Now’s the time to start thinking about your travel plans for 2020. And, whether you intend to backpack solo through Europe or fancy taking a trip to Asia in pursuit of tasty food and a life-changing spiritual experience, reading during your journey can help to enhance your trip.
CarRentals.com did a study regarding the quest for wanderlust and how literature plays a role in modern-day adventure. And, they found that while travel guides and even online publications like ours exist, when you’re on the ground, there are few better ways to immerse yourself in the local culture than by talking to locals about their national literature or diving straight into one of the country’s most famous books.
These are the seven books that you should read before travelling to Europe. All of them are written from a native’s perspective and will help you understand the culture from their eyes. Get ready for a whole new wave of literary travel.
For more literary travel recommendations, check out the full list and map of World Travel Through Literature.
Books To Read Before Travelling To Europe
How do these rankings work?
1. The New Spainards
Best to read before travelling to: Spain
What it’s about: “The restoration of democracy in 1977 heralded a period of intense change that continues today. Spain has become a land of extraordinary paradoxes in which traditional attitudes and contemporary preoccupations exist side by side.”
2. Night Train to Lisbon
Best to read before travelling to: Portugal
What it’s about: “A middle-aged Swiss teacher called Raimund Gregorius leaves his life behind to embark on an adventure in Lisbon. He makes this decision on a whim, after discovering a book by a Portuguese author that contemplates the decisions people make in life.”
3. Berlin Alexanderplatz
Best to read before travelling to: Germany
What it’s about: “This iconic novel narrates the story of ex-convict Franz Biberkopf who, after being released from prison in Berlin, swears that he will live an upstanding and decent life. He is soon, however, plunged into the capital’s louche but exhilarating underworld.”
4. The House on Prague Street
Best to read before travelling to: Czech Republic
What it’s about: “A half-Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia tells of her half-unwitting struggle to flood out horror and loss with the normally ebullient engagements of adolescence–friends, daydreams about the future, and a first love.”
5. The Elephant’s Journey
Best to read before travelling to: Austria
What it’s about: “The story of Solomon the Elephant — a wedding gift from King João III of Portugal to Archduke Maximilian in 1551. Solomon and his keeper make the long journey from Lisbon across Europe, trekking through Italy, across the Alps and then over the sea to reach imperial Vienna.”
6. Amsterdam: A History of the World’s Most Liberal City
Best to read before travelling to: Netherlands
What it’s about: “A history of the world’s most liberal city. An endlessly entertaining portrait of the city of Amsterdam and the ideas that make it unique.”
7. Greece: A Traveller’s Literary Companion
Best to read before travelling to: Greece
What it’s about: “An introduction to Greek culture, politics and history. The 24 stories and essays within are based on ancient myths and modern tales, of occupation and civil war but also simply of life.”
