Bookish holidays are a wonderful opportunity to plan a trip around your literary loves. Think of a favourite book or author, then build an adventure around it. E-reader stocked, paperbacks packed, last-minute airport bookshop raid completed? Let's go.

In this guide I'm going to share some of the literary trips I've taken myself, along with some ideas for holidays I haven't managed yet but which are firmly on the list.

Porto — Harry Potter and the Livraria Lello

A couple of years ago I'd just finished part of the Camino de Santiago in Portugal and stopped in Porto for three nights to rest before heading home. My feet were barking and my blisters had blisters — I wasn't planning on doing much walking.

On my first afternoon, two people swished past me in black capes over the cobblestones. A laughing group of similarly dressed young people sat outside a café. It immediately brought to mind the students of a certain wizarding school; it turns out this is the traditional attire of Porto's university students, a custom going back two hundred years.

One Google search led to another, and I discovered that JK Rowling had spent time in Porto in the early nineties, teaching English. She got married here, had a daughter, and wrote the first three chapters of The Philosopher's Stone. The city clearly left its mark.

She is said to have scribbled notes for the series in the majestic Livraria Lello in the old town — and once you see it, you understand why. It's beautifully ornate, neo-gothic and art nouveau in design, with large stained glass windows that make you feel like you're in a Renaissance chapel rather than a bookshop. The iconic curved staircase at the centre pulls your attention the moment you walk in.

When I visited you needed a ticket from the booth outside — a couple of euros, refundable against a purchase. I came away with a hardback of Bleak House. My advice: go early. By mid-morning people were practically elbowing each other out of the way to get the perfect staircase photo. It's a beautiful space and worth seeing, but it deserves more than a backdrop.

“They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all”. —J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

It had been a few years since I’d read the books but you could immediately see how such a beautiful bookshop could become a source of inspiration. I’ve included a couple of photographs here but they don’t do it justice.

Ireland - A literary Nation

When it comes to bookish holidays, it's hard to look past Ireland. We have a rich literary tradition — four Nobel Prize winners in Yeats, Shaw, Beckett and Heaney, and six Booker Prize winners including the recent Prophet Song.

Dublin

I lived in Dublin for seven years in the late nineties and early noughties, and it remains one of the most literary cities I know. During a quiet period between jobs I finally got around to reading Ulysses — no more excuses — and it became one of the most immersive reading experiences of my life.

Living on the northside, I'd take the book down to Blessington Basin, passing Eccles Street — Leopold Bloom's address. Another day I walked up to the Botanical Gardens and over to Glasnevin Cemetery, where the famous Hades chapter is set. The book became a living, breathing thing. I'd wander the streets with passages still echoing in my head.

Bloomsday is celebrated every year on June 16th — the day the novel is set — and is a wonderful occasion to be in the city. But don't be intimidated by the book itself. It took me three months to read, enjoyed slowly. I can see exactly why it's considered a masterpiece.

Dublin has no shortage of literary landmarks. The statues of Brendan Behan on the banks of the Royal Canal and Patrick Kavanagh on the Grand Canal are both worth seeking out — pick up Borstal Boy for Behan and Tarry Flynn or The Green Fool for Kavanagh. Raglan Road is nearby if you know the poem. The literary pub crawl is a great evening out, and the Winding Stair bookshop and restaurant is excellent for a browse and a bite. Trinity College Library, the Writers Museum, and the lounging Oscar Wilde statue in Merrion Square are all worth your time.

Sligo

Above is a rare picture of a foundered me at Yeats grave at the windy Drumcliffe church in County Sligo, set against the majestic backdrop of Ben Bulben. Also worth a visit is the lake isle of Inisfree (you can take a boat trip to the small uninhabited island.

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:

Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,

I hear it in the deep heart's core.

Check out the Yeats trail for more places to visit.

Derry - The Seamus Heaney Homeplace

Since you've come this far north, continue to Bellaghy in County Derry for the Seamus Heaney Homeplace — a beautifully put together museum set in the landscape that inspired one of Ireland's greatest poets. Highly recommended.

Armagh

I'm naturally biased living close by, but the Armagh Robinson Library — the oldest in Ireland — is worth a visit. It holds a first edition of Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, who spent time in the city. And Ireland's summer literary festival circuit is not to be missed — Lee Child signed books at the John Hewitt festival here in Armagh not long ago. Check listings early; Ireland gets busy in summer.

Yorkshire - The Brontes

The Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire, is where Charlotte, Emily and Anne lived and wrote Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Nearby Top Withens on the South Pennine moors is said to be the inspiration for Wuthering Heights. Pack your walking shoes.

Stratford-upon-Avon

Shakespeare's birthplace has been standing for five hundred years. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell — one of my favourite reads of recent years — will give the visit extra resonance. I caught a performance of Hamlet at the RSC and took a boat trip on the Avon. Both highly recommended.

