Top Ten Tuesday – Places Books Have Made Me Want To Visit

By Rachel

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Places Books Have Made Me Want To Visit

Places books have made me want to visit… Aside from a few obvious childhood favourite bookish settings, I don’t think I’ve ever really given this one much consideration… But there’s no time like the present! I don’t think I’ll be including many dystopians this week, while they make for excellent reading, there’s not many of them I’d like to live in personally!

1. Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, The Burrow, Diagon Alley and Godric’s Hollow from Harry Potter – the Queen of storytelling, Ms J K Rowling, truly created a masterpiece with this series. While I usually leave my Harry Potter reference until last, I couldn’t resist listing some of my favourite places from this series first. With any luck, I’ll get to go to the Harry Potter Studios in London someday, but really, I’d love to get lost and spend forever in this wonderful world.

Hogwarts Gif

2. Alicante and Idris from The Mortal Instruments – Another fantasy world that I love, and another group of friends I’d love to know. The city of Idris sounds mysterious, beautiful and unique, and it would definitely be on my travel bucket-list. Check out my series overview for the Mortal Instruments.

3. “Here” from A Place Called Here – I didn’t love this book, but something about “Here” caught my attention. A place where lost things, and people, go. It’s whimsical, it’s dreamlike, and it has heart. Cecelia Ahern seems to dip into magical realism, and I don’t usually enjoy these stories as much as I enjoy her contemporaries (P.S I Love You and Love, Rosie are still my favourites, though Love, Rosie was called Where Rainbows End when I read it… changing the names of books, why?!).

4. 1920’s London from The House of Eliott – The glamour, the political movements, the era, the setting. This book pulled me in much more than I thought it would, and I was hopelessly hooked. A really enjoyable historical fiction read, especially for those who normally shy away when the words “historical” and “fiction” are placed together. My review of The House of Eliott.

5. 1500’s England from The White Queen – I’m taking a serious step back in time with this one, and while I’m sure the reality of 1400’s England is no where near as comfortable and cosy looking as the TV Show adaptation made out, I’ve become slightly obsessed with the era of The War of the Roses, and subsequently The Tudors. The royal court, the ladies in waiting, the Knights and Lords and revelry!

the white queen

6. Manhattan/San Francisco from The Princess Diaries –  Depending on whether you’re following the book location, or the movie version, but either way I’d like to at least be friends with Mia, if not be her 😉

the princess diaries gif

7. Malory Towers from Malory Towers – I’m surprised how many “older” locations are making it into my list today, who would have thought it?! I was swept away by this old-school world when I was a kid, and kind of longed for the simplistic but amazing experiences these characters had.

8. The Chocolate Factory from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Who wouldn’t want to go here? But the original version obviously, not the ridiculous new one. Even if I love Johnny Depp, you just can’t beat the original!

Willy Wonka Song gif

9. Neverland from Peter Pan – I’m cheating with this one, as I’ve never read the book, so I’m basing this choice on the depiction of Neverland from the Disney cartoon and the movie, Hook.

10. Cherry Tree Lane from Mary Poppins – But only while Mary Poppins is there to go on adventures with her, Bert and the dancing penguins, of course.

Mary Poppins Gif

Which locations and places have made your list today? My list is rather fantastical and make-believe! Link me up or let me know in the comments! Happy reading, Book Geeks!

About Rachel

Avid reader & #bookblogger. Lover of all things business. A fan of drinks & dancing. Ever optimistic. Feminist.

37 Responses

  1. barefootmedstudent

    You’re the second person I see who’s got Malory Towers on their list and I still can’t believe that I didn’t think of it! I always dreamed of attending a school like that, heh.
    Hogwarts, we of course have in common. I’m guessing that will be the most popular choice all over today!
    And the Chocolate Factory! Genius! I would roll out of there so fat, but it would be wonderful.

