In Europe, 76 destinations off the beaten path

Image 22 of 76

Arezzo, ItalySalina, ItalyCrete, GreeceRoquefort, FranceKvarner Islands, CroatiaTaormina, ItalyBonn, GermanyMonschau, GermanyCanterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, EnglandSt. Albans, EnglandCambridge, EnglandBrighton, EnglandCarnac, FranceCotswold Way, EnglandIstanbul, TurkeyGiglio, ItalySpain's Basque CountryAlbaniaAndorraViennaArdennes, BelgiumHay on Wye, BritainGiant's Causeway, Northern IrelandScotland's Tweed ValleyBulgariaZagreb, CroatiaHvar, CroatiaOsijek, CroatiaKladska, Czech RepublicTallinnHelsinki, FinlandBarbizon, FranceVerdun, FranceLourdes, FranceBeaujolais, FranceLyon, FranceChâteau des Milandes, FranceMillau, FranceLacoste, FranceMunich, GermanyIceland's countrysideGalway City, IrelandSkibbereen, IrelandCampania region, ItalySiena, ItalySperlonga, ItalyCinque Terre, ItalyPuglia, ItalyGenoa, ItalyPiedmont, ItalySicily, ItalyLipari, ItalyCastel del Monte, ItalyRiga, LatviaJurmala, LatviaLiechtensteinVilnius, LithuaniaLuxembourgMoldovaMonacoMontenegroOslo, NorwayTransylvania, RomaniaDanube River Delta, RomaniaSt. Petersburg, RussiaSan MarinoBelgrade, SerbiaSloveniaCatalonia, SpainSegovia, SpainIcehotel, Jukkasjarvi, SwedenZurich, SwitzerlandVals Valley, SwitzerlandCappadocia, TurkeyLviv, UkraineVatican City

In the early 1960s, while still a lad in his early 20s, Richard Booth, an eccentric anarchist and Oxford graduate with an abiding love for books, declared Hay a "book town" and opened a secondhand bookshop. Later, he bought 800-year-old Hay Castle and declared himself king of Hay. King Richard's vision was to create a "town of books" that would lure visitors to the banks of the River Wye and give his kingdom an economic foundation.<br>
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Booth transformed Hay Castle into a sprawling secondhand bookstore where "honesty" boxes are built into the nooks of the castle walls: 30 pence (60 cents) for paperbacks, 50 pence ($1) for hardbacks. The more valuable books are inside the castle and cost more, but most volumes can be had for $2 to $4.<br>
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-- Michael Shapiro<br>
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Read more: <a href="http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trw-wye6may06,0,4044661.story">The used-book king of Hay on Wye</a><br>
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<i>Pictured: Hay Castle.</i>

Hay on Wye, Britain

( Paul Thompson / Corbis )

In the early 1960s, while still a lad in his early 20s, Richard Booth, an eccentric anarchist and Oxford graduate with an abiding love for books, declared Hay a "book town" and opened a secondhand bookshop. Later, he bought 800-year-old Hay Castle and declared himself king of Hay. King Richard's vision was to create a "town of books" that would lure visitors to the banks of the River Wye and give his kingdom an economic foundation.

Booth transformed Hay Castle into a sprawling secondhand bookstore where "honesty" boxes are built into the nooks of the castle walls: 30 pence (60 cents) for paperbacks, 50 pence ($1) for hardbacks. The more valuable books are inside the castle and cost more, but most volumes can be had for $2 to $4.

-- Michael Shapiro

Read more: The used-book king of Hay on Wye

Pictured: Hay Castle.