Bookstores I Would Love To Visit

This week I’m sharing bookstores around the world I would love to visit. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and Bookish and is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl.

So I don’t know if you know this, but I work in a bookstore. It’s my full-time job and I love it to bits. So today’s topic was a lot of fun to write up. If I ever see a bookstore I go into it. It doesn’t matter where I am, or what country I’m in. I need to go in. So today I’m sharing the bookstores worldwide that I would love to visit.

Let’s imagine I had all the time and money in the world so I could travel to all of these places and buy whatever books that I would like. That is the dream. As always these are in no order.

Shakespeare and Company, Left Bank, Paris, France

Shakespeare and Company opened in 1951 and now sells, new, secondhand and antique books. This bookstore looks like the dream. And I want to go there. I see all these images books of stacked books and beautiful interiors and it makes me want to go there even more.

Libreria Acqua Alta, Venice

A floating bookstore sounds absolutely terrifying. But I want to visit. Founded in 2004 this bookstore has books floating in boats, tubs and even a gondola. Venice has been on my bucket list for years and when I stumbled along this bookstore. I knew I wanted to go even more.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Buenos Aires

In 2000 this old theatre and cinema was converted into a book and music shop. This beautiful building now stores thousands up thousands of books. Named one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, there is no question that I would love to walk these aisles.

Honesty Bookshop (Hay Castle Bookshop, Hay-on-Wye, Wales

This bookstore is manned and every book is a euro or under. Some concept of this bookshop has been around for the 1960’s and all that is required of you is to drop your money in a box. I’ve seen this concept around in a few different places, but this one just sounds brilliant. And I need to go. I mean it’s also gorgeous as well.

The Ripped Bodice, California

This romance only bookstore opened in 2016 and has been on my bucket list ever since. I also don’t want to go to this place because gosh I would spend why too much money and would never be able to bring all the books home. I love that The Ripped Bodice doesn’t only have romance books but all types of romance books and I am here for that.

Boekhandel Dominicanen, Maastricht, Netherlands

I can’t get over the beauty of this bookstore and I just want to go now. In 2006 this over 700 year old Dominican church was restored and turned into a bookstore.

Foyles Bookshop, London, England

I went to a lot of bookstores when I was in the UK, but I never made it to a Foyles. Founded in 1903 there are a fair few around England, but I would love to see the Charing Cross Road store. I just want to go back to the UK really.

Persephone Books, Bath, England

An independent publisher and bookstore located in Bath. Founded in 1999, they reprint books mostly by women from the late 19th and 20th century. All of the books they publish have grey dust jackets and gorgeous end pages. I’m so sad that I didn’t go the last time I was in Engliand.

And there we go. Those are the bookstores that I would love to visit around the world. What book stores made it to your list this week? Have you been to any on my list? Let’s Chat!

Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys

· Reply

October 4, 2022 at 4:04 PM

Great list – and I agree, we all need the time, money, and space to bring home books from all these amazing places, right? The one in Venice sounds amazing.
Have a great week and hope you find time to enjoy a good book.
Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
https://www.bookshelfjourneys.com/post/ttt-bookstores-to-visit

Iris
· Reply

October 4, 2022 at 5:06 PM

These bookstores look very beautiful. I’ve been to 4 of them, Paris, Venice, Maastricht and London. I do have the ones in Hay-on-Wye and Bath still on my list to visit at some point. My husband has gone to Buenos Aires a few years ago and taken a 4k video for me. I was supposed to come too, but had given birth a few months earlier so I couldn’t. Still a bit sad about it, because I will probably not go that far on a trip again, at least for a very long time (with 3 kids under the age of 4 I’ll be busy parenting for a long while 😉).

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Elena @ ElenaSquareEyes

October 4, 2022 at 6:44 PM

I went to Perephone Books when the shop was in London and it was lovely. Would love to visit it again in its new home in Bath.
My TTT

Emily @Budget Tales Book Blog

October 4, 2022 at 9:04 PM

A great list. I have some of those stores on my list too! I live an hour’s train ride away from London, but have visited very few bookshops. I am aiming to rectify this soon, but trying to find 2 hours worth of travel in my day is hard when I have to collect my son from school at 3:15pm. It is also very expensive to travel by train (plus these days there are so many strikes I could end up stranded somewhere!).

Have a great week!

Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2022/10/04/top-ten-tuesday-favourite-bookstores-or-bookstores-id-love-to-visit/

Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!

October 4, 2022 at 9:08 PM

I would love to visit Shakespeare and Company! Of course, all the others on here could be great fun too!

Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/nine-favorite-fictional-bookstores-libraries/

Dini @ dinipandareads

October 4, 2022 at 9:16 PM

Oh, if I had the money I’d for sure head to Bueno Aires and Maastricht to visit those two bookstores! They’re on my very loose bucket list 😍 Great list! I hope you get to visit at least a few of these bookstores one day.

Lydia

October 5, 2022 at 1:03 AM

What a cool job you have!

El Ateneo Grand Splendid looks like an amazing place to visit.

My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-fictional-bookstores-id-love-to-visit/

These all look lovely.

October 5, 2022 at 1:13 AM

I’ve only been to Foyles of your list, but it is one of my favourite places to go in London. I really want to go to Shakespeare and Co, I went to Paris with my family a while back but didn’t get a chance to stop in there. Quite a few of your other bookshops were places I listed when I did a Bookstores I’d Like To Visit Post a few years back, the one in Venice and the one in Argentina, the Venice one is probably a little more achievable given that South America is on the other side of the world to me!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2022/10/04/top-ten-tuesday-388/

Cindy @ Speedy Reader

October 5, 2022 at 5:54 AM

These are amazing! I’ve never been in such a fancy bookstore, but it would be awesome! Here’s my list for this week: https://speedyreadercom.wordpress.com/2022/10/04/top-10/