Our favourite stories

This unexpected stay-at-home time gives you a lot of opportunities to revisit some of your favourite travel memories and dream away to future destinations. What better way to do this than by reading some great books and watching tons of inspirational movies? From intense thrillers to the sweetest love stories, all set in amazing destinations, we've set up this list so you can get inspired from home.

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Fancy dining, beautiful landscapes and... a murder. By chance the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who is travelling from Istanbul to London, is on board the train and is taken to the crime scene. From here on you're invited to follow the evidence, taking you and Poirot to different people and scenarios. And, possibly, the killer.

Did you know you can still travel between London and Istanbul by train? We'll tell you all about it.

belgium-brugge-canal-view-sunrise-sunset

Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe

By Bill Bryson (first published in 1991)

Neither Here nor There describes Bill Bryson's travels in Europe in a different time, with flashbacks to two of his previous trips as a backpacker. Enjoy his observations of every place he visits, whether you agree with them or not. The story begins in Norway, with the goal to see the mystic northern lights, and his further travels take you all over Europe, all the way to Istanbul.

Bill Bryson has written a fair amount of travel books, so definitely look up some more if you liked this one!

In Bruges (2008)

'Bruges? Where is that?'. Not only will you find out where it is (Spoiler alert: it's in Belgium!) by watching this movie, you'll also want to add it to your to-visit list for when travel around Europe again!

In Bruges is a movie filled with action and tons of humour, all framed within the beautiful cobble stone streets and medieval buildings of Bruges.

Before Sunrise (1995)

This classic starts off with Jesse, an American college student travelling Europe by train (Interrailing, obviously) when he meets Céline, a French girl, on the train to Vienna. When they decide to spend the day together, their story takes off... Listen to their deep conversations while they discover the beauty of the Austrian capital, and each other.

If you want more of Jesse and Céline, make sure to watch the other movies in the trilogy: Before Sunset, where they meet 9 years later in Paris and Before Midnight which takes place, again, 9 years later and is set in Greece.

Under the Tuscan Sun

By Frances Mayes (first published in 1996)

Join Frances in Tuscany, where she and her husband are renovating a house in the summers (which is not without ups and downs, as you can imagine). Experience life in this beautiful Italian region through this amazing memoir.

Under the Tuscan Sun has also been adapted into a movie, which was released in 2003. Since the book is originally a memoir, the story has been altered to make it a better fit for film.

Night Train to Lisbon (2013)

When the Swiss professor Raimund saves a stranger from jumping off a bridge, and finds a philosophical book in the jacket pocket of the girl he saved, his adventure begins... The book is written by a Portuguese doctor who questions all that happens in his world, something that intrigues Raimund and eventually leads him to take the night train to Lisbon. Just like him, you'll get sucked into the thrilling story that starts to unfold.

The film is based on the novel Night Train to Lisbon (originally Nachtzug Nach Lissabon), by the Swiss writer Pascal Mercier.