Five of the World’s Best Literary Destinations

Dublin, Ireland

This is the city from which literary greats such as Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, W.B. Yeats and Samuel Beckett came, so is it any wonder that Dublin has been a UNESCO City of Literature since 2010? More recently, Dublin has also been home to writers such as Maeve Binchy and Sally Rooney; walking the city brings many of the works and haunts of these writers to life. 

It’s home to Trinity College’s Old Library, which is consistently listed as one of the most beautiful libraries in the world, thanks to its soaring oak ceiling and towering shelves - not to mention its 200,000+ books, many of them ancient and precious. This library is also where the Book of Kells, the best example of an illuminated medieval manuscript in existence, is held - book a tour for the best experience. 

Prague, Czechia

Closely associated with writers such as Franz Kafka and Milan Kundera, Prague, with its Gothic architecture and sense of atmosphere, has also formed the backdrop to several noteworthy works of literature. Examples include 1977’s A Time of Gifts, by Patrick Leigh Fermor, as well as John Le Carre’s A Perfect Spy (1986) and Umberto Eco’s The Prague Cemetery (2012). 

Walking the cobbled streets of the city, visitors can explore landmarks linked with Kafka’s life, as well as a number of independent bookstores. One, Shakespeare and Sons, is conveniently located just by the Charles Bridge and within striking distance of the Kafka Museum; it also has a large selection of English language books. 

While you’re in the vicinity, tie in a visit to the Clementinum Library, which houses over 25,000 books within its baroque walls. Avoid disappointment by knowing in advance that you can only look, not enter. Kind of makes it even more like a fairy tale, doesn’t it? 

Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne was the second city in the world to be recognised as a UNESCO City of Literature, which may surprise many, since Australia has historically, and famously, been derided as a country with ‘no culture.’ 

With its soaring dome, the State Library of Victoria is the oldest public library in Australia, and has been extensively renovated in the past decade. Visitors can book in for a tour before the doors open to the public. The city is brimming with independent bookshops - Readings and Hill of Content, for starters - and hosts literary events year-round. It’s also spawned talent such as Christos Tsiolkas (The Slap, 2008) and Helen Garner (Monkey Grip, 1978). 

The Melbourne Writers Festival is held each May, and attracts crowds of 40,000+ to its programme of talks, debates and workshops - and the city’s renowned café culture means that you’re never far from somewhere to take a break with a coffee and a book. 

New York, USA

As the setting for countless films and TV shows, New York is often associated with set-jetting - but it’s also a city replete with literary significance. It’s where the Harlem Renaissance took place in the 1920s, and Greenwich Village provided a backdrop for the Beat Generation in the 1950s.  In fiction, it becomes a symbol of isolation as Holden Caulfield grapples with identity and teenage angst after running away from boarding school (The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger, 1951), and provides the setting for Tom Wolfe’s savage satire on excess and racial injustice (The Bonfire of the Vanities, 1987). 

As well as being home to innumerable literary landmarks - Wall Street and the lagoon in Central Park are just the tip of the iceberg - New York is also where you’ll find big-league publishing houses and iconic bookshops, including The Strand. The New York Public Library and The Morgan Library and Museum are also essential stops: both architecturally splendid in their own right, and housing superb collections, to boot. 

London, England

The literary history of England’s capital is almost unparalleled, with writers such as Charles Dickens setting almost all of his novels here, and Virginia Woolf forming part of the intellectually accomplished Bloomsbury Group. There’s also Shakespeare’s Globe, where you can watch a performance for as little as £5, and the soaring walls of the British Library, which houses over 170 million items, including rare books and handwritten manuscripts such as Beowulf, and drafts from Jane Austen. 

Daunt Books, in Marylebone, is a favoured haunt for booklovers - not only for its stock, but also its architecture, which features skylights and oak galleries. Word on the Water, in Kings Cross, is another destination: a floating barge crammed with second-hand volumes. Travel enthusiasts should head to Stanford’s, in Covent Garden - it’s the world’s largest travel book and map retailer, with an excellent inventory of travel narrative and fiction.