Explore the real-world places that appear in Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Hamburg (Lidenbrock House), Altona Railway Station, Copenhagen, Reykjavik, Stapi and 9 more.
The professor's home on Königstrasse where the journey begins
Professor Otto Lidenbrock returns home with a rare Icelandic runic manuscript, the Saknussemm cryptogram. His nephew Axel accidentally discovers the key to decoding it, revealing a route to the center of the Earth via Iceland's Snæfellsjökull. Axel's fiancée Gräuben encourages him to join the expedition.
Hamburg is a major Hanseatic port city on the Elbe River, and a center of trade and scholarship in the 19th century. Much of the old city was destroyed by fire in 1842 and by bombing in WWII.
Hamburg is Germany's second-largest city, with a rebuilt historic core and the Speicherstadt warehouse district. Visitors can explore the city's museums and harbor.
Departure point for the expedition northward
Lidenbrock, Axel, and their gear board the train at Altona bound for Kiel. The professor is impatient while Axel is full of dread. They journey through Schleswig-Holstein toward the Baltic.
Altona was a Danish-ruled city until 1864 and was later incorporated into Hamburg. Its station was a key rail terminus linking Hamburg to Kiel and Denmark.
Hamburg-Altona station is a major rail hub, rebuilt in the 1890s and expanded afterwards. It remains an active station for regional and long-distance trains.
Danish capital where the travelers prepare for Iceland
In Copenhagen, Lidenbrock consults with the learned Professor Thomsen at the Museum of Northern Antiquities. The party then boards the schooner Valkyrie bound for Reykjavik under Captain Bjarne.
Copenhagen was Denmark's capital and the administrative center for Iceland, which was then a Danish dependency. The city was a major scholarly and maritime hub.
Copenhagen is a vibrant capital with a rich museum culture, including the National Museum of Denmark. Its harbor, Nyhavn, remains an iconic sight.
Icelandic capital and staging point
The party arrives in Reykjavik and is received by the governor and Professor Fridriksson. They hire the stoic eider-down hunter Hans, who becomes their calm and capable guide. Lidenbrock buys provisions for the journey.
Reykjavik was a small town in the 19th century, then Iceland's main settlement. It became the capital of the independent Republic of Iceland in 1944.
Reykjavik is the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state, known for Hallgrímskirkja and its vibrant culture. Visitors can explore its museums and surrounding geothermal sites.
Village on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula near the volcano
The party travels through remote Icelandic farmsteads, enduring rough terrain and hospitality from local pastors. Near the volcano's base, they prepare for the final climb. Axel continues to doubt the plan.
Stapi is noted for its hexagonal basalt columns at Lóndrangar and Arnarstapi. The Snæfellsnes region has long been a center of Icelandic folklore.
Arnarstapi and Hellnar are popular tourist stops with coastal trails and basalt formations. The region is part of Snæfellsjökull National Park.
The volcano whose crater leads to the underworld
Atop the glacier-covered volcano, Lidenbrock waits for the shadow of Scartaris to point to the correct crater. On the last days of June, the shadow reveals the way. The trio descends into the crater to begin the true journey.
Snæfellsjökull is a stratovolcano and glacier, last erupting about 1,800 years ago. It has long been associated with mystical energies in Icelandic lore.
The summit is protected within Snæfellsjökull National Park and can be climbed with guides. It remains a draw for hikers and fans of the novel.
The long vertical tunnel beneath Scartaris
The explorers lower themselves down the sloping tunnel, using ropes and the Ruhmkorff lamps. They pass layers of strata, reading geologic history in the rock. Axel marvels at fossils as they move deeper.
Verne drew on 19th-century geology and debates over Earth's interior, including the work of Charles Lyell and theories of a hot core.
No real shaft exists, but lava tubes such as Vatnshellir cave on Snæfellsnes allow visitors to descend into the volcanic subsurface.
Wrong tunnel where Axel gets lost and the Hansbach is found
Running out of water, the party is saved when Hans taps into an underground stream, later named the Hansbach. Soon after, Axel gets separated and lost in the dark labyrinth. He hears Lidenbrock's voice carried through a whispering gallery effect.
Natural lava tubes and caves in Iceland can have remarkable acoustics. Verne's whispering gallery echoes real acoustic phenomena.
Visitors to Icelandic lava caves experience darkness and silence similar to the book's scenes. Guided tours highlight the geology.
Vast subterranean ocean lit by electric auroras
The explorers emerge into an immense cavern holding a sea beneath a luminous sky. They build a raft from fossilized wood and set sail, naming the water after the professor. They encounter storms, giant mushrooms, and prehistoric life.
Southern Iceland features vast glacial lagoons and volcanic lakes such as Jökulsárlón, hinting at the otherworldly scale of water amid ice.
Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon is a prime visitor attraction, with boat tours among icebergs.
Landing point named for Axel's beloved
Upon first reaching the sea shore, Axel names the small harbor Port Gräuben in honor of his fiancée. The group assembles their raft here, tests it, and sets out into the unknown waters.
Port naming reflects the Victorian tradition of explorers christening discoveries after loved ones or patrons.
Southern Iceland's coastal harbors such as Vík and Höfn offer similar rugged shoreline views.
Forest of giant fungi and beasts of ancient eras
Axel witnesses a battle between an ichthyosaurus and a plesiosaurus on the sea, then explores a shore with giant mushrooms and a herd of mastodons. He glimpses a towering human-like shepherd, leaving him astonished.
Victorian paleontology was booming, with discoveries by Mary Anning and Richard Owen fueling public fascination with prehistoric reptiles.
The Natural History Museum in London and similar institutions hold major fossil collections, including ichthyosaur and plesiosaur specimens.
Blocked tunnel marked by the alchemist's initials
The explorers find Saknussemm's carved initials on a rock and locate the tunnel he used. A boulder blocks the way, so Lidenbrock decides to blast it with gunpowder. The explosion opens a chasm and the sea rushes in.
Arne Saknussemm is a fictional 16th-century Icelandic alchemist, though Verne modeled him on real scholarly adventurers of the Renaissance.
Icelandic manuscripts from the medieval and early modern periods are preserved at the Árni Magnússon Institute in Reykjavik.
Volcano that expels the travelers to the surface
Carried on the raft up a volcanic chimney by rising water and lava, the trio is flung out of Stromboli's crater. They awaken on the mountainside, amazed to be in the Mediterranean, thousands of miles from Iceland. Shepherds and locals care for them.
Stromboli has been continuously erupting for at least 2,000 years and is known as the Lighthouse of the Mediterranean.
Stromboli is a popular destination for guided hikes and boat tours to watch its eruptions at night. The island village of Ginostra and Stromboli town offer lodging.
Passage home via Sicily and the German rail network
The travelers are taken to Messina, then return to Hamburg to a hero's welcome. Lidenbrock is celebrated as a scientific pioneer, and Axel marries Gräuben. Hans returns to Iceland quietly.
Messina is a port city in northeastern Sicily, rebuilt after the devastating 1908 earthquake. It has been a key Mediterranean crossroads since antiquity.
Messina is a gateway to Sicily with a cathedral featuring a famous astronomical clock. Ferries connect it to mainland Italy.
More by Jules Verne: Around the World in 80 Days locations map · The Mysterious Island locations map · Mysterious Island locations map · Around the World in Eighty Days locations map · All Jules Verne books
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