I recently wrote a post about real-life literary destinations you can travel to – and I ended up writing so much that I had to break it down into multiple posts! This is the second post in that series, focusing on North and South America.
real-life literary destinations you can actually travel to
I’m an avid reader – no shame at all! – and when I read a captivating book I tend to find myself imagining the destination. For some places, its easier than others. London is by far easier to picture in my mind than say, Diagon Alley. My mind had to create Diagon Alley from JK Rowling’s words, not from any sort of preconceived notions. Films take the guesswork out for a lot of people but for us book lovers, they can hinder our own mental images of a place. Real-life literary destinations allow us to truly put ourselves in the place of the characters. (And, so we’re clear, yes, you can visit literary destinations at theme parks. But that is not the focus of this post!)
This post focuses on real-life literary destinations in North and South America, from Alaska and Canada to the wilds of Argentina.
Alaska and the Yukon
books: White Fang (Jack London), Julie of the Wolves (Jean Craighead George), Call of the Wild (Jack London), Into the Wild (Jon Krakauer), Alaska (James Michener), Raven Stole the Moon (Garth Stein), and The Yiddish Policemen’s Union (Michael Chabon)
Books set in the Arctic immediately conjure up grey towns, swirling snow, dark evergreen forests, and calm waters and inlets. However, summer in Alaska is another world – colourful houses, bright fishing boats against a cold dark blue sea, glittering glaciers on a backdrop of steel grey mountainsides, and breaching humpbacks. With such a stark contrast between summer and winter, its no surprise that books set in Alaska and the Yukon have dark themes. Loss, murder, abandonment, grief, and fear.
Luckily, none of the incredible properties within the Virtuoso network have anything to do with that. Spend a few days at an all-inclusive lodge to practice your fly-fishing skills, and then take a float plane to their sister property at the edge of the Alaskan Range, with spectacular views of Denali.
Alternately, cruise is an excellent way to see Alaska. Spot the ship in the above photo! You can combine a weeklong cruise from Sitka or Juneau with a week at one of the above properties or a ground trip with National Geographic Expeditions into Denali National Park. Some Virtuoso cruise suppliers include Lindblad Expeditions, Uncruise Adventures, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania, and Silversea.
The Pacific Northwest
books: Snow Falling on Cedars (David Guterson), Wild (Cheryl Strayed), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Ken Kesey), Firefly Lane (Kristen Hannah), Fifty Shades of Grey (EL James), and The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein)
From Seattle to Portland and all the space between, there’s plenty of PNW literature to go around. And it’s not just the cities as stars. The landscape here – the wild islands north of Seattle and into British Columbia, the barren western plateaus of western Washington – make for dramatic settings.
Wild showed us an epic trail stretching from the Mexican border to the Bridge of the Gods in Cascade Locks. It also followed the author as she recovered, piece by piece, herself. Firefly Lane follows two women through several decades as they navigate relationships and heartbreak. The Art of Racing in the Rain healed us just as Enzo helps heal his humans (and made us bawl). And Fifty Shades of Grey showed us that there are some.. unique.. people out there. (And we ALL wondered where our own personal single billionaire was. No? Just me? Okay.)
If you want to experience the glitz and glamour of the city the same way that Ana and Christian do, head for the Fairmont Olympic, which features in the movie. Its sister property in Vancouver was the movie stand-in for The Heathman (located, in real-life, in Portland). The Nines, a Luxury Collection hotel in Portland, is a great base to explore this very walkable city.
West of the Mississippi
books: Little House on the Prairie and series (Laura Ingalls Wilder), Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (Dee Brown), Caddie Woodlawn (Carol Ryrie Brink), My Antonia (Willa Cather), Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain), and True Grit (Charles Portis)
Where to begin with the American West and Midwest?! Most of the great books set here follow the westward expansion, the railroad revolution, the Trail of Tears, and so much more. They are tales of promise, adventure, and uncertainty. These stories and their settings take us across uncharted lands full of danger and awe.
I learned a lot from protagonists like Laura Ingalls, Tom Sawyer, and Caddie Woodlawn, and envied them at times for their carefree spirits. If you want to follow in the footsteps of the early pioneers, there is no better Virtuoso supplier than Revealed America, who curates private tours of the American West. And to fully appreciate the landscape of the American West, you must stay at Amangiri and Amangani. Aman resorts are carefully designed within their landscapes and these two are no exception. They are truly magnificent!
Chicago, Illinois
books: The House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros), The Jungle (Upton Sinclair), The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger), The Devil in the White City (Erik Larson), Divergent (Veronica Roth), and Sharp Objects (Gillian Flynn)
Just the word Chicago has me thinking about the 1920s, speakeasies, and gritty underworld activities. It helps that Devil in the White City was based on a true story of a serial murderer during the 1893 World’s Expo. And who can forget Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle? This expose revealed the shockingly dirty and unsafe conditions in the city’s meatpacking districts. Sharp Objects, by acclaimed author Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl), follows the journalistic protagonist as she leaves her new hometown of Chicago to cover a murder in her hometown. Divergent, a post-apocalyptic young adult series, gives us a glimpse of what a dark future might be.
