Yes, you can travel through reading. Sometimes, it’s fun to let reading inspire your travels. Around the world, there’s an array of museums dedicated to expanding authors’ worlds through real-world artifacts, contextual deep dives, and a pure dose of imagination. Whether you’re hoping to learn a bit more about your favorite piece of literature or simply looking to explore a location through a fresh set of eyes, these book-centric institutions are worth a visit.
American Writers Museum
As the name implies, Chicago’s American Writers Museum explores and celebrates the writers who have shaped America’s legacy. Rather than simply present the names that might have made up your high school reading list, they have a list of honorees that grows and changes over time, allowing them to better address current social concerns.
You don’t need to do the reading before visiting. From the cascade of literary quotations across the wall to interactive screens introducing each writer’s life and history, this is a low-pressure introduction to themes and history that you might have otherwise missed.
Kadokawa Culture Museum
The Kadokawa Culture Museum in Tokorozawa, Japan, is a worthwhile stop for anyone obsessed with manga or those looking for an entry point into the Japanese cartoon-style storytelling. Step inside the dizzying, 26-foot-tall library, housing 50,000 titles, a canvas that also doubles as surface for projection mapping during the institution’s regular bookshelf theater sessions.
The museum’s otherworldly architecture, designed by Kengo Kuma (who also had a hand in the 2020 Olympics National Stadium), offers a double dose of surrealism: 20,000 granite stones form an asymmetrical shape that evokes a slice of fantasy in the real world.
Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum
Since the first volume was published in 1932, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s eight autobiographical Little House on the Prairie books have been instrumental to understanding pioneer-era America. Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home & Museum in Mansfield, Missouri, offers a peek into the physical space inhabited by the author on Rocky Ridge Farm, where she lived with her husband, Almanzo Wilder, and daughter Rose.
Among other treasures is Wilder’s writing desk and study, where many of the books found their final forms. The addition of the Wilder Family Walking Trail in 2018 takes the immersive experience to the next level, as fans can walk through the same wilderness that captured the heart of the writer, who has been criticized for depictions of Native American and Black peoples in the series.
Sherlock Holmes Museum
Visit the real-life 221B Baker Street and step back in time at the Sherlock Holmes Museum in London. Ever wondered what Sherlock’s iconic hat looked like? Or how he set up his study to properly study suspects? Those mysteries are solved here.
Dedicated to the original Arthur Conan Doyle version, the Victorian-era townhouse is stuffed with period-appropriate ephemera, allowing visitors to inhabit his most famous stories. Brace yourself for the third floor, where you’re joined by wax figures acting out some of the series’ most shocking scenes.
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar has become an iconic childhood staple. It makes sense that the children’s book author and illustrator would lend his name to The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts, celebrating the same vibrant child-friendly imagery that made his work so popular.
Among the works represented are images from Chris Van Allsburg, Maurice Sendak, and William Steig. While the goal might be to inspire a love of reading in children, the treasure trove of brightly colored images and simple, positive messages are likely to resonate with anyone of any age.
The Writers’ Museum
The Writers’ Museum is dedicated to three titans of Scottish literature: Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Peep at personal items, which include Burns’ writing desk, Scott’s printing press, and Stevenson’s riding boots.
You can also breathe in the intoxicating smell of historical first-edition books. After experiencing the literary thrill, stay for the gorgeous architecture of Lady Stair’s House, which is likely to feed all your castle fantasies while visiting Edinburgh, Scotland.
Kafka Museum
Visiting the Kafka Museum in Prague isn’t so much about having the opportunity to learn more about iconic 20th century author Franz Kafka as it is about inhabiting his dark, paradoxical stories. Yes, there are first editions, photographs, and newspaper clippings. However, there are more surreal elements at work.
Walk down rows of dark file cabinets (a nod to The Trial), and interact with an imagination-twisted map of city topography as seen through his popular works. You may not turn into a bug, but your thinking might undergo a metamorphosis.
Museum of Writing Instruments
Where would books be without writers and their pens? The Museum of Writing Instruments in Winneconne, Wisconsin, celebrates this vital link in the literary world with more than 70,000 unique implements.
Gawk at everything from antique inkwells to an 8-foot-long pencil while answering burning questions like “What exactly does No. 2 mean?” The museum is only open by appointment for a donation, so keep in mind that the pen is mightier than the sword and give generously.
Museum of Literature Ireland
Museum of Literature Ireland is mostly an homage to Irish author James Joyce. The museum’s abbreviated name, MoLI, is a tip of the hat to Molly Bloom, one of Joyce’s most iconic characters. While it’s a treasure trove for Joyce fans — the first copy of Ulysses is on display — it’s also a repository for all things Irish literature, from classic authors like Oscar Wilde and to newer names.
Not only does the historic Georgian Newman House host lectures and multimedia programs, but there’s also a secret garden out back for discussing what you’ve just learned.
The Museum of Innocence
Based on the book of the same name by author Orhan Pamuk, The Museum of Innocence in Istanbul, Turkey, traces a decade-long mostly platonic relationship between a wealthy man and the object of his affection, a young woman married to another man.
The yearning-riddled relationship between Kemal and Füsun is explored through physical objects like used cigarette butts, clothes, and even a major character’s death bed. It’s tied together with a spoken-word guide that reads like it’s straight from a diary. The collection is so convincing that you might temporarily forget it’s all a work of fiction.
Laura Studarus is a Los Angeles-based travel writer who has contributed to Fast Company, BBC Travel, and Thrillist.
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