The most brilliant bookshops in the world

Surprised that Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal wasn't mentioned. Absolutely stunning to visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livraria_Lello

Hay-on-Wye is the best bookshop, but probably gets overlooked as it’s a colony of very small bookshops that together create one village-sized bookshop.

Pour one out for the grand bookshops of Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue. Moe's Books forever:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/03/books/moes-books-berkeley...

If you took a left turn in Albuquerque, you can stop at Page One Books and wander around. I love their huge used bookshop, Page One Too:

https://www.abebooks.com/page-one-too-albuquerque-nm-u.s.a/5...

Show some love for a dearly missed treasure: Uncle Hugo's bookstore in Minneapolis. Burned to the ground in the riots following the death of George Floyd. In this most virtual of ages, perhaps it shall rise again.

http://www.unclehugo.com/prod/index.shtml

I know this is always a bit subjective, but a few personal notes:

- I'm surprised "Ler devagar" is there and not Lello (https://www.livrarialello.pt/en/about-livraria-lello)

- I find Blackwell's in Oxford underwhelming and surprised Barter Books[0] (https://www.barterbooks.co.uk/) is not there instead

[0] Trivia: Barter books was were the "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster was re-discovered, in storage. After being forgotten by History.

> The warren-like 17th-century building has played host to readings by authors ... James Joyce (who some claim is buried in the cellar)

That's just...a very Paris rumor to circulate. :) Especially in the vicinity of Notre-Dame and the catacombs.

My Shakespeare and Co. anecdote: I visited them February 2020, just before the lockdowns (in fact, the Monday following my visit, the Louvre employees would go on strike due to COVID19). I was musing about whether or not their interior layout is intentional or accidental. It seemed to me it was a maze of nooks to just rest, read, or just marvel and soak in the ambiance. It's a cozy experience you don't have to pay for to just sit on a couch, browse a book, or observe people in there.

(I did end up buying two books, because how could I not! You can get it stamped with the store logo on the cashier so you can show it off to other bibliophiles.)

If you ever find yourself overwhelmed doing tourist-y things in Paris, find Shakespeare and Co. There is/was also a nice cafe outside, you can try out.

Didn't have my favourite of course: Massolit Books & Café, ul. Felicjanek 4, 31-104 Kraków, Poland, http://www.massolit.com/

I love bookstores. The best one I've ever been to was in Bath, England. I'm afraid that I don't remember the name, as it was over 15 years ago. Based on an internet search it was probably either Mr. B's Emporium or Bath Old Books. I was very impressed by their collection of old and rare science books. I picked up one book on Electrons (+ and -) by Millikan, and one on Strong and Electroweak Interactions by Bohm and Joos (but not the famous Bohm and Joos). There were much more interesting ones, but far outside my budget at the time.

Not a bookshop, but I found the design of Stockholm's public library to be excellent too[1]. It was designed by the Swedish architect, Gunnar Asplund.

The same gentleman was also one of the architects of the stunning woodland cemetery, Skogskyrkogården[2], located just outside of Stockholm. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site, that beautifully blends nature and landscape to create a tranquil atmosphere. Absolutely worth visiting if you're Stockholm.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_Public_Library#/medi...

[2] https://skogskyrkogarden.stockholm.se/in-english/architectur...

I can still remember the first time I visited Blackwells forty years later. Standing over the Norrington Room made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-norrington-room

I would love to own and run a bookshop. Not a posh, shiny one, but a small, out-of-the-way-full-of-old-books type one.

Sure, it would make NO money, but I'd enjoy being in it every day and that's what counts.

If you've seen the show Black Books, something like that, complete with Dylan Moran's level of customer service.

Missing in my opinion is Dominicanen bookshop in Maastricht, a bookshop in a former church.

https://www.fromlusttilldawn.com/boekhandel-dominicanen-the-...

