The best non-travel, European travel books with descriptive writing that takes you on a journey

By Jean Cerfontaine

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Who am I?

I have been to Europe a handful of times, exploring Paris, Italy, Malta, Spain, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Amsterdam. Europe lends itself perfectly to be immortalised in literature. The continent is steeped in thousands of years of charming history, oozing out of the cobblestoned streets and painted in layers on the buildings. Scratch the surface and a new, richer layer comes to the fore, exciting and amazing anew. Europe inevitably turns into one of the important characters in any book set there and many a writer have managed to capture its essence in their work. Alongside Peter Sarstedt, Europe inspired my work, taking the reader along on a wondrous journey.

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The books I picked & why

Under the Tuscan Sun

By Frances Mayes,

Why did I love this book?

Frances Mayes narrates life in Tuscany with a clear, refreshing voice, adding in some cooking recipes, scenic Tuscan landscapes, and adventures around Italy, along with the recipe to find happiness in the simple things in life, in a wonderful foreign setting. Italy like you’ve never experienced it before, through the eyes of an almost-local.

Under the Tuscan Sun

By Frances Mayes,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Under the Tuscan Sun as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Discover the New York Times bestseller that inspired the film. The perfect read for anyone seeking an escape to the Italian countryside.

When Frances Mayes - poet, gourmet cook and travel writer - buys an abandoned villa in Tuscany, she has no idea of the scale of the project she is embarking on.

In this enchanting memoir she takes the reader on a journey to restore a crumbling villa and build a new life in the Italian countryside, navigating hilarious cultural misunderstandings, legal frustrations and the challenges of renovating a house that seems determined to remain a ruin.

Filled with…

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The Talented Mr. Ripley

By Patricia Highsmith,

Why did I love this book?

Tom Ripley is a con artiste. He is smooth, intelligent, and deadly. Tom goes on a journey to Italy to find the wayward son of a shipping magnate, Dickie Greenleaf. Along the way, Tom finds a way to become Dickie Greenleaf himself. The adventure plays out in some of the most scenic parts of Italy, following Tom on his misadventures in Positano, Rome, and Venice. Patricia Highsmith writes in a formal style that ages well and keeps the reader hooked with the wonderfully narrated prose.

The Talented Mr. Ripley

By Patricia Highsmith,

Why should I read it?

14 authors picked The Talented Mr. Ripley as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It's here, in the first volume of Patricia Highsmith's five-book Ripley series, that we are introduced to the suave Tom Ripley, a young striver seeking to leave behind his past as an orphan bullied for being a "sissy." Newly arrived in the heady world of Manhattan, Ripley meets a wealthy industrialist who hires him to bring his playboy son, Dickie Greenleaf, back from gallivanting in Italy. Soon Ripley's fascination with Dickie's debonair lifestyle turns obsessive as he finds himself enraged by Dickie's ambivalent affections for Marge, a charming American dilettante, and Ripley begins a deadly game. "Sinister and strangely alluring"…

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A Year at the Chateau

By Dick Strawbridge, Angel Strawbridge,

Why did I love this book?

Dick and Angel set off on a life-changing adventure. They purchase a Chateau in France and start the involved process of restoring it to its former glory. The chateau becomes a central character in their story, alongside the glorious Loire Valley. You may have seen the TV show based on their exploits, but the book is so much better!

A Year at the Chateau

By Dick Strawbridge, Angel Strawbridge,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Year at the Chateau as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE ENTERTAINING AND HEARTWARMING SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER.

Like many couples, Dick and Angel had long dreamed of living in France, but where others might settle for a modest bolthole in the French countryside, the Strawbridges fell in love with a 19th-century fairytale chateau, complete with 45 rooms, seven outbuildings, 12 acres of land and its own moat.

Throwing caution to the wind, Dick and Angel swapped their two-bedroom flat in East London for an abandoned and derelict castle in the heart of the Loire valley and embarked on the adventure of a lifetime with their two young children Arthur and…

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France

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For the Love of Europe: My Favorite Places, People, and Stories

By Rick Steves,

Why did I love this book?

To be honest, this one is close to being a travel book. Rick Steves is a well-known traveler, with a large number of guide books and television shows sharing his exploits with the world. But, this book describes Europe in a way that no travel guide can. Rick is a master of sharing anecdotes of his travels through Europe, never failing to describe the flavours, sights, and sounds of the continent and the wonderful cities we all yearn to see. This was a wonderful escape during the 2020 lockdowns, a true lifesaver!

For the Love of Europe: My Favorite Places, People, and Stories

By Rick Steves,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked For the Love of Europe as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

After 40+ years of writing about Europe, Rick Steves has gathered 100 of his favorite articles and essays together into one inspiring collection: For the Love of Europe: My Favorite Places, People, and Stories.

Join Rick as he's swept away by a fado singer in Lisbon, learns the dangers of falling in love with a gondolier in Venice, and savors a cheese course in the Loire Valley. Contemplate the mysteries of centuries-old stone circles in England, dangle from a cliff in the Swiss Alps, and hear a French farmer's defense of foie gras.

With a brand-new, original introduction from Rick…

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European history

A Year in Paris: Season by Season in the City of Light

By John Baxter,

Why did I love this book?

John Baxter is a master at his craft. He describes his life in Paris in a vivid, easy-to-read style, never failing to delve into the history of the streets he is roaming. He has published a number of books on Paris and its historic neighbourhoods, all immersing the reader in the sights, sounds, and culture of Paris. This is probably the next best thing to living in Paris yourself.

A Year in Paris: Season by Season in the City of Light

By John Baxter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Year in Paris as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A NEW YORK TIMES "SUMMER READING" PICK!

