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Original poster

Are any of you book-lovers to the extent of taking a book-centric vacation?

55 replies

MsAmerica · 02/05/2022 23:57

There are a few towns that are devoted to readers - that is, full of bookstores - and I thought it might be interesting to see one some time.

I was just reading about this one:

Inside Urueña, The Spanish Town That Is Home To More Books Than School Pupils
By Raphael Minder

The plan was to keep Urueña alive with book tourism, modeling it after other rural literary hubs across Europe — notably, Montmorillon in France and Hay-on-Wye in Britain. Hay has long hosted one of the continent’s most famous literary festivals.

www.nytimes.com/2022/04/21/world/europe/uruena-spain-book-hub.html

bdnews24.com/travelandtourism/2022/04/22/welcome-to-a-village-with-more-booksellers-than-school-pupils

www.sanjuandailystar.com/post/welcome-to-a-village-with-more-booksellers-than-school-pupils

allthatsinteresting.com/uruena-spain

OP posts:
stargirl1701 · 03/05/2022 14:14

We had a Famous Five holiday in Dorset last summer.

ChessieFL · 03/05/2022 14:13

I’ve had two or three short breaks to Hay on Wye purely for book buying!

zafferana · 03/05/2022 09:12

My dream would be to spend the entire Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye going to as many events as possible! Sadly, I have a family who aren't interested and I can't just disappear to a literary festival for two weeks. One day ...

I often make small literary pilgrimages though, like visiting the home of a famous author when we're on holiday (Beatrix Potter, Wordsworth), or visiting the iconic bookshop in any city or town we visit and buying a book, preferably one about the place, as a memento.

I'll also go out of my way to visit a place that I've read about in a book e.g. after reading 'HHhH' by Laurent Binet I went to the basement of the church in Prague where the assassins of Heydrich had their last stand. DH had no interest in going, so I went on my own and it was so atmospheric, knowing what had happened there.

bibliomania · 03/05/2022 09:02

I've been to Hay-on-Wye and want to go to Sedbergh and Wigtown.

I've done a few literary pilgrimages - Haworth (for the Brontes), Chawton (Jane Austen), Rye (E F Benson - annoyingly, the house was closed), Newstead Abbey (Byron) and Corfe Castle/Isle of Purbeck (ahem, Enid Blyton). Love it.

veronicagoldberg · 03/05/2022 08:18

My parents took me to Hay-on-Wye when I was a child. I loved it! I will take DD when she's a bit older.

I once, aged 18, took a detour on a trip to Paris to visit Louveciennes, where Anaïs Nin lived with Hugo Guiler. A sort of literary pilgrimage!