Whether it’s the quiet yearning of Persuasion’s Bath, the charged energy of Crazy Rich Asians’ Singapore, or the sweeping passion of Romeo and Juliet’s Verona, some places hold the essence of the great love stories that unravel there. For travelers who are also lovers of fiction, walking in the real-life settings of novels they’ve enjoyed can be a fine way to experience the same paths as their favorite characters.
Here are six of the arguably most romantic places, where lovers of a good love story can experience an unforgettable atmosphere.
Verona, Italy
- Featured work: Romeo and Juliet
Verona, a small city in northeastern Italy, has been synonymous with romance since Shakespeare immortalized it in Romeo and Juliet. The city’s terra-cotta rooftops and winding alleyways feel lifted from the pages of the play. Wander through Piazza delle Erbe, past frescoed buildings and ancient Roman ruins.
Experience the place and the work
The rival Montague and Capulet families were based on real households from the 13th century. Casa di Giulietta is said to have been owned by the Cappello family, who inspired the Capulets. It’s now a museum dedicated to Romeo and Juliet—complete with a balcony added centuries later—and has a statue of Juliet in the courtyard.
Get Your Guide offers Romeo and Juliet walking tours that stop at places like Romeo’s house and the Scala Family Tombs.
As part of the annual Jane Austen festival in Bath in Somerset, people often come dressed in Georgian period costume.
Photo by Jeremy Richards/Shutterstock
Bath, England
- Featured works: Persuasion and other Jane Austen novels
Jane Austen didn’t just set Persuasion in Bath—she also lived here, and the city’s grand Georgian architecture, elegant promenades, and hot springs appear in multiple novels, including Northanger Abbey (plus more modern love stories like Bridgerton).
Protagonist Anne Elliot walks Bath’s streets in Persuasion, heart heavy with regret, as she is reintroduced to Captain Wentworth, the man she once loved but was persuaded to give up. The stately Royal Crescent and the Gravel Walk, where Anne and Wentworth finally reconcile, becomes a place associated with longing.
Experience the place and the work
The Jane Austen Centre brings the Regency era to life. In 2025, Bath marks the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth with special events, including an expanded Jane Austen Festival (September 12–21) featuring costumed promenades, Regency dances, and theatrical performances. Bath Abbey will also host the “Austens at the Abbey” exhibition (April 5–September 27), offering a deeper look at her ties to the city.
Cartegena is colorful as well as romantic.
Courtesy of Ricardo Gomez Angel/Unsplash
Cartagena, Colombia
- Featured work: Love in the Time of Cholera
While Cartagena isn’t explicitly named in Love in the Time of Cholera (the setting is an unnamed city near the Caribbean Sea and Colombia’s Magdalena River), descriptions suggest the story combines Cartagena and the nearby city of Barranquilla. It’s easy to see why: Cartagena’s sultry air and colonial facades are imbued with romance, much like author Gabriel García Márquez’s work.
Márquez wove the city’s rhythms, colors, and history into the story of Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza. Head to the walled Old Town, with its bougainvillea-draped balconies and hidden courtyards, to imagine where young lovers once exchanged letters and stolen glances. The Plaza Fernández de Madrid bears resemblance to the Park of the Evangels, where Florentino famously yearned for Fermina on an “obscure park bench.”
Experience the place and the work
Hungry? Take a food tour inspired by Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez, featuring a guide who plays audio passages mentioning food from Love in the Time of Cholera and other novels by Márquez.
Call Me by Your Name‘s themes of passion, discovery, and nostalgia feel palpable in this part of Italy.
Photo by Mary Bottacin/Shutterstock (L); photo by Underawesternsky/Shutterstock (R)
Bordighera, Liguria
- Featured work: Call Me by Your Name
André Aciman’s novel unfolds in Bordighera, where Elio and Oliver’s relationship blossoms amid terraced gardens, shaded piazzas, and the endless blue of the Mediterranean. This town on Italy’s northwest coast is the beating heart of Call Me by Your Name. Walking along the palm-lined Lungomare Argentina or exploring Villa Garnier’s verdant gardens, you can see how these landscapes inspired such a deeply felt love story.
