The Most Beautiful Bookstores on Earth

10 literary havens every bibliophile must visit at least once in their lifetime...

Some foreign words capture ideas so perfectly that they feel impossible to translate. Today, I want to share one Japanese word that does exactly that. If you love books as much as I do, I promise you’ll adore it, and you might even find yourself slipping it into your own vocabulary.

The word is Tsundoku. It describes the habit of buying books and letting them pile up unread around your home. It originated in the Meiji era, from 1868 to 1912, as Japanese slang, combining tsunde-oku (“to pile things up for later”) with dokusho (“reading books”).

Every book lover knows the feeling of a growing stack of unread books. Some have even suggested that the word should be added to English dictionaries, as it perfectly expresses a universal habit among readers. Instead of feeling guilty, imagine telling yourself that you are simply “practicing tsundoku”…

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Few places inspire as much affection among readers as the bookstore — a refuge with roots reaching deep into history...

The creation of libraries in Ancient Greece sparked a thriving trade among Athenian booksellers, and by the end of the Roman Republic, library ownership had become fashionable, fueling the success of the book trade. The spread of Christianity increased demand for copies of the Gospels and sacred texts for both church and private use, laying the groundwork for the modern system of bookselling, which emerged soon after the invention of printing.

There is a line in ABC of Reading by Ezra Pound that, with remarkable simplicity, captures both the magic and timeless value of books:

Literature is news that stays news.

In other words, great literature never loses its relevance — it continues to speak to each new reader, generation after generation.

Books let you travel without moving your feet, but the literary temples you’re about to see are worth every mile that separates you from them. No matter how far you are, if you can visit, it’s a trip worth taking. And if not, I promise this virtual journey will be just as delightful…

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1. Libreria Acqua Alta, Venice

Everything in the “City of Love” seems touched by magic, including its bookstores...

Founded in 2004 by Luigi Frizzo, Italy’s self-proclaimed “most beautiful bookstore” adapts to the city’s notorious floods: books sit in bathtubs, rowboats, waterproof containers, and even a full-size gondola, designed to rise above the acqua alta (’high water’).

2. Selexyz Dominicanen, Maastricht, Netherlands

This 13th century church, repurposed as a storage space by Napoleon in 1794, has been recently transformed into a breathtaking temple of books by the architecture firm Merkx + Girod.

3. Atlantis Books, Santorini, Greece

Back in 2002, two American philosophy students found themselves on the island of Santorini with nothing left to read and no bookstore in sight. After a few glasses of wine, Craig Walzer and Oliver Wise made a bold decision: they would open one themselves.

Joining forces with a few partners, they built bookshelves from reclaimed wood and brought their vision to life. Today, visitors can browse while taking in one of the most breathtaking views of the southern Aegean Sea.

4. Shakespeare and Company, Paris

Tucked into 37 rue de la Bûcherie in Paris’s 5th arrondissement, Shakespeare and Company is often called the world’s most famous bookstore, but the name has a layered history…

The first shop was opened in 1919 by Sylvia Beach on rue Dupuytren, later moving to rue de l’Odéon, where it became a haven for writers like James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, and Ezra Pound. Beach even published Joyce’s Ulysses there before the store was shut down during the German occupation.

Years later, in 1951, George Whitman founded a bookstore called Le Mistral. With Beach’s blessing, he adopted the name “Shakespeare and Company” in 1964, the year of Shakespeare’s 400th birthday and shortly after Beach’s passing. Since then, the revived shop has remained a magnet for readers, writers, and dreamers from around the world.

5. El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Once a magnificent theater, El Ateneo Grand Splendid opened in 1919 in Buenos Aires with designs by Peró and Torres Armengol. Its ornate frescoes and sculptures survived its conversion into a bookstore by Fernando Manzone, earning it international acclaim, including National Geographic’s 2019 title of “world’s most beautiful bookstore.”

6. The Last Bookstore, Los Angeles

The Last Bookstore began in 2005 as Josh Spencer’s small loft operation in Downtown Los Angeles, selling books online. By 2009 it had a storefront at 4th and Main, before expanding in 2011 to its current 22,000-square-foot home in the Spring Arts Tower at 5th and Spring. Once a bank, the two-level space is now famed for its book sculptures and tunnels which attracts Instagram users, “in the hope of trying to convert them into book purchasers.”

7. Cărturești Carusel, Bucharest, Romania

Cărturești Carusel, located at Lipscani 55 in Bucharest’s old town, is part of the Cărturești bookstore chain. Its name is often mistaken for “Carousel of Light,” but it actually derives from cărturar, meaning “scholar,” with the Romanian toponymic suffix -ești.

8. Leakey’s Bookshop, Inverness, Scotland

Founded in 1979, it is Scotland’s largest secondhand bookstore, housing over 100,000 volumes in the historic old Gaelic Church in Inverness.

9. Book and Bed, Tokyo, Japan

A cozy hostel designed like a bookstore, offering a retreat surrounded by thousands of books.

10. Livraria Lello, Portugal

Located in Porto’s historic center, Livraria Lello & Irmão is one of Portugal’s oldest bookstores. Renowned for its stunning architecture, the shop features a sweeping staircase leading to a first-floor gallery with intricately carved wooden balusters. Its beauty sparked rumors that it inspired J.K. Rowling’s Hogwarts. In 2020, the British author clarified that she had never visited, yet admitted that its charm made her wish she had…

So many books to read, so many bookstores to visit, and yet time slips through our fingers all too quickly… Stepping into a place like Livraria Lello reminds us why we chase them and why we love to linger in these temples of stories. As Cicero wisely said:

A room without books is like a body without a soul.

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