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    1. Rachel

      I scoffed at those books when I was first given them, and then fell in love with the story. There were some “issues” dealt with in those books too that I was pleasantly surprised by, considering when they were written you’d have thought bullying and whatnot might not have been dealt with. I don’t think I ever finished the whole series though. *Sigh* Hogwarts, if only. Wonka would make calorie-free goodies, we’d be fine 😉 R x

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  2. joyousreads

    I’ve recently learned that Alicante is somewhere in Europe. But of course you’ll have to use one of those gateways (can’t remember what they’re called) instead of a plane to get there. I’d love to visit that place, too. 🙂

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    1. Rachel

      Yea there’s an Alicante in Spain or Portugal somewhere I think, it’s a warm place anyways that’s all I know. I struggled not to think of it when I was reading the books! Were they just portals? The gateway things? And then the Gards (guards?) were the towers protecting the city?? R x

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  4. bellarah

    I wanted to be Mia so much when I was younger! I think everyone who read the books is still waiting for their royal grandma to appear.
    I was watching a doco tonight about life in Elizabethan England and it reminded me how glad I am to have a bath more than twice a year 😉

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    1. Rachel

      Haha – yea I was saying to my dad the other night (we’re boring and watch docs together!) that when we see The White Queen and The Tudors, it all looks so clean and cosy, but reality would have been boggin’! I guess I want the BBC version of the 1500’s!! R x

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      1. bellarah

        Oh god yeah, it was foul! No concept of personal hygiene or environmental cleanliness whatsoever! The BBC never features people peeing in the corner during feasts =P

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  5. Laura

    HOGWARTS. Seriously, a part of me is going to every blog just to see how many times Hogwarts makes the list. Everything Harry Potter is a place I want to visit, even the scary bits.

    I never would’ve thought of Cherry Tree Lane. That would be SO MUCH FUN.

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    1. Rachel

      I think EVERYONE will have something related to HP today surely? I’m surprised how much of my list is entirely made up, guess I’m not much of a wanderlust person… I struggled towards the end and ended up going completely fantastical! Lol R x

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    1. Rachel

      I think the Burrow doesn’t get enough credit. Let’s be real, I’ve dreamed of my acceptance letter to Hogwarts since I was 8 or 9, not going to stop now!! Lol R x

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      1. shereadssheblogs

        I watched it a thousand times as child. I recently watched the P.L. Travers movie… Saving Mr. Banks. it was interesting but not at all what I was expecting. Have you seen it?

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      2. Rachel

        No not yet, but I’d heard good things about it and would like to. Watching MP as an adult there was so much I picked up on, the suffragette movement for a start went right over my head as a kid!!

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      3. shereadssheblogs

        Yes, I often find this to be the case when I re-visit a childhood favorite. You should definitely watch Saving Mr. Banks if you’re interested in the historical references!

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    1. Rachel

      I didn’t see it at the cinema, I waited for it to come out. I’m a Depp fan and was curious to see what they’d do with it. It was OK, but you just can’t beat the original! R x

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  10. Girl in the Pages

    I think both the movie and the book version of The Princess Diaries made a great use out of the setting, and were both perfect for the sort of “urban princess story” feel. I agree, I would love to be best friends with Mia!
    My TTT

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  15. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    How is it I look at people’s post for this week and I have not thought of some of these things? I mean Willy Wonka’s Chocolate factory is such a good choice. I love your choice of here as well, I actually quite enjoyed A Place Called Here. I read it when I went to see my brother graduate uni and the drive to Wales was long, that book filled the days travel perfectly and Ahern’s books are always such nice reads.

    Great picks, you picked such obvious ones that I’m amazed more people haven’t thought of them x

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    1. Rachel

      Ahern’s books are definitely pleasant reads, but her magical realism stuff doesn’t hit me the same way her contemporaries do for some reason. If You Could See Me Now was good, as was A Place Called Here, but The Gift didn’t blow me away. Must get my hands on some of her recent ones…

      Thanks, Becky! I thought I picked some way-out-there ones seeing as hardly any of mine are real! Lol R x

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