“That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet”- Jhumpa Lahiri

Have you ever read a book and wished to live in its world for just a single day, to get the opportunity to experience this fictional world? As a fantasy reader, I experience this exact feeling more times than I can actually count. As a child, I wanted to go to Hogwarts, wanted to meet the Hobbits, fly with dragons, and explore cursed forests and impressive castles. Today, nothing much has changed, I would still love to go to Hogwarts, even though I am a bit old now, I would love to ride the dragons from Fourth Wing (Rebecca Yarros) or Fireborne (Rosaria Munda), I want to attend balls from Pride and Prejudice and I would love to explore the 7 Courts of Prythian from ACOTAR (Sarah J. Maas). Unfortunately, I will never be able to physically experience this, to live in my books. However, this does not mean that I will never experience something similar, something completely different and real, yet close enough to these fantasies to somehow fulfil this dream. 

Today I would like to present you my own Bookish Travel Bucket List full of places for book lovers. 

• Jane Austen Festival, Bath
  • Every September, Bath, England, hosts the annual Jane Austen Festival, a spectacle to celebrate the great author Jane Austen. For the duration of the festival, Bath is transformed into a city of the Regency era. What makes the festival so special, and is also the first thing that caught my eye, is the dedication of the fans travelling to Bath. Most of the people arrive in Regency clothing to stroll through the streets of Bath, imagining being in one of her novels or walking the same paths as her. But, there are also lectures, talks and tours to inform guests about Jane Austen as a person, her literature and her influence. This year, the festival will be held from September 13 to September 22.
• Ashdown Forest, UK
  • Everyone knows him and this forest is his home, or at least it is the inspiration for his home. Ashdown Forest is the inspiration and the setting of the famous children’s story Winnie-the-Pooh. 
• King’s Cross, London, UK
  • Now, I have already crossed this off of my bucket list but maybe you would still like to visit it! This magical place belongs to the Harry Potter Universe as it hosts Platform 9 ³/⁴ at the King’s Cross Station in London.  A little picture setup has been provided for tourists to take their magical pictures when walking through the walls towards the platform to Hogwarts. In recent years, on September 1, many Harry Potter fans travelled to this railroad station to experience a special announcement informing about the departure of the train to Hogsmeade, a countdown and a personalised departure board entry. Unfortunately, due to the event’s rising popularity throughout the years, the organisers have cancelled the event and asked fans not to come. 
• Verona, Italy
  • The city where Shakespeare’s famous play Romeo and Juliet is set.
• Shakespeare and Dickens Walking Tour, London
• Bart’s Books, Ojai, CA
• Starfield Library, Seoul
• Library of Victoria, Australia
• Shakespeare and Company, Paris, France
• El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Strahov Monastery Library, Prague, Czech Republic
• Edinburgh International Book Festival
• Wigtown, Scotland’s National Book Town

Have you visited any of those places before? What is on your bookish travel list? Do you have one? What is one fictional world you would desperately want to visit?

Lisa A.