The Charles Dickens Museum in London attracts many literature lovers
1. London, United Kingdom
Many famous authors either were born in the capital of Great Britain or spent most of their lives there, and of course described this city in their works. For example, fans of Charles Dickens can visit his house, now a museum; lovers of detective stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle will try to find five or six places where the great detective Sherlock Holmes conducted investigations, and will definitely go to his 'residence' at 221b Baker Street. There will also be something to see for those interested in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, John Keats, Herbert Wells.
2. Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom
Probably, there are few people in the world who have never heard of William Shakespeare. And so every year Stratford-upon-Avon — the city where the famous writer was born — is visited by about 3 million people. Here you can also see the museum of the English genius, a theater, and many other attractions associated with the name of the famous playwright.
3. Edinburgh, Scotland
Many classics of world literature lived and wrote in this city: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson. Today Edinburgh has a new literary symbol — J.K. Rowling, author of the famous Harry Potter story. If you want to learn about all the writers and poets ever associated with this place, just visit the Writers' Museum. By the way, Edinburgh was the first UNESCO-recognized 'City of Literature'.
4. Dublin, Ireland
In this country, and especially in its capital, many new ideas and innovative works have always been born. Take, for example, 'Dubliners' or 'Ulysses' by James Joyce. In the 20th century, Samuel Beckett created the concept of the theater of the absurd here. And if you happen to find yourself on this distant northern island, be sure to visit not only the Writers' Museum and the National Library of Ireland, but also check out the literary pub Crawl.
5. New York, USA
It would be surprising if no writer had settled in the 'Big Apple'. For some time, Beat generation authors such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg lived here. The city became the arena of one of the literary revolutions of the 20th century — the so-called 'Harlem Renaissance', which introduced popular African American authors such as Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes.
6. Concord, Massachusetts, USA
Although Concord is just a small town of 20 thousand inhabitants, it played an important role in the history of American literature. In the early 19th century, the most popular authors of the time, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Hawthorne, lived there, and in 1817, the American philosopher and writer David Thoreau was born here.
7. Paris, France
Paris has long been the center of French and European culture. Writers, artists, and musicians from all over the world sought to come to this city. And so its streets remember many writers, from the giants of French literature (such as Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and Honoré de Balzac) to visitors from distant America who fled to Paris in search of sexual, religious, or personal freedom (among whom were Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald).
8. San Francisco, California, USA
Like New York, this city is primarily associated with the Beat generation. After, for various reasons, Ginsberg and Kerouac left the 'Big Apple', they settled here and brought not only a unique literary style but also fans from across the country. Fans of the 'Beatniks' must visit the 'Vesuvio' cafe — Jack Kerouac's favorite spot. The author of 'Tropic of Cancer', Henry Miller, also spent some time in the vicinity of San Francisco.
9. Rome, Italy
Ancient Rome is the birthplace and home of many ancient writers and philosophers who influenced all European art. In this city, the author of the 'Aeneid', Virgil, once created. In later times, Percy Shelley with his wife Mary Shelley, Keats, and Henry James settled in Rome, inspired by the ancient beauty of the old city.
10. Saint Petersburg, Russia
The most important city for Russian literature has always been Petersburg. In the 19th-20th centuries, Alexander Pushkin and Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gumilyov and Anna Akhmatova walked the streets of the second Russian capital. Among the most visited literary museums are Pushkin's last residence on the Moika and Dostoevsky's apartment in Kuznechny Lane.
Anastasia GVENDYAEVA.
Turist.ru