Unearth The Voyage
Some bookstores are so incredible that visiting them feels like stepping into another world entirely. From a Gothic church filled with shelves to a barge floating on a canal, these literary havens are destinations in their own right.
Whether you are a lifelong reader or just someone who loves a good adventure, these bookstores will leave you speechless. Get ready to add some seriously unforgettable stops to your travel bucket list.
Boekhandel Dominicanen — Maastricht, Netherlands
Step inside a 13th-century Gothic church and you will find not a congregation, but a crowd of book lovers. Boekhandel Dominicanen in Maastricht, Netherlands, is widely considered one of the most beautiful bookstores on the planet, and it earns that title without breaking a sweat.
The original church was built in the 1200s, and its towering stone walls have witnessed centuries of history before books moved in.
The soaring vaulted ceilings stretch high above your head while rows of shelves line the nave like literary altars. A modern three-story bookcase structure sits right in the center of the church, and climbing its levels feels genuinely dramatic.
The contrast between ancient stone and contemporary design is stunning without feeling forced.
There is also a cozy café tucked inside where you can sip coffee beneath medieval frescoes. Cultural events and art exhibitions are held here regularly, making it more than just a place to buy books.
Visitors consistently say the experience feels almost spiritual. If you only visit one bookstore in your entire life, this Gothic gem in the Netherlands deserves serious consideration as your top pick.
Livraria Lello — Porto, Portugal
Rumor has it that J.K. Rowling drew inspiration from this very bookstore when imagining Hogwarts, and honestly, it is not hard to see why.
Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal, opened in 1906 and has been turning visitors into wide-eyed dreamers ever since. Its neo-Gothic façade alone is enough to make you stop dead on the sidewalk and stare.
Once inside, the famous sweeping red staircase curls dramatically upward like something straight out of a fantasy novel. Overhead, a stained-glass skylight floods the entire space with colored light, casting a warm glow over shelves packed with books in multiple languages.
The carved wooden details throughout the interior are incredibly intricate and took skilled craftsmen a remarkable amount of time to complete.
Because of its growing fame, Livraria Lello now charges a small entry fee, which is fully redeemable against any book purchase. Arriving early in the morning helps you avoid the heaviest tourist crowds.
The bookstore also hosts literary events and signings throughout the year. Porto itself is a gorgeous city worth exploring, but Livraria Lello is easily the crown jewel that most visitors plan their entire trip around visiting first.
El Ateneo Grand Splendid — Buenos Aires, Argentina
Imagine browsing books on a stage where tango dancers once performed and opera singers once commanded audiences of thousands. El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires does exactly that, transforming a magnificent 1919 theater into one of the world’s most theatrical bookstores.
National Geographic has listed it among the greatest bookstores on Earth, and the interior makes that honor feel completely justified.
The original theater balconies still curve gracefully around the main floor, now lined with books instead of seated audience members. Ornate frescoed ceilings painted in rich detail stretch overhead, and the old stage has been converted into a charming café where you can order coffee while sitting exactly where performers once took their bows.
The velvet theater curtains remain, adding a touch of dramatic flair.
El Ateneo stocks an enormous selection of Spanish and English titles across every genre imaginable. The acoustics of the old theater mean the space has a hushed, almost reverent quality that makes reading feel like a special occasion.
Located on Avenida Santa Fe, it is easy to reach by public transport. Visiting on a weekday morning gives you the best chance of experiencing the space without enormous crowds pressing in from every direction.
Cărturești Carusel — Bucharest, Romania
White balconies spiraling upward, natural light pouring through tall windows, and shelves curving gently around each floor — Cărturești Carusel looks less like a bookstore and more like an architectural poem. Located in a beautifully restored 19th-century building in central Bucharest, this Romanian gem opened in 2015 and quickly became one of Europe’s most photographed literary destinations.
Its name translates loosely to Carousel of Light.
The building itself has a fascinating history, having served various purposes over the decades before being carefully restored to its former grandeur. The renovation preserved original ironwork and stonework while introducing a clean, modern aesthetic that complements rather than competes with the historic bones.
Six floors connect through an elegant staircase that practically begs to be photographed from below.
Beyond books, Cărturești Carusel also stocks art supplies, music, films, and handcrafted gifts, making it a full cultural experience rather than a simple shopping stop. A rooftop café crowns the building with views over the surrounding neighborhood.
Staff are knowledgeable and enthusiastic, happy to recommend Romanian authors alongside international favorites. Bucharest is often underrated as a travel destination, but this extraordinary bookstore alone gives visitors a compelling reason to book a flight and explore the city properly.
