The bookshops also take us on journeys; and today, on their special day, don’t forget to visit your favourite so that you can daydreaming, asking, advising, reading and consulting guides, diving in travel literature, buy maps or travel accessories...
And there is no denying it: these bookshops are magnetic places with an irresistible appeal for all those who like travel, where we gather in search of kindred spirits as we take the first steps of a great journey — or, why not, on our return.
We would also like to express our thanks here to the booksellers that books offer us, those wonderful conveyors of dreams, hopes, passions.
So we invite you to travel the world through our favourite bookshops
A bookshop where you can sleep: small compartments welcome those who want to stay and read. We can spend the night devouring books in Japanese or English. The concept has expanded with the opening of two more Book & Bed locations in Kyoto and Fukuoka.
With décor typical of the grand cafés of the 19th century, this literary café serves traditional Russian food, with a modern touch and careful attention to service and detail. The atmosphere recalls the Romantic era symbolized by Pushkin and their owners maintain the same love for the literature that has characterised it for more than a century. Perhaps waiting for the ghost of the poet feels at home among the tables and old books.
3. SAN FRANCISCO – CITY LIGHTS
A destination in itself for any visitor of San Francisco, City Lights was founded in 1953 by the poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter D Martin, and not only served as a gathering place for authors of the Beat generation but also appeared in many of his works. The first bookshop of Pocket books in the United States, City Lights has always both published and sold books, a tradition that continues today with more than 20 new titles each year. You can also cross the street to Vesuvio Café, where Kerouac, Ginsberg and company used to spend time.
It is almost a crime to visit the Big Apple without stopping at this magnificent independent bookshop beside Union Square. Its carefully curated aisles and shelves offer a superb selection of second-hand bargains, collectors' items and small treasures. It is a New York institution.
5. PORTLAND – POWELL’S CITY OF BOOKS
The flagship of the chain of independent bookshops the largest in the world, stretches along an entire block in the centre of Portland. Rooms with colour codes are filled with a wonderful selection of new and second-hand books.
6. HELSINKI – ACADEMIC BOOKSTORE
Designed by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, one of the most important members of the Modernist movement in Scandinavia, the Academic Bookstore’s main location in central Helsinki is a modern masterpiece. Sunlight enters through the skylights glass, illuminating the white marble and pale wood interior. The shop holds around 450,000 volumes, with a wide selection in English and other foreign languages
Book Lounge has become the focus of the literary community of Cape Town since its opening in the East City district in 2007. The beautiful interior of the two-level bookstore is adorned with chandeliers, comfortable sofas and large windows with street views and shelves filled with books by international authors.
This welcoming bookshop in the neighbourhood of Mar Mikhail of Beirut specialises in books of art and architecture, the store also offers a wide selection of local and international journals, which you can read while sitting in the bookshop café.
This beautiful bookshop in Mexico City is large, light and open, with hanging shelves full of Spanish and English books and a pendulum suspended from the ceiling. Give it a gentle push to discover your next literary choice.
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