Top 10 Most Impressive Bookstores In the World

Bookstores and libraries are not merely shelves filled with various reading materials and a single grumpy librarian or clerk who can’t resist sharing their opinion about the book you are purchasing. If you love traveling, you’ll find a lot of strange bookstores around if you choose to look them up. Some of them have legendary first editions of Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Others use gondolas, tunnels, or even churches as their main body.

From Santorini to New York, these unique bookstores prove that stories are built into the walls, the floors, and sometimes even the cathedrals.

The Last Bookstore, Los Angeles, United States

Located in an old bank building, The Last Bookstore just looks “grand.” There’s not even a whiff of minimalism here with all the marble columns, labyrinths of shelves, and its famous “tunnel of books” that everyone loves taking selfies in. TLB specializes in used books and records and hosts all kinds of artsy events. The name pokes fun at the idea that physical books are dying but at the same time proves they’re very much alive and thriving.

Atlantis Books, Santorini, Greece

Atlantis Books may not be the biggest store, but it has the attitude of one. Tucked into a whitewashed house overlooking the sea in Santorini, this bookstore built inside a cave feels like a secret hideout for book lovers. Shelves are stacked high with handpicked titles chosen by its founder, Craig Walzer. It also doubles as a hub, hosting various events and drawing in travelers who want something more memorable than yet another sunset selfie.

Livraria Lello e Irmão, Porto, Portugal

This place is instantly recognizable by its red, swooping staircase that looks like an element of décor ripped straight out of Hogwarts. Speaking of wizardry, this neo-Gothic gem is rumored to have inspired J.K. Rowling when she lived here, so now you know why these staircases are so similar. Aside from that, you’ll see gorgeous stained-glass ceilings, marvelously carved wood, and bronze reliefs of renowned writers silently judging you while you read the Twilight Saga. And if you’re feeling parched or peckish, there’s also a small café, so you can sip coffee, drink wine, or pretend you’re grading Harry Potter’s alchemy report.

Libreria Acqua Alta, Venice, Italy

If (or rather “when”) Venice floods, this place is ready. Libreria Acqua Alta stores books in gondolas, bathtubs, and other containers to keep them safe from flooding. The tall bookstacks everywhere, a gondola overflowing with paperbacks, and a back door that opens straight onto a canal—it feels less like a bookshop and more like a water wizard’s lair.

Barter Books, Alnwick, United Kingdom

This cozy book paradise used to be a train station, if you can believe it. Barter Books kept the charm and multiplied it by adding fireplaces and fancy armchairs. And that’s not even all! As the name suggests, you can actually barter books here, which in this day and age is as rare as the bookstores themselves. It’s the kind of place where you easily lose track of time simply looking around, and before you know it, it’s closing time.

Cook & Book, Brussels, Belgium

Cook & Book takes “eat, pray, love” to a new level (well, at least the “eat” part). This bookstore-slash-restaurant is divided into rooms, each with its own quirky theme. There’s a caravan parked in the travel section, vinyl records decorating the music room, toy trains in the kids’ area, and a little Fiat in the cooking section, giving off retro 1950s diner vibes. You can order food, enjoy the vibes, and read some rare books.

Shakespeare & Co, Paris, France

Whenever you inevitably visit Notre-Dame in Paris, just swing across the river and witness the glory of Shakespeare & Company—a pilgrimage site for book nerds. Inside, you’ll find cramped rooms, old, creaky floors, a whole lot of rare editions, and maybe even a few lucky writers who get to sleep among the shelves, as long as they help out.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Back in 1919, over 100 years ago, this place was a theater, and in 2000, it was transformed into a bookstore. El Ateneo Grand Splendid kept its stage, balcony boxes, and ornate ceiling, so you literally browse books where people once watched stage plays and films. The old stage is now a café, the balconies are reading corners, and the whole place looks like it was designed to look amazing in your TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram posts.

The Strand Bookstore, New York, United States

The Strand might not be the best-looking location on this list, but what it lacks in showmanship, it more than makes up for in content. You can find almost everything here: from banned books, kids’ books, obscure architecture titles, all the way to indie authors, and more. It’s one of the oldest family-run bookstores in the US, and you should definitely drop by.

Polare Maastricht, Maastricht, Holland

Housed in a 13th-century former Dominican church, this bookstore looks more like a film set than an actual place that sells books. The high vaulted ceilings and long arched halls will blow your mind. How did they turn it into a bookstore without wrecking the whole place? The designers added some sleek black steel structures that act like a second floor and also hold even more books for you to see.