Word on the Water — London, England
Moored along the Regent’s Canal near King’s Cross, Word on the Water is arguably the most charming bookstore in all of England — and it floats. This 1920s Dutch barge was converted into a fully functioning bookshop that drifts gently on the water while housing an eclectic, carefully chosen collection of new and secondhand books.
Finding it for the first time feels like stumbling upon a secret the city has been keeping just for you.
The boat’s wooden interior is snug and wonderfully atmospheric, with shelves built cleverly into every available surface. A wood-burning stove keeps things cozy during London’s colder months, and the smell of old paperbacks mingles with canal air in the most unexpectedly pleasant way.
The rooftop deck sometimes doubles as a stage for poetry readings and live jazz performances on weekend afternoons.
Stock rotates regularly, so returning visitors almost always find something new to discover. Prices are fair, the atmosphere is completely pressure-free, and the booksellers are some of the friendliest in the city.
Combining a visit with a walk along the towpath makes for an ideal London afternoon. Word on the Water proves that a bookstore does not need a permanent address to become a permanent fixture in a city’s heart.
Dujiangyan Zhongshuge — Chengdu, China
Mirrored ceilings stretching into apparent infinity, arching shelves that curve like ribcages, and floors so reflective they seem to double the entire universe of books below — Zhongshuge in Chengdu is a bookstore that feels like it was designed inside a dream. X+Living, the architecture firm behind the space, leaned fully into theatrical design, and the result is one of the most visually striking interiors anywhere in the world.
Photographs barely do it justice.
The bookstore draws on the surrounding Dujiangyan region’s natural landscape for inspiration, incorporating curved forms that echo mountains and rivers. Shelves rise dramatically high, requiring rolling ladders for access, which adds a wonderfully old-fashioned touch to an otherwise futuristic space.
Every angle offers a new composition worth pausing to appreciate before moving on.
Despite its showstopper appearance, Zhongshuge functions as a serious, well-stocked bookstore with a strong selection of Chinese literature, art books, and children’s titles. A café operates within the space, giving visitors a reason to linger long after they have browsed the shelves.
Chengdu itself is famous for giant pandas and spicy hotpot, making this bookstore a brilliant addition to an already excellent city itinerary. Architecture lovers and book lovers alike will find plenty to celebrate here.
Librairie Acqua Alta — Venice, Italy
Books stored in gondolas. Books piled inside bathtubs.
A staircase built entirely from stacked paperbacks leading up to a view of a canal. Libreria Acqua Alta in Venice is the quirkiest bookstore on Earth, and it wears that title with enormous, unapologetic pride.
The name translates to High Water Library, a nod to Venice’s notorious flooding that inspired the owner’s creative storage solutions in the first place.
Luigi Frizzo opened the shop decades ago and developed his unconventional shelving system out of sheer practical necessity. Gondolas and large waterproof containers protect the books from acqua alta floods that regularly sweep through Venice’s ground floors.
The result is a shop that looks chaotic but operates with its own wonderful internal logic that regular visitors quickly come to adore.
Cats wander freely through the narrow aisles, adding to the relaxed, anything-goes atmosphere that makes browsing feel genuinely joyful. The outdoor courtyard connects directly to a canal, giving the whole experience an unmistakably Venetian character.
Finding a specific title requires patience, but that is rather the point — Acqua Alta rewards the browser, not the shopper in a hurry. Budget extra time, bring your camera, and prepare to leave with far more books than you originally planned to buy.
Tsutaya Books Daikanyama — Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo’s Daikanyama district already has a reputation for effortlessly cool design, and Tsutaya Books fits right into that neighborhood like it was always meant to be there. Opened in 2011 by the cultural company Tsutaya, this award-winning bookstore is spread across three interconnected buildings surrounded by trees, giving the whole complex a quietly forest-like quality that feels genuinely calming the moment you step inside.
The interior design is minimalist and warm, with floor-to-ceiling shelves organized by lifestyle category rather than traditional genre. Art, travel, architecture, food, and fashion books sit together in curated sections that encourage discovery rather than targeted searching.
The lighting is soft and considered, making every corner feel like a comfortable reading spot rather than a retail floor.
A Starbucks café is integrated seamlessly into the space, which sounds unremarkable until you experience sitting with a coffee among beautifully arranged books at eleven at night — because Tsutaya Books stays open until midnight daily. That late closing time has made it a beloved destination for Tokyo’s night owls and creative professionals seeking inspiration after hours.
The magazine section alone is extraordinary, stocking international titles that are nearly impossible to find anywhere else in the city. Tsutaya proves that thoughtful design transforms shopping into genuine pleasure.
