Fictional Places From Books We Wish We Could Visit

One of the best parts of reading a novel is getting lost in a whole other world. Some of our favorite books feature incredible world-building or inventive locales, and we’ve spent more time than we’d like to admit imagining ourselves in these places (or pretending that we’re really friends with some of our favorite book characters).

Below is a list of all the fictional places from books that we wish we could visit. Keep in mind that this means the less pleasant places—Dante’s Inferno; Dracula’s castle; pretty much anywhere in the Game of Thrones universe—did not make the cut.

From F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

roaring 20s party from the great gatsby film — Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

While we’d probably only spend a few minutes with Jay “old sport” Gatsby himself, spending the evening at one of his legendary West Egg parties would be the bee’s knees.

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From Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude

illustrated cover art of macondo, a fictional place in one hundred years of solitude

Touches of magical realism make the forest town of Macondo appealing—but what truly makes us want to visit are the inhabitants of the sequestered town, especially the Buendía family.

From Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time

uriel, a fictional place from a wrinkle in time — Photo Credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

A beautiful and peaceful planet—”the third planet of the star Malak in the spiral nebula Messier 101,” to be exact—sounds exactly like our idea of heaven, and perhaps like a good way to catch our breath after visiting some of the more perilous fictional places on this list.

From Douglas Adams’s The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

restaurant at the end of the universe book cover — Photo Credit: First edition cover of 'The Restaurant at the End of the Universe'

Also known as Milliways, this five-star restaurant offers talking food, a view of the Gnab Gib (the Big Bang in reverse), and incredible people watching. The best part is you can make reservations after you visit, and, thanks to compound interest, depositing one penny in a savings account during your own era will cover the exorbitant cost of your meal at the end of the universe. Just don’t forget your towel!

From Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

lyme hall as pemberley, a fictional place in pride and prejudice — Photo Credit: Public Domain

While we’ll never be able to visit the fictional estate owned by Darcy, we can take a tour of the set used for the 1995 BBC miniseries adaptation of Pride and Prejudice—our favorite adaptation of Jane Austen’s famous novel.

From Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park

michael crichton movies — Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Will we regret going to a theme park known to have prehistoric creatures running amok? Almost definitely. Are we willing to risk it all in order to see real live dinosaurs? Also almost definitely.

From Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

chocolate river inside wonka's factory, a fictional place in a book — Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures

Problematic Oompa Loompa worker’s rights issues aside, Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory seems like a dream come true. Edible wallpaper, a chocolate river, Wonkavision—we want to see and taste it all.

From J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings

frodo in rivendell, a fictional place in lotr — Photo Credit: New Line Cinema

Picking just one location from the epic journey taken in the Lord of the Rings trilogy was extremely difficult. But while we’d also love to visit The Shire, Isengard, or Edoras, we’d be more than happy to spend a few nights in the elven town of Rivendell.

From Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels

gulliver in lilliput, a fictional place in gulliver's travels — Photo Credit: Louis Rhead, 1913

We’re also okay with missing out on The Shire if we can visit Lilliput, the fictional island where the residents are only 6 inches tall. What can we say—we love tiny things!

From J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter

Coolest Fictional Castles Hogwarts — Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Though we’re long past the cut-off of 11 years old, we’re still hoping a mistake was made and that one day we’ll get that letter from Hogwarts (who knows—maybe Errol was in charge of delivering our letters). Stepping onto Platform 9 ¾, sitting in the Great Hall, taking Transfiguration lessons from Professor McGonagall...we’ll never give up hope!