12 Beautiful Bookstores That Are Worth Traveling For
Michael Ventura / AlamyCity Lights Books, San Francisco
Founded by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 1953, City Lights has remained a bastion of the counterculture in San Francisco's North Beach. If you still haven't picked up a copy of Allen Ginsberg's "Howl," this would be the place to do it: The epic Beat poem was first published by City Lights Publishing in 1956 as part of its Pocket Poems series.
Philip Scalia / AlamyPowell’s Books, Portland, OR
A Portland icon since the 1970s, Powell's is massive: The flagship store on Burnside Avenue is the size of a city block, and is divided into different rooms (e.g. the Rare Book Room, or the Pearl Room, where you'll find art, architecture, and cultural tomes). What we're saying is, plan to spend a good chunk of time here if you want to browse—but really, is there any other way to experience the shop?
Photo by Ben HiderStrand Book Store, New York City
Bibliophiles should plan to spend an entire day at the Strand, too: The store, founded in 1927, is famous for its claim of having 18 miles of books in stock. Much of the three-story shop is devoted to used tomes, and part of the fun of visiting is spending hours among the overflowing shelves, searching for a gem that you didn’t even know you wanted. (Get a tote bag if you must, but be sure to fill it with books, too.)
© Sergio Pitamitz/CorbisShakespeare and Company, Paris
Though the original Shakespeare & Company—which opened in 1919 and served as a hangout for American expats like Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein—closed in 1940, the shop that now bears its name has become a beloved destination in its own right. Founder George Whitman wanted to evoke the atmosphere of the earlier shop, and decades later, it still has the feeling of a charming, cluttered place where artists and literary types might pull up a chair and hang out for a while.
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Andrew RozarioParnassus Books, Nashville, TN
In 2011, award-winning author Ann Patchett (Bel Canto) realized a dream that many authors surely have: She opened Parnassus Books, an independent shop in Nashville, TN, at a time when bookstores were disappearing from the city. The shop has quickly become a local favorite, thanks in part to its robust event series: Parnassus hosts book clubs and kid's events alongside more traditional author readings (literary luminaries that have read there include Emma Straub, Lorrie Moore, and Anna Quindlen).
david pearson / AlamyMunro’s Books, British Columbia
Parnassus isn’t the only shop to have a direct link to an author: This store in British Columbia was opened by Jim Munro and his wife, author and Canadian treasure Alice Munro, in 1963. (The couple split up in 1972—and Alice is no longer involved with the store—but thankfully, Munro's remains.) As you're browsing, take a moment to drink in your surroundings: The shop is located in a gorgeous Neoclassical building that was once a branch of the Royal Bank of Canada.
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Caro / AlamyLibreria Acqua Alta, Venice
When your bookshop is located next to Venice's canals, it's good to devise a system to keep the tomes dry in case of flooding. And Libreria Acqua Alta has figured out a location-appropriate way to do so: by stacking books in gondolas throughout the store. Books are also stacked on shelves that line the walls, and are used as decorative elements throughout—and you might just see one of the shop's cats perched atop a stack.
Courtesy Cook & BookCook & Book, Brussels
Hybrid bookstores abound in cities around the world, but this Brussels shop is especially cool: As the name implies, Cook & Book combines a bookstore and a restaurant all under one banner. The store is divided into sections, with a unique décor scheme for each: the section pictured, with hundreds of books suspended from the ceiling, is where you'll find literature, along with a café serving Italian and vegetarian specialities.
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Bailey-Cooper Photography 2 / AlamyBarter Books, Northumberland, UK
Husband-and-wife duo Stuart and Mary Manley opened this used book store in 1991 in a Victorian-era train station. Elements of that stop remain, including the vaulted ceilings, but the interior has been converted into a large, cozy store. (There’s even a fireplace that visitors can lounge by during colder months.) Barter’s other claim to fame: It was where the now-über-popular “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster design was rediscovered and popularized.
Prairie Lights Bookstore, Iowa City, IA
This unassuming Iowa City shop is in a particularly noteworthy location: It's not far from the University of Iowa, known for its Writers' Workshop, so authors and writers—past visitors include Toni Morrison, David Sedaris, and Cheryl Strayed—are constantly popping in and out of the shop. (President Obama also stopped by in 2010, and bought books by Eva Ibbotson and Lynn Dornell.) The two institutions have even paired up for occasional readings.
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Y.Levy / AlamyEl Ateneo Grand Splendid, Bueno Aires
This gorgeous Bueno Aires store is worth visiting for the architecture alone: It was built in an old theater, with stacks of books now lining what would have been the orchestra section and the mezzanines, and tables and chairs underneath a proscenium arch on what used to be the stage. It's a dazzling, dramatic setting that makes the experience of buying a book there that much cooler.
Jochen Tack / AlamySelexyz Dominicanen, Maastricht, Netherlands
Speaking of bookstores in gorgeous locations, in 2007, a 13th-century Maastricht church was converted into a shop that now stocks hundreds of tomes. But its Gothic architecture was well-preserved: high-arched ceilings, which are covered with restored frescoes, soar high above the bookshelves; a small cafe, meanwhile, nods to the shop's history with a cross-shaped table where patrons can drink and leaf through their purchases.