Chicago, in real life, is far from dark and gritty – as The Time Traveler’s Wife shows us. This bubbly book follows Claire and Henry as they navigate a unique genetic disorder causing Henry to disappear and reappear at sometimes rather inconvenient times.
There are eight Virtuoso Chicago hotels, all in central locations perfect for visitors to the city. Whether your dream is shopping on the Mag Mile or sailing across Lake Michigan, you can find it in this popular, vibrant city. If you’re a foodie, then you’re in for a treat. Chicago has incredible restaurants in every neighbourhood.
Long Island, New York
books: The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald), Percy Jackson series (Rick Riordan)
I’m cheating a bit with these real-life literary destinations you can travel to. There are few classic books set in the Hamptons and Long Island, although there’s a lot of beachy reads. However, The Great Gatsby is such a classic I can’t let it go. While it was set in fictional West Egg, the inspiration is Great Neck. For a modern take on Gatsby, head to Bridgehampton and the Virtuoso property Topping Rose House.
New England
books: Little Women (Louisa May Alcott), The Maine Woods (Thoreau), The Perfect Storm (Sebastien Junger), Cider House Rules (John Irving), The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne), All Souls Trilogy (Deborah Harkness), and The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
New England stretches across over 70,000 square miles. It goes from Connecticut and Rhode Island to Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. North American history here dates back thousands of years and our modern history has roots here too. New England has always had a sense of calm associated with it. People flock to the shores of Cape Cod, Rhode Island, and Maine every summer – some for generations. The fall foliage festivals in the autumn draw thousands. And some of the most prestigious universities are located in the heart of New England. It’s no wonder that there are amazing real-life literary destinations here!
With all of this great history comes great literature. American classic Little Women tugged at the heartstrings of every reader. Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter condemned a woman who follows her own heart.
Both the All Souls Trilogy and The Secret History expose mysterious rituals, while Thoreau extolled the virtues of the wilderness. The Perfect Storm, contrastingly, revealed a dangerous villain in Mother Nature.
There are no shortage of great properties to stay at if New England has your choice real-life literary destinations. Cliff House Maine, on the cliffs at Cape Neddick, is a year-round resort destination for the whole family. Canyon Ranch, in Lenox, Massachusetts, is an outpost of the famous Arizonian spa. Both properties are an hour from Boston, which has six Virtuoso hotels. Newport, Rhode Island is known for the rich summer “cottages” of the fabulously wealthy at the turn of the century. It alone has three beautiful Virtuoso properties.
Various South America
books: Life and Death in the Andes (Kim MacQuarrie), One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez), Bel Canto (Ann Patchett), The Mapmaker’s Wife (Robert Whitaker), and The Motorcycle Diaries (Ernesto Che Guevara), and Daughter of Fortune (Isabel Allende)
A lot of the great South American novels take places across various countries. Che Guevara’s Motorcycle Diaries is a great example. His epic journey takes the future Marxist revolutionary from Buenos Aires to Peru. Che and his travel buddy travel across the legendary landscape of the Amazon and the Andes. Daughter of Fortune takes place mainly in Gold Rush-era San Francisco, but it begins in Chile. The story follows Eliza, who lives with her strict foster parents, as she runs away in search of her lover. Bel Canto is set in an unspecified South American country. It’s based, however, on the Peruvian Japanese embassy hostage crisis of the mid 1990s.
There are plenty of jaw-dropping real-life literary destinations in South America. Peru, for example, is popular with outdoor adventurists. To follow in their footsteps, head to the epic Inca Trail or the outstanding Sacred Valley. It’s easy to combine destinations in South America too. Peru and Chile, Brazil and Argentina, Ecuador and Peru. Virtuoso supplier explora has four Virtuoso properties in remote landscapes of Peru and Chile. They also have three others, in Bolivia and Argentina.
Cuba
books: The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway), Last Dance in Havana (Rosanna Ley), Mrs Hemingway (Naomi Wood), and Our Man in Havana (Graham Greene)
Cuba remains mysterious for many people, and with good reason. It’s been inaccessible to Americans for a long time. As a result, a lot of people have this hazy image of the island nation. However, it’s a very popular destination for almost every other Western country. With the lifting of some of the rules and regulations, Americans are able to travel there.
Havana sparks interest with a lot of people, thanks to its vibrant culture and rich musical heritage. Its African roots inspire plenty of artists and writers, making its cities unique real-life literary destinations. Last Dance in Havana touches on the famous dance halls and Afro-Indie music. Mrs Hemingway follows the four different wives of Hemingway and their experiences with him in Cuba. And, of course, there’s a lot of American history intertwined with Cuba. Our Man in Havana is a black comedy set in Havana before the Cuban Missile Crisis. Who knew a vacuum parts repairman could be so delightfully crooked?
Through a variety of Virtuoso cruise lines, you can visit colourful Cuba. The trips fall under one of the twelve categories, and it has to be legit. There are also a series of Virtuoso partner-led tours that take small groups across this fascinating country.
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Next time I’ll look at fictional real-life destinations elsewhere in the world! Did you miss the last post on literary destinations you can travel to in real life in Europe and the UK? Read it now! And if you’re keen to grab your suitcase and head to your favourite real-life literary destinations, reach out to arrange a complimentary consultation. Not quite ready to pack your books and bags? Pin this >>> for future reference!