El Péndulo — Mexico City, Mexico
Plants climbing the walls, jazz drifting from a live performer in the corner, coffee steaming on tables surrounded by open books — El Péndulo in Mexico City is what happens when a bookstore decides to also become your favorite neighborhood hangout. This beloved local chain has multiple locations across the city, but each one maintains the same irresistibly warm, culturally rich atmosphere that has made it a fixture of Mexico City’s creative community for decades.
The shelves carry an impressive mix of Spanish and English titles, with particular strength in Latin American literature, poetry, and art. Staff recommendations are genuinely worth following, as booksellers here tend to have strong opinions and are delightfully willing to share them.
The café menu is serious enough to justify visiting even on days when you are not specifically hunting for books.
Live music events, open-mic nights, and author readings fill the calendar throughout the year, turning El Péndulo into a community gathering space that happens to sell books rather than simply a retail store with a café attached. The Polanco and Condesa locations are particularly popular and beautifully designed.
Mexico City’s literary scene is vibrant and underappreciated internationally, and El Péndulo serves as one of its most accessible and enjoyable entry points for curious visitors from anywhere in the world.
Powell’s City of Books — Portland, USA
An entire city block. Nine color-coded rooms.
Over a million books spread across multiple floors. Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Oregon, is not just the largest independent bookstore in the United States — it is genuinely the size of a small city, which means first-time visitors are strongly advised to grab a map at the entrance before wandering in.
Getting pleasantly lost here is basically a Portland rite of passage.
What makes Powell’s truly special beyond its sheer scale is the seamless mixing of new and used books throughout every section. A brand-new hardcover sits comfortably beside a battered paperback edition of the same title, often at dramatically different prices.
Rare and collectible books occupy the Pearl Room, which draws serious collectors from across the country and around the world on a regular basis.
Staff picks are displayed throughout the store, and the recommendations are thoughtful, specific, and occasionally surprising in the best possible way. Powell’s also hosts a packed schedule of author events, many of which are free and open to the public.
The on-site café keeps energy levels up during marathon browsing sessions. Portland itself is a wonderfully quirky city, and Powell’s captures that spirit perfectly — independent, slightly overwhelming, and absolutely worth every minute you choose to spend inside it.
Leakey’s Bookshop — Inverness, Scotland
A converted Gaelic church in the heart of Inverness, a wood-burning stove crackling in the corner, and shelves rising two stories high packed with secondhand books — Leakey’s Bookshop is the kind of place that makes you want to cancel your afternoon plans and simply stay. Established in 1979 by Charles Leakey, this is the largest secondhand bookshop in Scotland, and its atmospheric setting inside a former church gives it a character that no purpose-built bookstore could ever quite replicate.
Wooden galleries run around the upper level, accessible by staircases that creak in the most satisfying way. The stock is enormous and wonderfully varied, covering everything from Highland history and Scottish literature to obscure scientific texts and vintage travel guides from countries that no longer exist under their original names.
Prices are reasonable, and genuine bargains surface regularly for patient browsers willing to spend real time looking.
The stove becomes a genuine social hub during colder months, with visitors gravitating toward its warmth and occasionally striking up conversations with strangers over shared book recommendations. Leakey’s has no website and minimal social media presence, which only adds to its timeless, off-the-grid charm.
Inverness serves as the gateway to the Scottish Highlands, making this bookshop a perfect first stop before heading deeper into some of Britain’s most dramatic and beautiful landscapes.
City Lights Booksellers & Publishers — San Francisco, USA
In 1955, Lawrence Ferlinghetti published Allen Ginsberg’s Howl through City Lights Publishers, sparking an obscenity trial that ultimately affirmed the right to publish controversial literature in America. That single act of literary courage defines City Lights Booksellers and Publishers in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood as much as any shelf or reading nook ever could.
This is a bookstore that changed history, and walking through its door feels accordingly significant.
The Beat Generation called North Beach home, and City Lights served as their headquarters, gathering place, and intellectual fuel station throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The poetry room upstairs is a particular highlight, stocked with an extraordinary range of contemporary and classic poetry collections alongside small-press titles that are virtually impossible to find anywhere else in the city.
Low ceilings and dim lighting give it a wonderfully conspiratorial atmosphere.
City Lights remains fiercely independent and politically engaged, stocking books that challenge conventional thinking across every section of the store. Staff recommendations lean toward the adventurous and the underrepresented, making this an excellent place to find your next favorite author rather than simply your next familiar read.
The surrounding North Beach neighborhood rewards extended exploration, with excellent Italian cafés and historic bars nearby. City Lights is not just a bookstore — it is an argument for why literature matters.
