The Novel Idea of Travelling to Literary Cities
If you are a reader like me, imagine the idea of retracing the footsteps of some of literature’s greatest minds. Picture wandering up and down the streets your favourite authors once did, visiting the venues they were known to frequent, and soaking up the atmosphere that gripped them and inspired them to write the way they did -these days it is so easy to do!
Travelling through Europe can turn these dreams into a reality, and there are many ways to explore all the haunts you have dreamed of uncovering!
Literary Living in London, England
You will be able to spend some time browsing through the stacks of the British Library, and can even get a closer look at the Magna Carta of 1215, among other noteworthy manuscripts.
You will be able to take in gems like the Sherlock Holmes Museum, and pay a visit to Shakespeare’s Globe, among the huge array of treasures linked to the written word that are housed in this city.
Drink It All In When You Visit Dublin, Ireland
This city has become synonymous with the literary genius of Oscar Wilde and William Butler Yeats, as well as one of the most innovative, influential minds of all time, James Joyce. This literary capital can not be missed by any self-respecting bibliophile, and the time I spent exploring the city was simply magical.
The history of the written word in Dublin dates back thousands of years, right back to when the monks began transcribing portions of the bible. One of the finest surviving examples of these types of manuscripts is the Book of Kells, which can be viewed at Trinity College.
Make sure you pay the Dublin Writer’s Museum a visit, too, and take in the spectrum of the Irish literary lineage, with its roots in Celtic storytelling and Ancient Irish poetry as you do.
Part the Curtains of History in Paris, France
As enjoyable as local travelling, nothing beats the thrill of international travel to see where your heroes once lived, and worked, and loved! Whether you are writing a story, or wish to see the home of the literary greats, the creative opportunities throughout Paris are plentiful, to say the least.
You will have over 400 years to cover, and can lap up the locales of authors who called Paris home, explore museums that have been dedicated to the lives of playwrights and writers from the Age of Enlightenment, and so much more.
Eat Up the Edinburgh Experience in Scotland
Some of the most notable Scottish writers have been heavily influenced by this country’s capital, with one famous resident, Robert Louis Stevenson, going so far as to compare it to Paris, stating that Edinburgh was what Paris should be!
The Writers’ Museum located on the Royal Mile gave me the chance to explore a more intimate side of this country’s literary elite, and it thrilled me to the core to view exhibits that included things like the desk at which Robert Burns sat and wrote!
Take some time to plan your next trip around the places that your favourite authors spent their time, and watch your travelling deepen your experience at the same time as it broadens your horizons.
