5 Literary Walks Around the World

Nothing inspires you to read more than visiting the places where books are set, and vice versa. Whether it is Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea (Cuba) or Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence (France), books set the scene for travel, and the destinations themselves are often the protagonist. Join one of these literary tours, and you can discover how the classic landscapes helped shape the stories we know and love.

What: Travel-By-the-Book Literary Tours' eight-day "Literary Venice in the 19th Century" trip shares Venice through the eyes of some of history's finest authors (Lord Byron, Robert Browning, Henry James, Marcel Proust), all of whom were inspired and seduced by the city. Highlights include visiting a notable bookbinder, Palo D'Olbi; San Michele Cemetery (where Ezra Pound and other luminaries are buried); the Armenian Monastery (where Byron studied); and landmarks such as the Doge's Palace. In 2012, Literary Venice expanded its itinerary to include visiting great Venetian artists.

Where: Venice, Italy

When: Varies by year; Check calendar online for details

Who: The tour is for bibliophiles of all ages and is led by Gregory Dowling, a lecturer in American literature at the University of Venice.

More Info: tel. 917/880-6732; www.poshnosh.com

What: Five years ago, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code spawned dozens of Paris tours. Now its prequel, Angels and Demons, has given way to a tour of Rome. Follow the path of the Illuminati and visit Saint Peter's Square, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and the churches of Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria.

Where: The tour begins at Piazza del Popolo.

When: Tuedays, Fridays, and Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

More Info: www.angelsanddemons.it

What: Classical Pursuit's eight-day "Rough Love in a Rugged Land" tour takes you to southwest England, where Cornwall's dreamy coastline help brings Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights to life. Though the book was set on the Yorkshire moors, you can invoke the love story of Catherine and Heathcliff as you explore the fishing village of Looe and walk along the area's cliffs, patchwork fields, and remote beaches. The trip is bookended by stays in London's literary Bloomsbury district.

Where: Cornwall and London, England

When: Varies by year; Check calendar online for details

More Info: tel. 877/633-2555; www.classicalpursuits.com

What: The tour "Up and Down These Mean Streets" of San Francisco will take you to where Dashiell Hammett wrote his famous mystery and noir stories as well as most of the locales from his classic novel, The Maltese Falcon. If you can't make the scheduled tour, you can still find a book written by the guide at his website.

Where: The tour begins at the northwest corner of the San Francisco Public Library Main Library, near the intersection of Larkin and Fulton Streets.

When: Noon on some Sundays in May, September, and October, or by appointment. The tour lasts about four hours.

Who: Don Herron has been leading the tour for over thirty years. Look for the man in a snap-brim hat and trenchcoat.

More Info: www.donherron.com

What: If you can get there, why not take a self-guided tour of Hemingway's adopted country of Cuba? Having lived here for more than two decades, Hemingway was clearly inspired enough to pen his Pulitzer- and Nobel Prize-winning novel The Old Man and the Sea, plus Islands in the Stream and A Moveable Feast.

Where: Hotel Ambos Mundos in Havana Vieja (the fifth-floor corner room where Hemingway lived for seven years);La Floridita (the home of Hemingway's favorite daiquiris); La Bodeguita (where he drank their signature mojitos); Finca La Vigia (or Watchtower Farm; Hemingway's home-turned-museum, a few miles outside Havana in San Francisco de Paula).

When: Throughout the year

More Info: www.hotelambosmundos-cuba.com; www.floridita-cuba.com