Daunt Books — London, England
Edwardian oak balconies, a long gallery flooded with natural light from overhead skylights, stained glass windows at the far end casting colors across the floor — Daunt Books in Marylebone is one of those rare interiors that makes you catch your breath the moment you step inside. Built in 1912, the original Marylebone branch is considered one of the most beautiful bookshops in London, which in a city full of extraordinary bookshops is saying something genuinely impressive.
What sets Daunt apart beyond its gorgeous bones is its brilliant organizational concept. Books are arranged by country rather than genre, so a section on Japan might include fiction, history, travel writing, cookbooks, and photography all shelved together.
This approach transforms browsing into an almost geographical journey and makes finding unexpected connections between titles a regular and delightful occurrence.
Daunt specializes in travel books but stocks a thoughtful range across all categories, and the curation throughout reflects genuine editorial judgment rather than simply stocking whatever sells fastest. Multiple London locations have opened over the years, each with its own personality, but the Marylebone flagship remains the definitive experience.
Author events here tend to be intimate and well-attended, with a loyal local following that treats the shop as a genuine community anchor rather than merely a convenient place to purchase reading material.
The Last Bookstore — Los Angeles, USA
Tunnels made entirely of books arch overhead as you walk through them. Sculptures constructed from hundreds of arranged paperbacks decorate the upper level.
A suspended book spirals down from the ceiling like a literary chandelier. The Last Bookstore in downtown Los Angeles is part bookshop, part art installation, and entirely unlike anything else you have ever walked into on a Saturday afternoon looking for something good to read.
Housed in a grand former bank building, the store opened in 2005 and has expanded dramatically over the years to fill over 22,000 square feet across two floors. The ground floor carries new books, while the upper level houses an enormous used and rare book section alongside art galleries, vinyl records, and independent art vendors operating within the space.
The bank vault has been converted into a horror and science fiction section, which is exactly the kind of decision that makes this store so endlessly lovable.
Prices on used books are genuinely competitive, and the sheer volume of stock means that dedicated browsers almost always surface something surprising. The arts district neighborhood surrounding The Last Bookstore has developed into one of LA’s most vibrant creative zones, making a full day of exploration easy to plan around a visit.
This is a bookstore that understands spectacle without ever letting spectacle overshadow the actual books.
The Strand — New York City, USA
Eighteen miles of books. That is the number The Strand throws at you right from the start, and somehow the claim does not feel like an exaggeration once you are inside this legendary New York City institution.
Founded in 1927 by Benjamin Bass, The Strand has survived the Great Depression, multiple real estate crises, and the rise of online retail through sheer stubbornness, passionate ownership, and the kind of loyal customer base that shows up for book sales in the rain without complaint.
Located at the corner of Broadway and 12th Street in Manhattan, the store covers three floors and a basement, with new, used, and rare books shelved in quantities that can feel genuinely overwhelming to the uninitiated. The rare book room on the third floor is hushed and reverent, housing first editions and signed copies behind glass that serious collectors travel specifically to examine.
Staff picks throughout the store are consistently excellent and refreshingly opinionated.
The Strand also operates a cart outside on the sidewalk selling heavily discounted books, which has become one of Manhattan’s most beloved small daily rituals for locals and tourists alike. Tote bags bearing the store’s logo have achieved something close to fashion accessory status in certain New York circles.
Visiting The Strand without buying at least three things you did not originally plan to purchase is, by most accounts, completely impossible.
Albertine — New York City, USA
A ceiling painted deep blue and scattered with gold stars, walls lined with French-language books, and an atmosphere that somehow feels simultaneously like a Manhattan townhouse and a Parisian salon — Albertine is one of New York City’s most quietly extraordinary cultural spaces. Located inside the French Embassy’s Villa Albertine on Fifth Avenue, this bookstore opened in 2014 and has been offering a genuinely transporting literary experience ever since to anyone who steps through its elegant front door.
The collection focuses on French-language literature, with an impressive selection of works in translation that introduce Anglophone readers to authors they might never encounter elsewhere. Staff are bilingual, knowledgeable, and genuinely enthusiastic about connecting readers with titles from France, Belgium, Switzerland, and the broader Francophone world.
The curation reflects a real editorial vision rather than simply stocking whatever is currently popular in Paris.
Cultural programming at Albertine includes author talks, reading groups, and literary events that draw New York’s French-speaking community alongside curious English-speaking book lovers looking for something beyond the mainstream. The space itself is intimate enough that events feel personal rather than performative.
For anyone who has ever romanticized Paris from afar, Albertine offers a small but genuinely satisfying taste of French literary culture without requiring a transatlantic flight. It is a hidden gem that rewards those who seek it out.
