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Get inspired with my top ten favorite travel books set in Europe
The Transcript
If you’ve been following me for any amount of time, you know I love books and I love travel. So that means travel books and memoirs are some of my favorite books to read, as I’m constantly getting inspiration and travel ideas from them.
Today I want to share with you some of my favorite travel books set in Europe.
Just a note before we start: Most of the books on this list are written by expats living in Europe, as I find I can really relate to their perspectives. I find a lot of comfort in sharing an experience with someone who is also seeing Europe both from an outsider’s perspective and as a place to make their own home.
So let’s dive into this list:
01. Travels Through the French Riviera by Virginia Johnson
Travel Destination: French Riviera, France
This book is both an artist’s sketchbook and a travel guide, as the author has beautiful illustrations throughout this book. Travels Through the French Riviera covers her time spent in the South of France. It’s filled with wonderful recommendations for restaurants, family-owned cafés, antique markets, lesser-known museums, and other suggestions that only the locals may know about.
I absolutely love this book. On my next trip to the Riviera, I plan to carry it with me, because there are so many little gems in here that I would like to check out.
It’s a must-read if you’re planning a trip to the South of France or if you just need a good armchair travel read to escape into.
Buy this book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Waterstones
02. Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik
Travel Destination: Paris, France
Adam Gopnik is a writer for The New Yorker, so this is obviously a beautifully-written book. He’s an American who ventures with his wife and young child to live in Paris for a few years. Following in the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, he goes to Paris for inspiration and to grow as a writer.
He also has an interesting perspective on what it’s like to raise a child in Paris and the everyday struggles of life abroad and building a home there.
It’s a beautiful portrait of Paris—so if you’re a Francophile, this is a must-read. Go pick it up if you love Paris as much as I do.
Buy this book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Waterstones
03. At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenreider
Travel Destination: Around the world
To be honest with you, I bought this book just because of the title. The word “home” has always been a challenge for me, as I’ve lived in a lot of different places. I bought this book because I was curious to hear another person’s perspective on what it means to not only feel at home in your physical house, but to feel at home wherever you are in the world.
And this did not disappoint. Tsh, her husband, and their three kids travel the world for an entire year. It’s a wonderful perspective on not only what it means to give up your comfort zone for a year, but also what that means for kids and how beneficial it can be for them.
I’m not a mother yet, but I look forward to traveling with my children someday. And this book gives a new perspective on traveling with kids and how beneficial it can be. If you’re a parent who loves to travel, this is certainly one to read.
Buy this book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Waterstones
04. When in French by Lauren Collins
Travel Destination: France and Switzerland
Lauren Collins is also a writer for The New Yorker, so this is another eloquently and honestly written book—I love this book.
Lauren Collins is an American who marries a Frenchman, and this book is her memoir of learning French and also learning a whole new aspect of her husband.
I married a German, so for me, this book was an immediate must-read, because she has a wonderful perspective on both the joy and beauty of a cross-cultural marriage, but also the struggle—the struggles of not being able to understand your in-laws and not speaking the same language as the family you just married into.
She also discusses how learning the language of your spouse enables you to learn a whole new side of them. I found this book to be so helpful and encouraging.
The book also covers their life in France and Switzerland, so it’s a good read if you enjoy those cultures. And, of course, this is also a wonderful read for anyone learning another language, as it gives a fresh perspective on the language-learning process.
Buy this book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Waterstones
05. Paris in Winter by David Coggins
Travel Destination: Paris, France
This is another illustrated memoir—and it is beautiful! His artistic style reminds me of the work of Henri Matisse or the Fauvist and Post-Impressionist art movements. The illustrations are full of color and give such a fresh perspective of the city of Paris.
Paris in Winter is a memoir about David Coggins’ family travels to Paris every year for New Years. And because it’s set in winter, it gives a bit of a different perspective of Paris than you might normally see. I love that he shares all the little traditions and rituals they have when they’re in Paris—the restaurants they always visit, the people they see, and the streets and parks they roam through. It’s a lovely portrait of the city at a time when it’s quiet and tourism is down.
