Art and travel have always had a special relationship, with one
influencing the other for centuries. And now luxury travellers can
truly 'lose' themselves in their favourite novel, film or play
during their time away. Peter Jackson's blockbuster The Hobbit
focused the world's eyes on New Zealand as a key destination and
consequently lit the touchpaper for the set-jetting trend. Here is
our choice of some of the most inspiring literary locations.
A stay at the 15th Century Palazzo Victoria , Verona offers
a modern take on the romance of Renaissance living. Dating
back to the era of Shakespeare's 'Romeo &
Juliet', it is easy to imagine secret trysts and dawn
duels taking place here when you gaze out over the old town from
the balcony of the Victoria Suite.
Life imitates art at COMO
Shambhala Estate; a collection of contemporary styled suites
and villas encircled by rainforest in the Balinese spiritual centre
of Ubud. The wellness programmes at this award-winning spa retreat
promise a similar sense of enlightenment to that experienced by
Julia Roberts' character in 'Eat, Pray,
Love' during her sojourn here in
Bali.
2014's Pulitzer Prize for Fiction was awarded
to Donna Tartt for her latest novel 'The
Goldfinch' which centres on Dutch painter Fabritius'
masterpiece of the same name. The narrative focuses around a tale
of loss and obsession triggered by a tragic event at New York's
Metropolitan Museum of Art. New to the Carrier portfolio this year,
a stay at the sophisticated and quirky The Quin hotel in
Midtown Manhattan - once home to artists Georgia O'Keeffe and Marc
Chagall - will fully immerse you in New York's rich cultural
legacy.
An intimate, family-owned and run boutique villa hotel of ten
individual suites and 18 luxurious pool villas that enjoys sweeping
sea views, Elounda Gulf Villas & Suites is an
exclusive retreat on Crete's unspoilt coastline. The hotel is
situated in a traditional fishing village - immortalised by the
novel,'The Island', by Victoria
Hislop. A short ferry ride from the tiny harbour of Plaka takes you
to the former leper island of Spinalonga, where much of the drama
of the novel takes place.
Eleanor Catton's epic novel 'The
Luminaries' about the New Zealand goldrush is set on
the South Island's west coast. Winner of the Man Booker prize, the
author depicts a wondrous 19th Century New Zealand with its rivers
of gold shrouded in mystical mists. A 'New Zealand at its
Best' tour captures the best of this awe-inspiring
country