🗺️ In the footsteps of heroes: 6 literary routes through world cities

There are books that make you want to pack a suitcase. You close the novel, and the streets, smells, and routes of the characters stay before your eyes. We've gathered six books whose cities and countries you can walk through on foot. This isn't a ranking or a competition, but a reason to see a familiar place through the author's eyes. Each spot is easy to fit into an ordinary trip: Paris, London, Italy with India and Ubud, Mumbai, New York, and Agloe in New York State. Start with one book and one trip.

💡 In short:

Six books lead to Paris, London, Italy with India and Ubud, Mumbai, New York, and Agloe.
Take one book on your trip and look for familiar addresses once you're there.

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1. "Arch of Triumph": Remarque's Paris

Remarque's Paris looks different from the postcard city. It's dim streets, cheap hotels, and the smell of calvados in a bar. The novel was written after the war, but the action unfolds on the eve of World War II. The characters love each other beneath the arches of the Arc de Triomphe, drink apple brandy, and hide from the past.

To feel this Paris, you don't need a guide. Turn off the Champs-Élysées onto the first side street, find a small café, and order a calvados at the counter. Start at Place Charles de Gaulle, where the arch stands, and finish on the banks of the Seine. From there, the city leads you on its own.

There's a place in Paris where literature stops being an abstraction. Shakespeare and Company bookstore on the left bank of the Seine opened in 1951 (as of 09/2026, Shakespeare and Company website). Writers stayed and worked here, and today you can buy a book and sit with it by the window.

Who it's for: for those who read on the road and love slow walks.
The catch: the novel has many bars and few bright scenes, so it won't work for light reading.

Triumphal arch in overcast weather, front view

2. "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes": London

A Holmes fan's trip to Britain rarely skips Baker Street. Though 221B didn't exist when Conan Doyle's stories were being published: the number appeared on London's map later. Today, however, the museum of the detective and Dr. Watson operates at this address, where you'll see a recreated sitting room, a study with flasks, and a pipe by the fireplace (as of 09/2026, official website).

The museum is open daily from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM, and an adult ticket costs about £19 (as of 09/2026, official ticket sales). Come at opening time if you want to view the rooms without rushing.

To stay near Baker Street, check out hotels in London on Trip.com.

Location: Marylebone district, near Baker Street tube station.
The catch: the museum is cramped inside, and in summer a line forms at the entrance.

Tourists at the entrance to the Sherlock Holmes Museum

3. "Eat, Pray, Love": Italy, India, and Bali

Elizabeth Gilbert's book is based on a true story and takes the reader through three countries. First stop: Italy. Here the heroine eats, learns the language, and gains a couple of extra pounds. Second country: India, where she goes to heal her soul. At the ashram, strict rules and early wake-ups for meditation await her.

The final point of the route: the island of Bali, where the heroine finds love. The Balinese part unfolds in Ubud, the island's cultural center amid rice terraces and jungle. Today Ubud is a town of galleries, yoga studios, and vegetarian cafés. A few days is enough to walk through it on foot.

For a short trip, choose one country. Look for hotels in Ubud on Trip.com.

Who it's for: for those who want to combine food, practice, and the ocean in one journey.

4. Shantaram: the contrasts of Mumbai

Gregory David Roberts described a Mumbai where luxury palaces stand next to densely populated neighborhoods. His hero, an escaped convict, gets into trouble, finds friends, and a doomed love. One of the book's key locations: Leopold Cafe on Colaba Causeway, an old Iranian bar where travelers from all over the world stop in (as of Dishoom Journal, 09/2026).

A convenient way to start your walk through the city is from Colaba: Marine Drive and the train station are nearby. For accommodation in this area, look at hotels in Mumbai on Trip.com.

The catch: the city's contrasts are stark, and you need to be prepared for the noise and poverty of the neighboring districts.

Sign and entrance of Leopold Cafe in Mumbai

5. Sex and the city: New York

The world of Candace Bushnell's heroines is made up of outfits, designer bags, and breakfasts with friends. Their New York is Manhattan, taxis, and an endless search for love. Fans of the book head to Carrie Bradshaw's apartment: the early seasons were filmed at 64 Perry Street in Greenwich Village (as of StreetEasy, 09/2026).

From there, the route takes you through the West Village: narrow streets, brownstones, and coffee shops. It's a pleasant area to walk around, and in the evening you can head down to the Hudson River waterfront.

If you want to stay in the middle of it all, check out hotels in New York on Trip.com.

The catch: the building is residential, you can't go inside, and tourists are constantly taking photos on the front steps.

Glass high-rises on Perry Street amid greenery

6. Paper Towns: where made-up towns live

John Green's book is about towns that are printed on maps but don't exist in reality. Cartographers invent them as a trap against copying. The most famous such town: Agloe in New York State. The General Drafting company put it on maps as a fictitious marker, and later a store appeared nearby that was named Agloe General Store (as of the Colchester Historical Society, 09/2026).

Aerial view of countryside with roads, fields, and forest

In the book, teenagers set out to find such a town and find more than they expected. You can retrace the route along the rural roads of New York State, but the actual town is no longer there.

The catch: Agloe can no longer be found on maps, and the place looks like a remote rural road with no infrastructure.

⁉️🤔 Frequently asked questions

How much does a ticket to the Sherlock Holmes Museum cost?

An adult ticket costs about £19, children under six get in free (as of 09/2026, tickets on the museum website). The museum is open daily from 9:30 to 18:00. On weekends, come at opening time; by midday a line forms at the entrance.

Where is Carrie Bradshaw's house in New York?

In the series, Carrie lives on the Upper East Side, but the exterior scenes of her house were filmed in Greenwich Village, at 64 Perry Street (according to the StreetEasy blog about Carrie's house, 09/2026). Later the crew moved to the neighboring house at 66 Perry Street. The house is residential, tourists are not allowed inside, but the stoop has long become a photo spot.

Which city should you visit for the book "Eat, Pray, Love"?

The route passes through three countries: Italy, India, and Indonesia. The Italian part is Rome, the Indian part is tied to an ashram, and the Balinese part unfolds in Ubud. For a short trip, one stop is enough: Ubud has lodging, cafes, and yoga studios within walking distance.

Does the town of Agloe from "Paper Towns" exist?

No, Agloe in New York State was invented by the General Drafting company as a trap against map copying (according to Colchester County historians, 09/2026). Later, the Agloe General Store opened nearby, and for a time the place became real. Today it's a remote road with no infrastructure.

Does Leopold Cafe in Mumbai actually exist?

Yes, Leopold Cafe operates on Colaba Causeway in Mumbai and is mentioned in the novel "Shantaram" (according to Dishoom magazine, 09/2026). It's an old Iranian bar that has long become a magnet for travelers. The place is popular, so it's better to grab a table early in the evening.

In short: what's worth booking

The choice depends on which country your book promises. If you want embankments and bars: pick Paris and stroll along the Left Bank. If you're drawn to detective stories: go to London and Baker Street. If you want food and practice in one trip: choose Italy, India, or Ubud. If you want contrasts and street life: look at Mumbai. If big-city energy matters: New York will suit you. If you're drawn to searching on maps: look for Agloe on the rural roads of New York State.

Read one book before the trip, and save the second for the return journey. Start with lodging and find hotels in Paris on Trip.com.

6 Books that turn reading into a route