Nottingham

Visiting relations in Nottingham, I took the opportunity to make a couple of visits to places that have strong literary links. First up was Eastwood, and the family home of DH Lawrence.

First was Eastwood and the family home of DH Lawrence. You can step back in time with a guided tour of the red-bricked terraced house where Lawrence was born — Victorian parlour, kitchen and scullery, a real slice of social history. I'd studied Sons and Lovers for A-level, so seeing the streets that had inspired him was fascinating. There are plenty of Lawrence artefacts on display, including his leather-bound travel trunk, watercolours and early literary items. I'd recommend the guided tour.

A short drive took us to Newstead Abbey, the ancestral home of Lord Byron. This crumbling gothic pile is entirely in keeping with the brooding sensibility you'd associate with Byron, and you can feel how it inspired his poetry. Partially restored, it offers a real sense of his fascinating life — crumbling cloisters, shady corners, interesting exhibits and knowledgeable National Trust guides on hand. My only disappointment was not encountering the Black Monk. Perhaps next time.

Cornwall - Daphne Du Maurier Country

Manderley exists only in the imagination, but the house featured in ‘Rebecca’ which it was based on — Menabily, where du Maurier lived — is in Cornwall, just visible through the trees. It's private, which is perhaps as it should be. Some things are better left to the imagination.

You can visit the Jamaica Inn at Bolventor on Bodmin Moor, immortalised in du Maurier's novel of the same name. The fishing village of Fowey, Frenchman's Creek, and the moor itself are all worth exploring.

Edinburgh

As well as just being a great city to visit, Edinburgh has got plenty of places to visit associated with its literary history.

Victoria Street is said to have inspired Diagon Alley — and standing there, you can see why. The medieval and Georgian architecture, the winding alleyways, the whole atmosphere of the place could fire any imagination. You don't need to tap any bricks to get in.

The Elephant House café on George IV Bridge is where JK Rowling is thought to have written parts of the early books — though the original café closed after a fire in 2021 and is due to reopen. The Balmoral Hotel on Princes Street is where she retired to finish the Deathly Hallows.

Greyfriars Kirkyard contains gravestones with names that will feel familiar — Thomas Riddell among them, along with McGonagall and Moody. There are plenty of Harry Potter shops in the city if memorabilia is your thing.

The Writers Museum off the Royal Mile focuses on Burns, Scott and Stevenson — it was closed when I passed but is said to be worth the visit. I'm a big Irvine Welsh fan; if Trainspotting is your thing, the opening sequence was shot on Princes Street and Renton is hit by the car on Calton Street Bridge.

Edinburgh is a stunning city at any time of day, compact enough to walk everywhere, and looks just as good at night as it does in the light.

Japan

When I visited Japan (and if you’re interested, I’ve compiled a list of books to read before you go) I didn’t specifically visit any places associated with Murakami, though just spending time in Shinjuku and Setgaya and various jazz cafes (kissas) conjured up the feel of his novels.

You can visit the Waseda House of Literature which features a ‘sweeping staircase bookshelf, a recreation of Murakami's writing study, and the Orange Cat café,’ owned by Murakami. Though like most popular destinations in Japan these days, book ahead.

Takamatsu is definitely worth a visit if you’re a fan of Kafka on the Shore - whilst you won’t be able to visit the Komura memorial library it’s apparently a lovely little town and you can have your fill of Sanuki Udon.

(I only discovered this Murakami pilgrimage page after I visited Japan, but I’ve bookmarked it for my next visit which I’m already looking forward to).

And if you’re in Lawsons or Family Mart, maybe you’ll bump into Keiko Furokuro from Convenience Store Woman. Though if you come across Manako Kajii from Butter shopping for ingredients and she offers to cook you a meal, best to say you’re just not that hungry.

Dream Bookish Holidays

Some trips I haven't taken yet but which are firmly on the list.

Being driven around Los Angeles listening to Art Pepper and visiting Harry Bosch's favourite haunts — Angels Flight Railway, the Bradbury Building, Musso & Frank Grill, finishing at the Catalina Bar and Grill for jazz.

Lingering in the art nouveau splendour of the Metropole Hotel from A Gentleman in Moscow — afternoon cocktails in the Shalyapin Bar, dinner in Boyarsky, keeping an eye out for Arkady and avoiding Emile. Ideally in a suite rather than the Count's garret.

Another more fanciful dream would be a stay in a hotel in Night City, the moon colony in Emily St John Mandel's ‘Sea of Tranquility’. Being able to look back at the planet earth would be something special.

Construction is still not underway there, so I might have to opt instead for a stay in ‘The Glass Hotel’ in the novel of the same name on Vancouver Island, keeping an eye out for graffiti, naturally.

I’d also love to visit Antartica, but not sure I’d want to spend a whole winter there like the crew of the Belgica did in ‘Madhouse at the end of the Earth.’

Summary

Bookish holidays are something you can have a lot of fun planning. Think of a book you loved and see where it takes you — you might be surprised how far it goes.

Choosing Bookish Holidays