Alain de Botton

Travel

Alain de Botton is a writer of essayistic books, which refer both to his own experiences and ideas - and those of artists, philosophers and thinkers. Alain has been very involved in The School of Life from its conception, helping to design and deliver courses and events and contributing to our holidays in unlikely places. He is our expert on travel.

Holidays are rarely as brochures would have us imagine them and the traditional travel writer can never tell us everything about their journey. Alain’s approach is different. His book, The Art of Travel, explores why we travel, the emotions we experience on holiday and what great artists and writers can teach us about travelling. By combining his personal experiences in various destinations with those of his chosen historical guides he highlights why it is so important to understand what exactly it is about travel experiences we like and dislike.

At a time when the realities of climate change are making us think about our modes of transport, the need to also question why we travel becomes relevant for reasons of planetary as well as personal well-being. You could perhaps meet Alain in the map room of the British Library or maybe at one of London’s international transport hubs to discuss what travel gives us and how to master the art of fulfilling travel.