Alain de Botton's The Art of Travel is a collection of nine essays. In his work de Botton disregards the logistics of travel, overlooking the destination or the 'where' but emphasizing the importance of the journey or the 'how' and 'why'. He says that Travel is the manifestation of mans search for happiness and truth. Each of de Botton's nine essays compares his own travels to those of Western authors and personalities or their works.
On Anticipation, the first essay, draws de Botton's own experience in Barbados. Excited by the descriptions of sunny beaches and shady palms, he quickly leaves the freezing London winter for what seems to be paradise. However, when he arrived, he quickly tired of the sun and sand and frequently squabbled with his then girlfriend, M. He observes that these kind of travels cannot offer one any happiness because ones primary psychological necessities must be satisfied first. He juxtaposes his trip to Barbados to Duc des Esseintes' trip to London in J.K. Huysman's, À Rebours. Botton concludes that it is possible for travel to bring joy even if it is not what one expected.
His next essay, On Travelling Places, is drawn from the experiences and works of Charles Baudelaire and Edward Hopper. Botton ruminates on Baudelaire's trip to India from which he promptly returned, discouraged that the travel did not somehow heal his depression. However, he still remained enamored by the notion of travel, declaring it a poets only solace from a society that he doesn't belong in. Romanticizing the idea but yet quite unable to embark on one himself. The lonesome, poignant characters painted in Edward Hopper's paintings reminds de Botton of Baudelaire's pensive poets.
On the Exotic, elucidates on the Western fixation with the 'exotic'. He compares his own wonder at Amsterdam and its stark difference to London to Gustave Flaubert's enamor of the Middle East. From the brick houses to the Dutch language system, de Botton comes to feel more at home in Amsterdam than in London, just as Flaubert comes to love the bustle and noise of Egypt. The essay concludes by saying that these exotic experiences in wildly foreign nations can contribute to ones fulfillment.
Curiosity is explored in de Botton's fourth essay. He details his trip to Madrid, characterized by his own inertia and lack of curiosity. He is disgruntled by the guidebook that seems to direct his exploration, leading him to places that have been long discovered. He juxtaposes this trip to Alexander von Humboldt's expedition to South America. Humboldt's expedition so different from his own, distinguished by his motivation to explore and discover. The essay concludes with de Botton saying that travel is meaningful only if it aids the traveller to find the answers of his inner questions in his experiences.
On the Country and the City, the fifth essay, sees de Botton exploring William Wordsworth's claim that being mindful and reverent of nature can help ease anxiety, especially of those from the city. De Botton too goes to the famous Lake District, taking care to notice nature and gain perspective. He comes to hold onto those moments to relieve his stress and anxiety when he returns to his Life in London.
The sixth essay too considers the wonders of nature. His experience in Sinai reminded him of the insignificance of man in front of nature, so much so that it can even spark a belief in an infinite power. De Botton relates this experience to Edmund Burke's philosophy on the beautiful and the sublime. Traveling and experiencing the sublime, he surmises, can inspire humility and help one recognize and accept their own mortal limitations.
The influence of art on foreign perspective and consequently how it can direct attention to a particular destination is explored in de Botton's seventh essay. He examines how Vincent Van Gough's depiction of Provence in Southern France has largely impacted tourism. The study of Van Gough's work and life reveals to him the allure of the weather and colorful landscapes of Provence. The artist's portrayal of the region in his paintings displayed the psychological effect of actually being in Provence.
In the eighth essay de Botton again toys with the idea of completely absorbing what one experiences and sees on travels. He follows John Ruskin's idea, of noticing rather than just seeing. De Botton says that drawing a particular image rather than just photographing can help one fully possess the beauty that they are witnessing. He attempts drawing, trying to imbibe what he is seeing by reproducing it, thereby truly living within what he is witnessing.
On Habit, the final essay, considers how one might bring the benefits of travel to where they currently reside. He reflects on Xavier de Maistre's Journey around my Bedroom, from which he surmises that there is much to be gained from one's existing surroundings, the same if not more than what one learns from travel. The same beauty that one looks for in travel they can find by examining their own environments closely. He concludes by saying that the largest gift that travel can give is the ability of being receptive and humble before the world.
