Travel destinations for book lovers

In the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway in Pamplona  

Ernest Hemingway's novel "The Sun Also Rises" transports readers to 1920s Spain. The story follows a group of American and British expatriates who meet in Pamplona, Spain, for the San Fermín festival. The novel captures the atmosphere when the tranquil old town becomes the scene of the explosive bull run at the beginning of July.

Hemingway visited Pamplona for the first time in 1923 and returned repeatedly in subsequent years. The novel "Fiesta" was published in 1926 and made both the author and the San Fermín festival world famous. The city later honored him with a bust near the bullring. 

Experience Henning Mankell's melancholic Sweden in Ystad

Henning Mankell's crime novels featuring Inspector Kurt Wallander have helped shape the term "Nordic noir." Wallander is an investigator full of doubt, often tired and disillusioned, who fights crime and his own demons in the small southern Swedish town of Ystad.  

You can take a Wallander walking tour on your own, with an app guiding you to the most important locations from the novels and TV series. Stops include Wallander's apartment on Mariagatan and the police station.

Ystad is a charming medieval town on the Swedish Baltic coast with cobbled streets, half-timbered houses, and a tranquil harbor. A walk along the coast and through the old town conveys the typical Wallander feeling: the silence, the light, the melancholic beauty of southern Sweden. A visit to Ystad is particularly atmospheric in the fall and winter months, when the days are short and the gloomy atmosphere of the novels is particularly noticeable.

Interesting fact: At Ystad Saltsjöbad, however, the winter blues don't stand a chance. With its spa and excellent cuisine, this stylish resort right by the sea is a wonderful place to end a day spent by the stormy sea. Use your American Express credit card to reserve a coveted room with a sea view securely and conveniently online. 

Berlin as Alfred Döblin's urban jungle

Alfred Döblin's Berlin Alexanderplatz is one of the most important German novels of the 20th century. The story of Franz Biberkopf, who tries to lead a decent life after his release from prison, is set in Berlin in the late 1920s.

What makes this novel so special is the technique Döblin uses to bring the city to life: newspaper headlines, advertising slogans, song lyrics, street noises, and snippets of dialogue flood the reader unfiltered, just like the noise of the big city floods his protagonists.

On a literary city tour of Berlin, you can walk along the routes that Franz Biberkopf might have taken. You will learn how the city has changed since the 1920s and discover the places where the Berlin of yesteryear can still be felt today.  

While Franz Biberkopf mainly moves in the underworld, Berlin has a lot to offer from a tourist perspective. As in the most beautiful cities in Germany, you will find excellent hotels in the metropolis. For example, the "Soho House Berlin," just a few minutes' walk from Alexanderplatz.

Interesting fact: Soho House Berlin is part of The Hotel Collection by American Express. As a Platinum Card holder, you will receive special benefits during your stay. 

Discover Davos from Thomas Mann's perspective

Thomas Mann's "The Magic Mountain" is one of the great novels of world literature. The story of Hans Castorp, who comes to visit a sanatorium in Davos and ends up spending seven years there, is at once a portrait of the times, a philosophical discourse, and an existential reflection on life, death, and time. The mountain becomes a microcosm, cut off from the rest of the world.

Nestled in the Alps, Davos, with its clear mountain air, was a center for tuberculosis treatment in the 20th century. Today, Europe's highest city is best known as a winter sports resort and host of the World Economic Forum. But the special atmosphere that characterizes the novel "The Magic Mountain" has remained.

The Hotel Schatzalp is the main attraction for all pilgrims to The Magic Mountain. The former sanatorium high above Davos served as inspiration for Thomas Mann. Today it is a charming Art Nouveau hotel. Its restaurant offers fine Swiss cuisine and the view of the mountains is breathtaking.

The Waldhotel Davos is another former sanatorium. Katia Mann took a cure there, Thomas Mann visited her, and the daily routine at the sanatorium gave him the idea for his novel. Today, the hotel, with its many historical elements, houses a modern spa area, among other things. 

With García Márquez in Cartagena, the city of love  

Gabriel García Márquez's novel Love in the Time of Cholera tells the story of a love that lasts over fifty years. Florentino Ariza waits half a century for Fermina Daza, the woman of his life.  

The novel is set on the Colombian Caribbean coast in Cartagena, a city straight out of a fever dream: colorful colonial architecture, overgrown with bougainvillea, the air heavy with heat and the scent of the sea. In the walled old town, cobblestone streets wind their way between pastel-colored houses, salsa music spilling out of open doors.

The best way to experience Cartagena on your literary journey is to take a boat trip on the Río Magdalena or along the coast. This will bring the romantic final scene of the novel to life.

Gabriel García Márquez lived in Cartagena for many years and owned a house in the old town. Today, the Sofitel Legend Santa Clara is the most elegant hotel in the city, combining colonial architecture with modern comforts. The pool in the courtyard is a particular oasis. García Márquez himself knew the building when it was still a monastery; today, it is the perfect starting point for literary exploration tours.  

Interesting fact: the pool in the courtyard of the Sofitel Legend Santa Clara is a special oasis. Why not book a room at the hotel for your literary journey? As it is one of American Express's Fine Hotels + Resorts, Platinum Card members receive attractive extras.