieroglyphics and ancient papyrus.
You can also check out the Cairo Marriott palace where Agatha Christie, the English writer, stayed for three months.
Noisy neighbourhoods can be a little daunting. If you can cope with that, then the Miami Metro Hostel in the Garden City area is a great place to stay. It lets you spend the night in the apartment block that inspired Alaa Al-Aswany’s international bestselling The Yacoubian Building.
For, James Bond fans, you can head to Darb al-Ahmar where Ian Fleming set the ground for Bond to walk around the 2,000-year-old Mosque of Ibn Tulun.
In addition to these, the Great Pyramids are also a must-visit. Not just because that is what Egypt is famous for, but also became it evokes memories from the opening of Christie’s famous mystery novel, Death on the Nile.
Quick quiz on for mystery lovers:
The next city is vibrant out of the best cities around the world to visit for bookworms;
Tokyo
There’s no best novel than Murakami’s Norweigan Wood that can describe Tokyo in its most extraordinary form. So, for those who have read Norweigan Wood, Tokyo is one of the best cities to visit in 2021!
Before I talk about the places to visit, take this quiz to see how much you remember Norwegian Wood:
Some of you avid readers may already have noted the highlighted places in the book. But, for those who haven’t, these are what you must do in Tokyo to get the full experience of Murakami’s novel.
Walk the roads where Watanabe followed Naoka for most of the afternoon.
Start from JR train, where the duo had their first encounter. Get off at the Yotuya station. Walk to Ichigaya, the ultimate one-stop-shop for a hardcore Murakami fan, where you’ll feel every bit of the book come alive. After the long walk, you can dine at “Komatsuan”, the place the two of them dined at.
Next,
Multiple train ride from Kichijoji and Shinjuku
The first trip you should take is to Shinjuku, where Watanabe used to work part-time. Then, the jazz bar Dug where he goes to with Midori. These multiple train rides from his residence to his workplace and the chilling spot will give you a complete experience of the book.
Once you have encountered the second half of the book, next,
Wakeijuku- Watanabe's dorm!
Wasade Daigaku is the real place in Tokyo that inspired Murakami to create Watanabe’s dorm. It is a university campus, gorgeously covered in green. You can walk from the university to Watanabe’s dorm in the book- Wakeijuku. The place is no different from what Murakami has described it as in the book.
Besides Norweigan Wood, other famous novels are also in Tokyo. Some of them are; Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima, Who Is Mr Satoshi by Jonathan Le, Flesh and the Mirror from Fireworks.
After Tokyo, in our top 5 cities in 2021 for bookworms, we have the city of Russian writers!
St. Petersburg
The residents consider this city as “a stone book whose pages were created by great Russian poets and writers.”
St. Petersburg is one of the best cities to visit in 2021 for bookworms, considering the reflection of Roman Literature in the city. Not just that, the city also has many shrines dedicated to writers and literary characters. These buildings also have plaques marked to commemorate writers and poets.
It’s always a cultural visit if you loved Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment because you get to explore the literary past and present of St. Petersburg. There is no insufficiency in Literature in this city. It widely includes a collection of the best museums, workplaces and memorials to Russian writers!
Now, take this quiz to see how much you remember Crime and Punishment:
These top 5 cities to visit in 2021 for bookworms do not limit the countless other places available for literary visits. So, if you want to read more and add more such best cities around the world to your bucket list, let us know in comments.
Oh, and don’t forget that you can always make Travel Center’s exclusive deals into unforgettable literary tours. All you need to do is to talk to one of our friends at Travel Center. They are always online to give you all the information you require.
Don’t wait too long; we have already got the deals for the best cities to visit in 2021 & 2022 ready for you!
