From the long list of cities we explored, our data revealed that New York is the most written about city in the world, with 8,510 published books based on the Big Apple.
Next up is the UK’s capital city, London, followed by European hotspots Rome and Paris.
Whilst the US may dominate the list, you’ll also spot Dublin and Oxford in the top 20, along with five Italian favourites, including Florence, Sicily and Naples.
From the OpenLibrary recommended reading list, there are some familiar novels including The Chronicles of Narnia, which alongside the fictional world, is set in London, and the Time Traveller’s Wife which is based in Chicago.
The UK’s most written about cities
Whilst London and Dublin are the most popular UK cities, Oxford and Cambridge are also featured in over 300 literary works each. Other cities include Manchester, where the Dicken’s classic, Hard Times, is set and Birmingham where the famous Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is based.
The most Popular Cities by Genre
Which cities are featured in the most romance novels? And which feature in famous classic literature? To find out, we drilled into the data, breaking it down by the most popular genres.
Romance
When it comes to romantic novels, London is perhaps surprisingly the location that yields the most love, with 813 books based in our captivating capital.
However, we can’t talk about romance without mentioning Paris, Verona, and Naples which all appear in our top 10 list. Interestingly, Venice doesn’t appear, despite being a famous destination for romantic breaks.
If you want a story to sweep you off your feet, we recommend taking your imagination to Verona with Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, or heading back to the roaring twenties in New York with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby.
Classic Literature
When exploring the world’s most famous classic literature, we found 3,676 books set in New York, making it the most popular overall. Packed with history and culture, Rome is the second most written about city, followed by London where Charles Dickens’ set his world famous read, A Christmas Carol.
Dickens’ then took a trip to Paris, where he based A Tale of Two Cities 16 years later. Both classics scored first place on the Open Library recommended reads.
Mystery and Detective
If mystery and detective novels keep you on the edge of your seat, you will find that the majority are based in the world’s biggest cities. London is the location for 324 mystery reads, proving to be more popular than the glamorous Los Angeles. Speaking of glamour, Hollywood also makes the top 10, thanks to its history of celebrity scandal. Our data reveals Famous Last Words, by Katie Alender as Hollywood’s most exciting read.
Poetry
Despite some of the world’s most famous poets coming from the UK, the majority of published poems are linked to the romantic Italian capital, Rome. With over 1,099 published works, it seems poets are captivated by the rich history and beauty of the city.
Lisbon makes its first appearance here, too, with 130 poems set in the Portuguese capital. Alongside this, San Francisco, Canterbury, and Venice are amongst the most popular places for poetry.
Horror
For those who like a chilling read, take a look at the spine-shivering cities featured in the most fictional horrors. Whilst seven US cities make up the top 10 for this genre, you’ll also see Paris, London and Cambridge make popular places for a frightening tale.
Amongst the recommended reads, you’ll see the notoriously frightening book, The Omen, along with one of Roald Dahl’s most famous short stories, The Landlady.
If we’ve left you wanting more, download our full dataset here to discover where genres including science-fiction, historical fiction, plays and short stories are most likely to be set.
