Michelle L. Jensen (Travel HerStory) dressed as Sherlock Holmes at the Sherlock Holmes Museum, wearing a deerstalker hat and holding a magnifying glass and pipe, in London, England, United Kingdom.

Greetings from 221b Baker St!

Literary Travel

From Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon to Sherlock Holmes’s Baker Street, the world’s greatest stories were shaped by real places.

Literary travel lets you step into the room where Shakespeare was born, track down Tolkien’s talking tree hidden within the Avebury Stone Circle, or browse rare manuscripts at the Folger Shakespeare Library.

Trace Holmes’s footsteps along a self-guided walking route through London, or lose yourself in the astronomical wonder of Vienna’s State Hall at the Austrian National Library—a room that feels lifted straight out of a fairytale.

I’ve not only visited these literary destinations myself, digging into their history, authors, and fictional worlds, but I’m also an author (of an action-adventure novel). With this dual experience, I’ve created these guides to help you plan a trip that puts you right in the center of the story.

Quick Answer

What is literary travel?

Literary travel means seeking out the real places tied to books and/or authors, such as childhood homes, filming locations for beloved adaptations, or landmarks that inspired a story’s world. Based on my personal visits to Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Sherlock Holmes Museum in London, and Tolkien’s talking tree at Avebury, among others, I’ve found that the best literary trips are to destinations where visiting the real place adds something reading can’t. It’s a great fit for readers who want a trip that feels like a novel or who are bookish at heart.

What are Good Destinations for Literary Tourism?

Visitors walk beneath the barrel-vaulted wooden ceiling and towering wall-to-wall bookshelves of the Long Room, lined with marble busts of scholars, as a large illuminated globe sculpture of planet Earth hangs suspended overhead at Trinity College Library in Dublin, Ireland.
Dublin, Ireland
Exterior of Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris, France, with its green facade, yellow signage, and stacks of books visible through the windows.
Paris, France
Bronze statue of Peter Pan blowing a pipe atop a tree‑stump base, surrounded by woodland creatures and fairies, set among trees and greenery in London, England, United Kingdom's Kensington Gardens.
London, England
St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, at twilight, with dramatic lighting and a moody sky, this historic landmark is where Haunted History Tours New Orleans start.
New Orleans, USA

My Favorite Libraries & Bookshops

Michelle L. Jensen (Travel HerStory) smiles beside an elderly Augustinian friar leaning on a cane inside the centuries-old monastery library, surrounded by rows of leather-bound antique books on tall carved wooden shelves at Augustine, a Luxury Collection Hotel, in Prague, Czech Republic.
Augustinian Library, Prague
Interior of the Abbey Library of Saint Gall in St. Gallen, Switzerland, featuring floor-to-ceiling walnut wood bookshelves filled with ancient volumes, ornate Baroque painted ceiling murals in pastel tones with gilded stucco, inlaid parquet flooring, and visitors browsing manuscript display cases below.
St. Gallen, Switzerland
Museum exhibit titled 'Pages, Folded' at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., USA, featuring two glass cases displaying open antique Shakespeare folios in front of a curved wall covered with colorful historical woodcut illustrations and printed pages from old books.
Folger Shakespeare Library, USA
Austrian National Library’s baroque State Hall, featuring towering bookshelves, marble statues, and a frescoed ceiling in Vienna, Austria.
Austrian National Library, Austria
Ornate interior of the Library of Congress in Washington DC, USA, with grand arches, marble columns, intricate ceiling murals, and decorative carvings in the richly detailed entrance.
Library of Congress, USA
Michelle L. Jensen (Travel HerStory) posing in a tunnel made of stacked books at The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles, California, USA, surrounded by shelves of novels and vintage decor.
The Last Bookstore, USA
The entrance to Livraria Bertrand in Lisbon, Portugal, recognized as the world’s oldest operating bookstore, features a classic blue-and-white tiled facade.
Livraria Bertrand, Lisbon

Literary Travel Blogs