Experience the place and the work
While the author has verified that the novel takes place in Bordighera, the setting of the 2017 adaption was largely filmed in Crema, Lombardy. Visitors with a love of set-jetting can follow many of the movie’s iconic scenes on a Call Me by Your Name–inspired tour, such as the Crema city center and Lake Garda.
Edinburgh is a city where the past never entirely fades, making it the perfect setting for a love story that transcends time.
Courtesy of Abdullah Ali/Unsplash
Scotland
- Featured work: Outlander
In Outlander, Jamie and Claire’s time-bending romance unfolds amid the 18th-century Jacobite uprisings, and much of their journey brings them to Scotland’s historic capital. The Old Town’s alleys and hidden courtyards are where many events in the book and television series take place.
Just off the Royal Mile, Bakehouse Close is the real-life location of Jamie’s print shop—the site of one of the novel’s most pivotal reunion scenes. Meanwhile, the grandeur of Holyrood Palace, where both the character and historical figure Bonnie Prince Charlie once gathered his forces, adds to the city’s connection to Outlander’s larger historical narrative.
Experience the place and the work
Clans and Castles has been running Outlander-themed tours for more than two decades. Its Outlander Classic Tour takes a group of up to six travelers to the Scottish countryside and Edinburgh to see locations featured in both the show and book.
Let your imagination roam at Cypress Garden in Charleston.
Photo by MILA PARH/Shutterstock
Charleston, South Carolina
- Featured work: The Notebook
Few settings evoke old-fashioned romance quite like parts of the U.S. South. In The Notebook, the coastal town of New Bern, North Carolina, provides the backdrop for Noah and Allie’s tumultuous love story. Many of the locations mentioned in the novel can be found here, like the Harvey (which the book named as “one of the best restaurants in town”).
Moviegoers are more likely to associate the story with Charleston, South Carolina, where the on-screen adaption was filmed. The movie captures the essence of the Lowcountry—its humid summers, slow-moving rivers, and grand historic homes. Noah’s house, restored in the story as a symbol of love and devotion, mirrors the antebellum-era mansions that line the waterfront.
Experience the place and the work
Visit New Bern has a guide that visitors can use to take a self-guided tour of locations mentioned in the Notebook and other Nicholas Sparks novels set in the city. Charleston has plenty of tours for travelers interested in the movie locations, such as the Notebook Movie Location Tour offered by All About Charleston.
If you really want to immerse yourself in the movie, hop on a swamp boat through the waterways of Cypress Gardens, which Allie and Noah paddled with swans. Don’t expect an experience exactly the same—swans aren’t native to the area and were raised just for the movie.
Singapore’s high-society glamour, dramatic cityscape, and world-class cuisine are integral to the novel’s allure.
Courtesy of Raffles Hotel (L); photo by Simonharrycollins/Shutterstock (R)
Singapore
- Featured work: Crazy Rich Asians
Kevin Kwan’s love story between Rachel Chu and Nick Young immerses readers in Singapore‘s contrasts, from the street-food stalls at the Lau Pa Sat hawker center to the impossibly lavish private estates hidden behind unmarked gates.
Thanks to the 2018 film adaptation, many of the book’s locations have real-life places to visit. Take the novel’s fictional Kingsford Hotel, owned by Colin Khoo’s family, which is brought to real life via the famed Raffles Hotel.
Experience the place and the work
For travelers looking to experience the extravagant world of Crazy Rich Asians, there’s always the option of staying at the Marina Bay Sands (the setting of Rachel and Nick’s farewell party). As an alternative, ride around the city in a sidecar and visit film locations on a Crazy Rich Asians tour like the Gardens by the Bay urban park.
