Four Bucket-List Destinations for Book Lovers
Dublin
Why go: Anyone on the lookout for literary trails will find Dublin fascinating place for bookish explorations. The city is not home to many great writers of all time. It also boasts of many literary spots and points of interest like the world-famous Trinity College Library that holds an impressive collection that includes the Book of Kells. From pub crawls to literary walking tours, there is no dearth of things to discover and do in Dublin.
London
Why go: London is a treasure trove of attractions for bookworms of all ages. Some of the city’s must-see sights for lit lovers include The George Inn that where Charles Dickens and Shakespeare have been guests, the British Library, Charing Cross Road and its many bookshops, Charles Dickens Museum, Shakespeare’s Globe, Sherlock Holmes Museum, The Harry Potter Shop at Platform 9¾, the Poets’ Corner at Westminster Abbey, and the literary pubs and taverns among others.
Mainz
Why go: Mainz is the birthplace of the printing of moveable type. It is where Johannes Gutenberg invented the technique that gave us the printed books as we know it today. The Gutenberg Museum houses a collection of printing equipment and memorabilia.
Paris
Why go: Book lovers in Paris do not have to search long and hard to find a literary spot to explore. Not to be missed are the Bouquinistes along the banks of both sides of the Seine, the cafes and restaurants where some of the world’s greatest writers used to hang out like Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots, the cemeteries like Cimetière du Père Lachaise (Oscar Wilde, Honoré de Balzac, and Marcel Proust among many others) and Cimetière du Montparnasse (Charles Baudelaire, Guy de Maupassant, Susan Sontag, and more), and the Shakespeare and Company.