Famous tourist destinations made more famous by literature

I’ve always felt that movies have a much larger impact on a location than a book ever does, attracting tourists by the tour busload to see for themselves the wonderful images portrayed in a particular film.

But books have their draw as well. Earlier today, for example, we shared with you the Tolkien Trail in Birmingham, England where fans of Lord of the Rings can explore the landscape which inspired Middle Earth.

Condé Nast Traveler seems to have books on their mind as well. The recent September issue highlights a list of places where literature has had a dramatic impact on tourism–the most famous example being the annual increase of 800,000 visitors to the Louvre since The Da Vinci Code was published.

Condé Nast Traveler dives into eight other examples–such as Kefalonia, Greece where Corelli’s Mandolin takes place–that makes me want to read and travel much, much more. I hope their list inspires you to do the same–although you can easily cheat since most of these books have also been made into movies.