It’s a wonderful book for any lover of Paris and lover of art.
Buy this book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Waterstones
06. Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes
Travel Destination: Tuscany, Italy
Written by the same author as Under the Tuscan Sun (you’ve probably seen that film with Diane Lane), Bella Tuscany continues the story and Frances Mayes shares how she develops her home in Tuscany.
She has a whole section about how she plans out her garden and decides what to plant where—which I really enjoyed as someone who loves gardening. She also shares a lot of fresh Italian recipes in here all with ingredients from her own garden.
It’s a beautiful book if you love Tuscany and you love to cook fresh, Italian-inspired dishes.
Buy this book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Waterstones
07. My Life in France by Julia Child
Travel Destination: Paris and Provence, France
I just think Julia Child is a darling human being, so I loved this book. And it’s filled with beautiful photographs that her husband, Paul Child, took throughout their time in France.
This is Julia’s memoir of what life was like in France, her language-learning process, her time at Le Cordon Bleu, her transition into a career in cooking, and her time hosting a television series.
There’s so much inspiration in here, and I think she’s so brave to have taken on a new venture. Truthfully, she was just making the best of her situation because her husband just got moved around for his job. So she made the best of it and truly made a name for herself.
I simply loved this book—it’s light, short, enjoyable, and it’s Julia Child, so what else is there?
Buy this book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Waterstones
08. Map of Another Town by M.F.K. Fisher
Travel Destination: Aix-en-Provence, France
This beautiful addition is put out by Daunt Books, which is a bookstore with several locations in London that also has a small publishing house. And this is one of the beautiful books that they’ve recently published.
This one is written by M.F.K. Fisher, who was an American food writer and who was also friends with Julia Child. This is her memoir of her time living in Aix-en-Provence in the South of France. When she lives in a new city, she takes the time to create her own “map” of it in her mind. She’ll add her favorite places, favorite cafés, the places she frequents, and the version of the city she sees in her own mind.
I think it’s a brilliant way of making a city truly yours—especially a foreign city. In the future, I’ll definitely be making “maps” of my own favorite cities throughout Europe.
This is a lovely read if you love the South of France. It’s also a must-read if you love cuisine, because she has really interesting essays about the food experience in Aix.
Buy this book: Amazon | Daunt Books
09. The London Scene by Virginia Woolf
Travel Destination: London, England
This little book was also published by Daunt Books, and I picked it up when I was in London recently. It’s a collection of Virginia Woolf’s essays about her life in London, her experience with the Bloomsbury Group, and her love for the city. I loved reading her perspective of the city she loved so dearly. And as Virginia Woolf is one of my favorite writers, this was a must-buy when I saw it at Daunt Books.
It’s a quick read, and I think this is the only one on this list that was written by a local and a native, so it’s a lovely perspective. It’s a nice, small copy to throw in your bag on a trip to London.
Buy this book: Amazon | Daunt Books
10. 36 Hours: 125 Weekends in Europe by The New York Times
Travel Destination: All over Europe
Last but not least, of course, is this big ol’ book, 36 Hours: 125 Weekends in Europe. This one is clearly not a memoir, and I think it’s the only official travel guidebook I own. But this one is fantastic, because it covers 125 cities throughout Europe and what to do in only 36 hours in those destinations.
This is by The New York Times, and I believe they have ones like this for different regions around the world. And I do believe they have an updated version of this book.
This was a wedding gift for Timm and I because we were going to be moving to Europe, so someone gave it to us as a way to say, “Here are 125 adventures you can go on.” So this book is a really fun way to get inspiration and ideas for making the best of really quick weekend trips around Europe. And it’s so easy to do that when you’re in Europe.
So if you are planning a longer-term trip to Europe or if you’re going to be living here, this is a great book to have on hand because it has lots of good ideas for weekend trips to lots of locations throughout Europe.
Buy this book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Waterstones
Well, there you have it! Those are some of my favorite travel books set in Europe. I do have a lot more travel books on my shelves, so perhaps in the future I will make a part two of this video.
But I hope this list gives you some inspiration and ideas for your next read!
