Not many cities can boast being home to four Nobel prize winners for literature, half a dozen book festivals, and multiple literary museums. Dublin is one of UNESCO's 53 designated Cities of Literature, and it has the written word coursing through its veins. Many of Dublin's bars appear in famous works of literature, and play host to some of the world's most famous writers. James Joyce would frequent Davy Byrne's, which features in his masterpiece "Ulysses," while poet W.B. Yeats sought inspiration at Toners.

Scattered throughout the city are theaters that showcase the work of Irish writers and playwrights such as Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. There are architecturally stunning libraries, like the vaulted Long Room at Trinity College and the historic Marsh's Library, Ireland's oldest public library. Wandering the streets will take you to independent bookshops where you can find new, rare, and second-hand selections. You'll also come across heritage plaques dedicated to writers and evocative sculptures like that of Brendan Behan contemplatively overlooking the Royal Canal.

Dublin is also the birthplace of Bram Stoker, the creator of Dracula. The author drew inspiration from his time working as a civil servant in Dublin Castle, and from the city's hidden crypts and crumbling monasteries. Dracula was allegedly inspired by a bad dream Stoker had about a vampire king rising from the dead. Though Stoker himself never visited Transylvania, where the novel is set, his extensive research was conducted in Dublin's rich libraries and scholarly atmosphere. When you're a writer living in a city of libraries, even your nightmares can become literary classics!

Learn more: Ireland.com, Smithsonian Magazine, Encyclopædia Britannica

Monday, March 24 to Sunday, March 30.

The following are the shortest paths from last week:

Play Forgeous for Mar 31