Las diez ciudades más literarias según National Geographic (I)

http://www.lecturalia.com/blog/2011/12/03/las-diez-ciudades-mas-literarias-segun-national-geographic-i/

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/literary-cities/

A mural of Neruda graces the Bellavista neighborhood in Santiago, Chile.

National Geographic es una de esas marcas que sobrevive a los cambios, a las inclemencias económicas y culturales, al olvido y a la pérdida de calidad. Sinónimo de viaje, de excelente fotografía y texto, de descubrimiento, siempre ha marcado tendencia en el mundo del periodismo y del reportaje gráfico, tanto que puede permitirse, de vez en cuando, la intrusión en campos ajenos a su cobertura habitual, tales como el mundo de la gastronomía, del ocio o de la propia literatura. En la edición de septiembre de 2011, en su revista de viaje National Geographic Traveler, mencionan diez ciudades como las más “literarias”, o más recomendadas para los aficionados a la lectura en general.

Los afortunados han sido Edimburgo, Dublín, Londres, París, San Petersburgo, Estocolmo, Portland, Washington D.C., Melbourne y Santiago de Chile. De Edimburgo, Escocia, los redactores destacan su inspirador ambiente, que ha alimentado a las musas de escritores de todos los tiempos, desde el poeta del XVIII Robert Burns hasta los contemporáneos Ian Rankin e Irvine Welsh, que gozan de visitas guiadas en las que se incluyen unos cuantos pubs tradicionales y varias excursiones a pie por la ciudad (además de la siempre recomendada visita al Writer’s Museum dedicado a Burns, Walter Scott y Robert Louis Stevenson). En Dublín también se recomienda una ruta de pubs para disfrutar de una buena Guinness mientras los actores-guía nos hablan de Joyce o de Yeats, y una visita pausada al Trinity College para ver el famoso manuscrito miniado llamado Libro de Kells. Londres presenta otra opción repleta de eventos y excursiones, entre los cuales tampoco pueden faltar, de nuevo, las visitas a pubs con múltiples referencias a Shakespeare y a Dickens. Los fans de James Bond pueden hacer una excursión alcohólica un tanto más refinada, pasando por el Dukes Bar cuyos martinis inspiraron a Ian Fleming.

En París abundan los cafés famosos por haber abrigado a escritores procedentes de todo el mundo, y las casas-museo dedicadas a escritores como Víctor Hugo o Balzac. De San Petersburgo la National Geographic recomienda seguir la ruta de Crimen y castigo, además de la residencia de su autor, el célebre Dostoievski; de Estocolmo, Suecia, destacan la relevancia del Premio Nobel y todos los eventos y comercios asociados, además de la estatua dedicada a Astrid Lindgren (creadora de la entrañable Pippi Calzaslargas) y la gira por la ciudad que ofrece una visión completa de los lugares que aparecen en la conocidísima saga de Stieg Larsson.

En cuanto a ciudades estadounidenses, desde un tiempo a esta parte Portland se ha convertido en el centro cultural del país americano. Destaca por sus cafés de estilo europeo, su inmensa oferta artística (sobre todo en lo que se refiere a lo “underground”, a lo alternativo y a lo moderno) y sus librerías, entre las que reina con indiscutible corona Powell’s City of Books, una gigantesca manzana completa de libros apilados sobre libros, sean nuevos o de segunda mano, con más de un millón de ejemplares en sus estanterías. Pero la competencia es abrumadora en Washington D.C., que ofrece un tono más clásico con su tremenda Biblioteca del Congreso, la más grande del mundo. También es el hogar de la Poetry Foundation, que organiza visitas relacionadas con poetas como Walt Whitman.

From the September 2011 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine

1. Edinburgh, Scotland

   It’s practically mandatory that visitors to Edinburgh travel by the book. The atmospheric city—which has inspired more than 500 novels—passionately keeps its written tradition alive, from the verse of 18th-century bard Robert Burns (who even merits an iPhone app) to the works of modern-day writers like Ian Rankin and Alexander McCall Smith. On tap are two different pub crawls, a walking tour, and excursions specific to Rankin’s Inspector Rebus and Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting.
   If you’re short on time, head straight to the Writers’ Museum located in a 17th-century building reached by a narrow stone passageway. Exhibits are devoted to a powerhouse literary trio: Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson. For more adventures in Edinburgh and beyond, VisitScotland.com offers “A Traveller’s Guide to Literary Scotland.”

2. Dublin, Ireland

   In the Irish capital, the written word is as celebrated as a pint of Guinness. Join the revelry on the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl as spirited actor-guides serve up entertaining facts in taverns where James Joyce and other scribes sought sustenance and found inspiration. Follow famed Joycean character Leopold Bloom through the city with VisitDublin.com’s “In the Steps of Ulysses” self-guided tour (audio or print).
   The Dublin Writers Museum celebrates the spectrum of the country’s literary heritage, beginning with its roots in Irish poetry and Celtic storytelling. The Abbey Theatre, founded by poet W.B. Yeats in 1903, is still going strong with productions by classic and contemporary playwrights. Don’t leave town without being dazzled by the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript from the Middle Ages housed in the Old Library at Trinity College.

3. London, England

   Listing London’s literary-related sites and pastimes could fill a book even lengthier than Harry Potter’s seven wizardly adventures combined. For starters, get out and about on one of London Walks’ lively jaunts. More than a hundred are offered every week, among them Shakespeare’s and Dickens’ London and the Literary London Pub Walk. Be sure to get an up-close look at the Bard’s First Folio at the British Library, unusual in that its literary gems are on display and not tucked away in a vault.
   For Sherlock Holmes fans, VisitLondon.com has an itinerary for following in the sleuth’s footsteps. If your style is more suave James Bond, stop by Dukes Bar, where the martinis inspired Ian Fleming to make it 007’s signature drink. Before strolling the city’s streets, download the Get London Reading app, or check out the interactive map version, featuring more than 400 books associated with specific locales around town.

4. Paris, France

   Pucker up and leave a lipstick print on Oscar Wilde’s tomb in Père-Lachaise Cemetery. The Irish playwright, whose grave is a magnet for zealous mourners, was one of many expatriate writers who sought inspiration and joie de vivre in the City of Light. Would-be Hemingways can polish up their own masterpieces at a sidewalk table at Les Deux Magots, a St. Germain café he frequented, or explore the literary side of the Latin Quarter, his onetime home, with Paris Walks.
   French writers, though, have pride of place here with house-museums devoted to Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac. Bibliophiles will feel right at home at the hotel Le Pavillon des Lettres, where each of the 26 rooms is dedicated to a letter of the alphabet and represents a famous writer.

5. St. Petersburg, Russia

   This vibrant baroque- and neoclassical-style city in western Russia has a dark side to its literary history. Trace the route of Crime and Punishment’s murderous Raskolnikov from his abode to the unlucky pawnbroker’s storefront with Peter’s Walking Tours (by private booking; there’s a forum for finding fellow travelers to split the cost). Visit the residence of the epic’s author, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, where he spent his final years and penned The Brothers Karamazov.
   The Aleksandr Pushkin Memorial Apartment Museum marks the spot where the 37-year-old author died in the study and plunged the country into mourning. Like an unfortunate character in his most famous work, Eugene Onegin, Pushkin was fatally wounded during a duel. At the nearby Literary Café, he dined for the last time before meeting his tragic end.