I miss the days when Cambridge (UK) was Heffers, Heffers, and Heffers. The main Heffers on Trinity Street, children's Heffers, Art and Architecture Heffers, Heffers Maps, Heffers Art Goods, Heffers Paperbacks and Videos, Heffers in the Grafton Centre. I've probably missed a few!

Alternatively, they could have titled this article "The Most Brilliant Bookshops in Western Europe and Places We Go on Holiday". The high-end of British press is of a generally high quality, but one way in which it's almost a parody of itself is in pretending 70% of the world does not exist.

The following regions get articles written about them:

1) Former British colonies

2) Places posh English people holiday

The following regions are either never mentioned, or only in ways to demonstrate the author's ignorance of them:

1) Anything East of Berlin

2) Africa

3) South America

Here's an example of a bookstore that, if it was in Paris would be described as "brilliant": https://goo.gl/maps/Mmv5wENLZ1199rf28

As soon as I saw the headline, I thought of that bookshop in Santorini! It was an interesting/eclectic place.

The independent bookshop in the town where I grew up closed a long time ago. I suppose bookshop-as-an-experience is the only way to compete with the likes of Amazon.

I wonder what would be closest to a Michelin star guide to bookstores/libraries around the world? Not only top 10/25 or whatever, but a list of exceptionally good bookstores all around.

Booked Up in Archer City, Texas, must be remarkable. The Georgetown version was wonderful--if mostly too expensive for me--before McMurtry moved it all to Texas for lower rents and more space.

Wonderful article, and as always love the additional mentions from the community!

Harvard Book Store, Cambridge, MA is my favourite. Fiercely independent. Great selection. Several calendar events.

The best bookshops don't get written about by the Financial Times. They are found in small and mid-sized jurisdictions (often university towns) where the of ageing population is getting rid of books faster than the younger population is consuming them. They are dark inside—direct sunlight damages books—and they don't waste time or money on extravagant decor. The collection does the talking.

I think I have visited 4 of them during my travels: the ones in Paris, Oxford, NY and Rome.

My favorite bookshops were IT bookshops: Le Monde en Tique in Paris and The Computer Bookshop in London. Both are now closed.

Also Foyles in London, before it was refurbished (20 years ago ?).

There's one bookshop I liked in Bologna because it did close at midnight. Great way to spend the end of the evening !

I'd like to add Libreria Acqua Alta in Venice, very charming. The place floods when the lagoon water rises: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=libreria+acqua+alta+venezia&iax=im...

Not an ancient ornate bookstore in Europe but I enjoy the Midtown Scholar in Harrisburg PA. It isn't captured in pictures I could find on the internet but the Scholar has an endless basement full of books (the majority of its wallspace is underground I believe).

Portland’s little secret was Powell’s technical bookstore. It was rarely busy in there and all the latest text books you can find. In the days before resources were available online, I learned most of my math and sciences in that little bookstore after undergrad.

Do these bookstores with their comfy furniture allow people to do extensive reading?

Any serious review of bookstores should measure how long one can read in the same book before someone taps them on the shoulder and says "this is not a library".

I think the bookshops with fake bookself printouts on the wall look a bit silly.

I am amazed that some of these shops got opened recently. Being a non user of Amazon and other online libraries I am glad for that but it is seems like a gamble to launch a bookshop in the 21st century

I miss the McGraw-Hill bookstore in NYC. It was amazing

My favorite was Robert Hittel bookseller in Fort Lauderdale growing up in the late 80s and 90s. What a thoroughly magical place..

I was expecting to see Tsutaya make the list although it must be said that their Futakotamagawa branch is even more impressive.

I used to like bookstores.i loved the old Donner in Rotterdam(the new one is a big downgrade). But since moving from there and also living far from the center it increasingly didn't make much sense anymore to go to a bookstore. Now on Amazon you don't get like half an hour to look at a book so that's a disadvantage. But I'm lazy and Amazon is convenient. They're not dear either.