The Da Vinci Code. Harry Potter. Angels and Demons. These are some of the most famous books in the recent years, and more than inspiring people to bury their noses in their pages, the stories have urged people to get out of their homes to go discover the real world behind the books. You’ve probably heard of people actually going on a trip with the places in the Da Vinci Code as part of their itinerary.

I remember meeting a French woman who used her vacation time to visit every single place mentioned in the Da Vinci Code. The Louvre was, of course, easy for her to visit, but she also went out of her way to travel to Scotland and the United States, just to see for herself what the places were actually like. Statistics also show that visitors to the UK have grown exponentially due to Harry Potter fans who want to get a glimpse of the world of their favorite wizard. Of course, the real deal is probably not the same as what the stories portray, but the sense of adventure and a little imagination is what matters – these can get you a long, long way.

Dan Brown’s new novel, The Lost Symbol, is also set to increase the number of visitors to Washington, DC. This is especially true now that they have set up a web site detailing the places of interest that people can visit in real life.

Have you ever planned a vacation based on a novel?