When travelling meets literature: Book Trails in Europe

What would you say about a literary holiday this summer? A useful tool for planning bookish holidays is The Book Trail – a platform that matches destinations with books.

Each book trail has a literary map with selected points of interest that you can visit to get immersed in that particular story. Just like a Literary Travel Agency 🙂

Below I selected 5 bookish locations from Europe, each of them having its own book trail. Let’s start the journey!

travelling anastasia dunaeva behance.gif — Illustration by Anastasia Dunaeva

§ Barcelona (Spain) – The Cemetery of Forgotten Books

Barcelona is the place to visit if you read Zafon’s series – there are book trails for the all 4 books – The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel’s Game, The Prisoner of Heaven, and The Labyrinth of Spirits. Among others, you’ll visit the Gothic Quarter, Plaza Real, and Parc de Montjuïc.

Barcelona Gothic quarter, Carrer del Bisbe — Gothic Quarter, Barcelona

§ Amsterdam (The Netherlands) – The Miniaturist

The book trail of “The Miniaturist” takes you to historical places in Amsterdam such as The Old Church, Kalverstraat, Rijksmuseum, and Albert Cuyp Market. For an authentic experience, make sure you add on your itinerary a walk among the canals 🙂

oude kerk amsterdam readers high tea — Old Church, Amsterdam

§ Delft (The Netherlands)- Girl with a Pearl Earring

Since you’re already in The Netherlands following “The Miniaturist”, why not take a 1-day trip to Delft and also follow the route of the Girl with a Pearl Earring? It will take you to the Vermeer’s House, the old city gates, and of course the Market Square where the Town Hall is located.

delft readers high tea — Old city gates, Delft

§ Naples (Italy) – My Brilliant Friend

To follow Lila and Elena’s story by travelling, make sure to visit Piazza Dei Martiri, Via Taddeo da Sessa, and the Botanical Garden of Naples. At lunch time you can check out Pizzeria Carmnella, where “Ferrante Pizza” was invented to celebrate Elena Ferrante.

piazza dei martiri naples readers high tea — Piazza dei Martiri, Naples

§ France and Germany – All the Light We Cannot See

The book trail of “All the Light We Cannot See” is more complex, spanning over 2 countries. In France you will visit Saint Malo and a little bit of Paris, while in Germany the trail takes you to Essen and a little bit of Berlin.