Here's a little guide I thought up for beginners looking for that first cultural victory. I'm sure advanced players will have different or perhaps better ways of getting there, but I think this could be called a good summing up of tips needed for a cultural victory. These tips are generally developed from my mistakes in getting my first few cultural victories, and also what I have done well, and apply in general to the earlier difficulty levels (i.e.. up to noble).
The Basics
OK the first thing you need is a civ and a leader. The best traits for a cultural victory are certainly creative and philosophical, followed by industrious. The other traits will probably have very little effect on a basic cultural strategy, except maybe spiritual with it's cheap temples. Therefore I would say the best leaders for cultural victory, in a rough order are:
