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Since 2004, UNESCO has been promoting cities where literature plays an important role, including festivals and literary events and the existence of libraries and bookstores. Cities like Melbourne, Dublin and Edinburgh were given the chance to promote their local creative scene, as part of of being chosen as Cities of Literature. Trace the footsteps of some of world's most famous writers with our literary cities for 2012:

London, England: Hometown of Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens and many others writers, London has also been the set to classics of literature such as Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle and many of Charles Dickens' novels; English author and science fiction H.G. Wells also found inspiration in London to write some of his most famous work. There are plenty of literary tours around the city, most of them include visits to the Westminster Abbey, where you'll find memorials to authors that are immediately recognized just by their surnames: Keats, Shelley, Thomas and Milton. Booking a car hire allows you to discover the city at your pace! 

Dublin, Ireland: According to some "in the Irish capital, the written word is celebrated as a pint of Guinness". Traveling to Dublin is exploring James Joyce's world, probably the most famous Dubliner. Start your tour with a visit to the James Joyce Museum after following Ulysses' Leopold Bloom through the city with a self-guided tour. The country's literary heritage is celebrated at the Dublin Writers Museums and the Abbey Theater, founded by W.B. Yeats, is the perfect place to find productions by classic and contemporary playwrights.

Edinburgh, Scotland:  With more than 500 novels written about the city, it's not wonder that Edinburgh became UNESCO's first City of Literature in 2004. It's been described as the place you want to travel by the book and keeps the tradition alive by adapting to modern times, it can easily go from the historical dramas represented in Robert Louis Stevenson's work to becoming the set to the misadventures of a group of junkies in 1993's Trainspotting. 

Paris, France: The City of Light is known for welcoming lovers in literature and film. Paris captivated writers from all kinds of genre: Alexandre Dumas with the adventures of the Three Musketeers, Victor's Hugo Les Misérables, Jules Verne's take on a futurist vision of the city in his sci-fi novel Paris In The Twentieth Century, and many others. Cafés like Les Deux Margots, one of Hemingway's favorite places in Paris, and the famous Quartier Latin are the perfect place to soak up the local culture of the city. With a car rental you can easily explore the city and find out more about its literary influence!

St. Petersburg, Russia: The dark side of the city was a major influence in Dostoevsky's work. Born in Moscow, the Russian writer created one of the most famous killers in literature with Crime and Punishment, giving tourists the chance to trace the route of the main character with a special walking tour and visiting the residence where the author spent his last years. Another tourist attraction, The Aleksandr Pushkin Memorial Apartment Museum, is a memorial museum dedicated to Russia's most celebrated poet, featuring notes, manuscripts and even the pistol used in the famous duel that lead to his death.