One of the many walking tours that you can take in Paris is called the “Da Vinci Code Walk”. The tour will take you through the pages of Dan Brown’s sweeping novel as symbologist Robert Langdon searches for clues at the Ritz Hotel, the Louvre Museum, St. Sulpice, Tuileries Garden and Pont des Arts. Also called literary travels, these tours are centered on the settings of great works of literature – be it classics or contemporary works of art.
But what if the place mentioned in a particular novel is based on a real city – but the specific town is fictional? This is the dilemma that locals of Stockholm, Sweden have to face.
Fans of the late crime novelist Stieg Larsson are looking for the quaint town Hedestad which is prominently featured in his novel “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. Although the setting of the book is in Larsson’s own home city in Stockholm, the author took liberties at creating the fictional town of Hedestad – which most of his fans are looking for when they visit the city.
Born in August 15, 1954, Larsson is a Swedish novelist who is best known for writing the Millennium Trilogy of crime novels. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” was posthumously released in the US in September 2008. Its original title is “Man Som Hatar Kvinnor” or “Men who Hate Women”. The English translation was created by Reg Keeland under a different title.
About a year later, the second book “The Girl Who Played with Fire” was released. On May 2010, the last book in the Millennium Trilogy entitled “The Air Castle that Blew Up” was released.
For 2008, Larsson was considered as the second best-selling author in the world next to Khaled Hosseini. As of March 2010, Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy books sold 27 million copies in more than 40 countries.
The good news is that despite Hedestad being a fictional town, die-hard Larsson fans will not be that disappointed because most locations in the books are authentic.
First, there’s the Kaffebar café in Stockholm which is a favorite hangout spot of Larsson’s fictional journalist Mikael Blomqvist. Second, there’s the Kvarnen Bar where another fictional character Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker, spent evenings with her friends.
Both bars are located in Sodermalm, a trendy isle in Stockholm where there are plenty of places for tourists to hang out. Larsson fan or not, you will have a blast exploring the narrow streets lined up with wooden cottages, stone houses, popular bars, fashion stores and art galleries.
You can even imagine yourself living the life of one of the characters because Blomqvist and Salander, the main characters in the Millennium Trilogy, both have apartments in Sodermalm.
Due to the popularity of the Millennium Trilogy books, Stockholm City Museum has already put together a two-hour Larsson Tour where they can have a glimpse of Blomqvist’s small apartment at 1 Bellmansgatan or the Lebanese eatery on 22 Tavastgatan, believed to be the inspiration for Samir’s – a restaurant where Blomqvist dined several times.
As for Hedestad which is described as being along the coast north of Stockholm – you can probably substitute it with a tour to the sleepy town of Gnesta located 45 miles south of the city.
Once fans of the book see what the real addresses look like, the characters of Larsson’s novels are brought to life even more.
But what if the place mentioned in a particular novel is based on a real city – but the specific town is fictional? This is the dilemma that locals of Stockholm, Sweden have to face.
Fans of the late crime novelist Stieg Larsson are looking for the quaint town Hedestad which is prominently featured in his novel “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. Although the setting of the book is in Larsson’s own home city in Stockholm, the author took liberties at creating the fictional town of Hedestad – which most of his fans are looking for when they visit the city.
The Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson
Born in August 15, 1954, Larsson is a Swedish novelist who is best known for writing the Millennium Trilogy of crime novels. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” was posthumously released in the US in September 2008. Its original title is “Man Som Hatar Kvinnor” or “Men who Hate Women”. The English translation was created by Reg Keeland under a different title.
About a year later, the second book “The Girl Who Played with Fire” was released. On May 2010, the last book in the Millennium Trilogy entitled “The Air Castle that Blew Up” was released.
For 2008, Larsson was considered as the second best-selling author in the world next to Khaled Hosseini. As of March 2010, Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy books sold 27 million copies in more than 40 countries.
Stockholm Tourists Search for Hedestad
The good news is that despite Hedestad being a fictional town, die-hard Larsson fans will not be that disappointed because most locations in the books are authentic.
First, there’s the Kaffebar café in Stockholm which is a favorite hangout spot of Larsson’s fictional journalist Mikael Blomqvist. Second, there’s the Kvarnen Bar where another fictional character Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker, spent evenings with her friends.
Both bars are located in Sodermalm, a trendy isle in Stockholm where there are plenty of places for tourists to hang out. Larsson fan or not, you will have a blast exploring the narrow streets lined up with wooden cottages, stone houses, popular bars, fashion stores and art galleries.
You can even imagine yourself living the life of one of the characters because Blomqvist and Salander, the main characters in the Millennium Trilogy, both have apartments in Sodermalm.
Due to the popularity of the Millennium Trilogy books, Stockholm City Museum has already put together a two-hour Larsson Tour where they can have a glimpse of Blomqvist’s small apartment at 1 Bellmansgatan or the Lebanese eatery on 22 Tavastgatan, believed to be the inspiration for Samir’s – a restaurant where Blomqvist dined several times.
As for Hedestad which is described as being along the coast north of Stockholm – you can probably substitute it with a tour to the sleepy town of Gnesta located 45 miles south of the city.
Once fans of the book see what the real addresses look like, the characters of Larsson’s novels are brought to life even more.