Let's forget the binary between fiction and travel guides as the only sources of inspiration; there is a third way that no one asked for, yet it is very real.
Often, the spark for travel is a fortuitous curiosity, an image seen by chance or an unexpected conversation, far from the beaten paths of novels or guides.
A simple tourist brochure, with an enticing photo of a hiking trail, can be enough to ignite the desire to explore, as was the case for me in the Cévennes, with no film or book beforehand.
The trigger is not always the one we expect, nor the one presented as unique.