25 Comments

My dream holiday itinerary: to visit each of these bookshops with plenty of room in my suitcase to buy a book (or two) in every one!

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I’m on my way to Maastricht right now and I’m going to visit boekhandel dominicanen again! It’s a beautiful bookstore

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I am biased because I worked there, but my favorite bookshop in Paris is Galignani. It has a fantastic selection of English, French, and art books. And I believe it was also the first English bookshop on the continent!

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I've been to several of these bookstores, and I am putting all the rest on my list right now! And I am delighted to get a chance to tell you that I LOVED The Story of Art Without Men. I first encountered it at the Rijksmuseum Library in Amsterdam (which you you should feature if you write another post like this on libraries!), where I was researching a completely unrelated subject. Let's just say my research went totally out the window for the day. Ever since reading your book, I make a point of looking for women artists in museums. Thank you so much for your important work on this topic.

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Thank you so much for such a beautiful post, so nice to see the best bookshops of the world. !!

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Leakey's in Inverness, Scotland!

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Love the magical powers of bookshops! Time stood still when I went to Rare Birds in Edinburgh a few weeks ago ✨

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This post reminded me of the incredible bookstore I stumbled upon in Amsterdam, so happy I can save it and revisit someday

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This is absolute heaven. I now need to visit/revisit each one. I'd recommend getting to Libreria Acqua Alta early in the morning before the queues of instagrammers get there - it has some treasures that are definitely worth making your way through the queues for.

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Thank you , so very much!!!!!’ This was a special read for me! I would love to visit each one of these beautiful bookstores !! How beautiful they are. I’ve loved to read since I was little. With my health, I’ll never make it to those continents, so you have taken me to amazing places. Thank you so much. I wish I had lots of money to send you; I’m on disability and live on a small budget. I can just imagine the wonderful books I would want to bring home with me. Have a wonderful day.

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I often go to Europe and I am a book lover. Great photos and background on these gems of the book world. Thank you for sharing.

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You missed Scarthins Book Shop in Cromford, Derbyshire

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A great list. If ever in Vilnius, check out Eureka Books, close by the university. Not huge, but a sophisticated well-curated selection of English-language books (as well as Lithuanian, obviously).

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Sorry Katy, the caff in Richard Booth's bookshop is now closed. And the "multiple floors" numbers two. Still a great place to find books in Hay, mind

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Was about to post the same, then saw you beat me to it!

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what an inspiring list!

I love the Libreria Studium, right around the corner from Piazza San Marco. No lines (but alas no cats or gondolas either) but it is 2 gorgeous (glossy terrazzo) floors filled with mainly but not exclusively Venice themed books.

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"we" are in ! #10 and 15 NL

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