From the incomparable John Baxter, award-winning author of the bestselling The Most Beautiful Walk in the World, a sumptuous and definitive portrait of Paris through the seasons, highlighting the unique tastes, sights, and changing personality of the city in spring, summer, fall, and winter.

When the common people of France revolted in 1789, one of the first ways they chose to correct the excesses of the monarchy and the church was to rename the months of the year. Selected by poet and playwright Philippe-Francois-Nazaire Fabre, these new names reflected what took place at…

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European history

5 book lists we think you will like!

The best thought-provoking thrillers

The best books on psycho killers

The best books that destroy some devious scoundrel

The best books to soothe and console after a love affair, divorce or Covid

The best books about vineyards

Interested in France, Tuscany, and Europe?

9,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about France, Tuscany, and Europe.

France Explore 779 books about France

Tuscany Explore 20 books about Tuscany

Europe Explore 765 books about Europe

And, 3 books we think you will enjoy!

We think you will like A Year in Provence, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, and Footsteps if you like this list.

A Year in Provence

By Peter Mayle,

From the list on the amazing history of the south of France.

By T.C. Kuhn Author

Why did T.C. love this book?

No book list on any aspect of southern France would be complete without one of Peter Mayle’s many books on his travels and adventures in Provence.

His initial best seller is a grand introduction to the many small villages, customs, foods, and peoples who maintain the traditional aspects of the unique lifestyle to be found there, which in some places reflects hundreds of years with little change.

I have found in my travels that because this area of France was spared the ravages of the two World Wars, any trip to the region puts the visitor in touch with this remarkable past in a way few other European locales can. I often found myself wrapped up in the incredible history that surrounded me everywhere I went in the region, leading to my own attempt at expressing some of it.

I’ve learned that Peter Mayle, through his books, is like having my own personal, experienced, and witty guide to usher me around through the region he so obviously has come to love. It is a part of our world which has left its own indelible imprint on the larger history of which it sits at the very center and is a place Time can stand still, if one looks close enough.

Peter Mayle certainly gives his readers that opportunity time and again.

A Year in Provence

By Peter Mayle,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked A Year in Provence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A personal description of Provencal life as seen through the eyes of the author and his wife when they move into an old farmhouse at the foot of the Luberon mountains between Avignon and Aix. The bestselling work of non-fiction in paperback of 1991 in the UK.

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The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

By John le Carré,

From the list on Cold War spies and secret agents.

By Jim Carr Author

Why did Jim love this book?

“But it’s the world, it’s gone mad.” It sums up a spy world in Alec Leamas finds himself turfed from his position by British Intelligence for a string of failures in Soviet-held East Berlin.

Ultimately, he joins East Berlin’s Intelligence only to make one desperate to escape from them. It was a world of agents and double agents with no end in sight.

I like the book for its fast pace and incredible character sketches that made them come alive in their triumphs and failures and memorable long after you finish the book.

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

By John le Carré,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked The Spy Who Came in From the Cold as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the New York Times bestselling author of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; Our Kind of Traitor; and The Night Manager, now a television series starring Tom Hiddleston.

The 50th-anniversary edition of the bestselling novel that launched John le Carre's career worldwide

In the shadow of the newly erected Berlin Wall, Alec Leamas watches as his last agent is shot dead by East German sentries. For Leamas, the head of Berlin Station, the Cold War is over. As he faces the prospect of retirement or worse-a desk job-Control offers him a unique opportunity for revenge. Assuming the guise of an embittered…

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Footsteps

By Richard Holmes,

From the list on soothing after a love affair, divorce or Covid.

By Elizabeth Buchan Author

Why did Elizabeth love this book?

I first read this many years ago and it has stayed with me. Every so often, I return to it in order to immerse myself in its wonderful prose and insights. It combines travelogue with biography, detective work with a probing inner exploration and is both an account of a physical journey and a remap of the writer’s imagination. He begins with his homage to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Travels with a Donkey and describes his own trek over the Cevennes. He starts out with the idea that he will be a poet and finishes his walk having been led "far away into the undiscovered land of other’s men and women’s lives. It led towards biography."

It is the turning point of his life and for the remainder of the book – as he hunts down his subjects which include Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley, Gerard de Nerval, and Gautier – he goes on to explore the nature of the relationship between the biographer and the quarry. The book has so enraptured me that I found myself walking in the company of friends over the Cevennes in Stevenson’s and Holmes’s footsteps. It was one of the best journeys of my own life.

Footsteps

By Richard Holmes,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Footsteps as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Richard Holmes knew he had become a true biographer the day his bank bounced a check that he had inadvertently dated 1772. Because for the acclaimed chronicler of Shelley and Coleridge, biography is a physical pursuit, an ardent and arduous retracing of footsteps that may have vanished centuries before.

In this gripping book, Holmes takes us from France’s Massif Central, where he followed the route taken by Robert Louis Stevenson and a sweet-natured donkey, to Mary Wollstonecraft’s Revolutionary Paris, to the Italian villages where Percy Shelley tried to cast off the strictures of English morality and marriage. Footsteps is a…

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The best non-travel, European travel books with descriptive writing that takes you on a journey

Who am I?

I wrote...

Where Do You Go To

What is my book about?

The books I picked & why

Why did I love this book?

Why did I love this book?

Why did I love this book?

Why did I love this book?

Why did I love this book?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in France, Tuscany, and Europe?

And, 3 books we think you will enjoy!

Who am I?

T.C.'s book list on the amazing history of the south of France

Why did T.C. love this book?

Who am I?

Jim's book list on Cold War spies and secret agents

Why did Jim love this book?

Who am I?

Elizabeth's book list on soothing after a love affair, divorce or Covid

Why did Elizabeth love this book?