15 Bookstores Around the World You Need to Know About Today
Books are an infinite possibility to enter other worlds: worlds of fantasy, dense knowledge, romance, history… And bookstores are the portals to transport you to all of them. That’s why once you set foot inside any bookstore, you are in the possibility of giving your mind the one-way ticket, and there may never be a return ticket if you find the perfect book. Our team at Influence Digest did extensive research to find 15 bookstores around the world you need to know about today.
Cook & Book
Cook & Book is a bookstore located in Brussels. It is comprised of nine sections of books, decorated according to their theme: comics, music, travel, fine arts, literature, cooking, children’s and young people’s literature, decoration and English section. Inside there are also several restaurants and a vast terrace. On their website, you can find a 360° tour of the place.
Librería del Ateneo
Almost 50 years ago, two women founded this bookstore under another name, and years later, it was renamed El Ateneo. Their titles include general literature, academic texts, languages, psychology, philosophy, theatre, poetry, cooking, and children’s books.
Find more information about them on their Instagram profile.
The Last Bookstore
The Last Bookstore is California’s largest used and new book and record store. During the revitalization of downtown Los Angeles, they quickly grew to their current 22,000 square foot space in the Spring Arts Tower at 5th and Spring. Their décor is incredible, featuring a tunnel of books and a unique ambiance, that’s why we have considered it as one of the best bookstores around the world you need to know.
Do you want to know more? Here you have their website.
Livraria Cultura
Livraria Cultura, more than just a bookstore, is a meeting place. Its goal is to invite visitors to stay and not just buy books. They have several locations, and their sections are attractive for people of all ages and tastes.
Take a look at their website.
Altaïr
The largest specialized bookstore in Europe, with more than 60,000 titles (fiction, non-fiction, cartography, essays, guides, atlases, etc.) on its shelves, as well as other materials and complements selected for their quality; from globes and objects representative of different cultures to recommended travel articles.
If you want to know more, just visit their website
Cafebrería El Péndulo
The term “Cafebrería” is a hybrid between the word “café” (coffee shop) and “librería” (bookstore) in Spanish. This bookstore started in 1993 and since then they not only have books, but also a collection of records and art films, as well as cultural activities of all kinds, such as concerts, book presentations and literary courses. It has seven branches, all of them in Mexico City.
Find more info on their website.
Boekhandel Dominicanen
This 700-year-old former church, whose ceilings are decorated with frescoes, now houses a bookstore with thousands of copies. Inside you will also find a cafeteria with a large communal table in the shape of a cross. Its architecture is so incredible that you have to see it with your own eyes in its 360° online tour.
Here you have their website.
Livraria Lello
Livraria Lello has been a bookstore of its time since 1906, so it has more than a century of stories embedded in its architecture and the minds of those who visit and read there. It is a truly beautiful bookstore on every corner.
Do you want to know how to visit Livraria Lello? Find out more information on their website.
Shakespeare and Company, Paris
Shakespeare and Company is an English-language bookstore located in the heart of Paris, on the banks of the Seine, opposite Notre Dame. It opened in 1951 and has since become a meeting place for English-speaking writers and readers.
Their website has all the details.
Atlantis Books
Atlantis Books opened its doors in the spring of 2004 with the hope of bringing great art, literature and conversation to one of the most beautiful settings in the world: Santorini, Greece. Among its books are new and second hand in several languages.
What are you waiting for cheking out their Instagram profile?
Books & Books
Books and Books began in 1982 in Coral Gables and the second on Lincoln Road seven years later in 1989. B&B is a place where readers stop in to find what they were looking for or are surprised by a find; they can also talk with authors, listen to live music or choose it for a break or a meeting.
Know more about them on their website.
Ler Devagar
This bookstore was founded in 1999 in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto, where it occupied the former premises of Litografia de Portugal and introduced a new concept of bookstores as places of meeting and debate. Although it is called a bookstore, it is also an exhibition gallery, restaurant, and bar.
Do you want to know it? How about starting with a virtual tour?
Libreria Acqua Alta
It is a bookstore located in Venice, Italy. Its owner has come up with a very creative way to protect his books when the “Acqua alta” phenomenon occurs: he puts them on boats or gondolas or even on bathtubs.
Their Instagram profile has some pictures of it.
Brattle Book Shop
The Brattle Book Shop was founded in Boston’s Cornhill neighbourhood in 1825 and has been in the hands of the Gloss family since 1949. Its space consists of a three-story building and boasts an impressive collection of more than 250,000 books, maps, prints, postcards and ephemera of all subjects. In addition, they have first editions, collectibles and fine leather bindings in their rare book room.
On their Instagram profile you’ll see with your own eyes this amazing place.
Lutyens & Rubinstein Bookshop
This bookstore was founded in 2009 and sells general fiction and non-fiction books, with special sections for children’s books, poetry and art. In addition, they sell some other items such as their own branded bags, stationery, cards, reading glasses, artists’ pictures and homemade preserves.
Do not miss anything from them, just follow them on Instagram.
We hope you’ve enjoyed 15 bookstores around the world you needed to know about today!
