Forget the solo beach paperback: travellers are now joining structured reading retreats that mix books, place and community.

At I'Brindellone, a trattoria in Florence, a dozen men and women sit around a long table, wine glasses in hand, deep in discussion about a novel: Still Life, a novel by Sarah Winman. On the walls hang photographs of the city's 1966 flood when the River Arno burst its banks, killing 35 people and destroying valuable works of art. The group point at the photos excitedly; Winman once dined here, saw the same images and planted the seed of her story.

Right now, food is an afterthought; this literary circle of former strangers is on a Books in Places reading retreat – part of an evolving wave of holidays that put reading, not sunbathing or sightseeing, centre stage. No longer content with paperbacks by the pool, travellers are signing up for structured literary holidays that combine the ritual of reading with the pleasure of place. The result is an unusual hybrid: part vacation, part book club, part cultural immersion.

"I was first drawn to Books in Places by a Facebook ad," recalls Lyn Margerison, one of the participants. "It showed the front cover of one of my very favourite books arranged on a table with a glass of wine, set against a piazza in Florence. The caption asked: 'Do you enjoy reading books in the places in which they are set?' My antennae were immediately tweaked."

Margerison has since travelled from Dorset to Florence, Budapest and beyond on reading retreats. "For me, these holidays are the perfect combination of books and travel," she explains. "I've always liked to read a book set in the place where I am holidaying, but a reading holiday offered a way to do that while meeting like-minded people. I always leave with a renewed enthusiasm for both reading and travelling – plus, usually, a much longer to-be-read list."

Books in Places was started by Paul Wright in 2023, initially as a means of getting away with members of his UK-based book group. He now offers weekend trips in the UK and longer retreats to Portugal, Crete and Egypt, Italy and more, all centred on reading in situ.

Five more literary locations for booklovers

Paju Book City & Forest of Wisdom, South Korea – A unique cultural complex housing hundreds of publishers, book cafés and art spaces. The centrepiece, the Forest of Wisdom, is a vast library with floor-to-ceiling shelves of donated books.

Reykjavík, Iceland – A Unesco City of Literature with a vibrant literary year-round scene, hosting the biannual Reykjavík International Literary Festival.

Buenos Aires, Argentina – Explore El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a grand bookstore housed in a former theatre.

Tokyo, Japan – Sleep among the shelves at Book and Bed, a hostel blended with a bookshop.

Dublin, Ireland – Each June, the

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