the world's most inspiring travel book shops
Zhong Shu Ge, Shanghai, China
The Zhongshuge Bookshop is located in the European-style Thames Town, and is regarded as the most beautiful bookshop in Shanghai. It features a perfect combination of traditional Chinese style with European style. The signboard is written in the clerical script (an ancient style of calligraphy), while the doorway of the bookshop leads to a Gothic dome. It grants people a harmonious space to peruse the literature and feel spacious, thanks to it’s infinity room style. It is more like a modern art installation than a book shop. You will feel like walking around a city of books. There’s another one, just as stunning, in Chengdu.
Daunt Books, London, UK
Row upon row of books greets you when open the creaky door to Daunt Books. The place is a little crowded, not very architectural, with the narrow lanes of books and the piles of stories. Located in leafy Marylebone in London, you could easily get lost for many hours in the store. Daunt Books specialises particularly provide travel and travel writing to readers. Wander in at any given moment, and you will find plenty of travel books, include memoirs, phrasebooks and fiction, each collection classified by country. The sections are structured by country, which means you might find a fictional novel about Israel next to a history book and a cookbook by Ottolenghi.
Notting Hill Travel Bookshop, London, UK
Located in the heart of beautiful Notting Hill, minutes from the vibrant Portobello Market is the world-famous Notting Hill Bookshop. The film "Notting Hill" made it famous in 1998. It’s tiny and ramshackle and full of English charm and eccentricity, particularly how the books are shelved, so you will stumble upon something inspiring when you may be looking for something else. "Travel Book Shop" is a "must-see" destination on the walking tour. Ever since the premiere, the book shop has enjoyed visits from thousands of fans of the film coming from all over the world.
Shakespeare and Company, Paris, France
The most famous independent bookstore in the world, Shakespeare and Company feel like something of a "literary utopia", where the money takes a backseat and generations of writers can actually find a Paris home. When you stroll up, you might not notice the bookstore until there is a queue waiting to get into the store. It's exactly old Paris style, with a small half-plaza in front, weather-beaten bookstalls, green-and-yellow appearance, and hand-hewn signage, and you might feel like entering a time warp. The people working in the store are writers in residence, exchanging a place to sleep and write for a few hours work in the shop each day. It is a bastion of creativity and community.
Daikanyama Tsutaya Books, Tokyo, Japan
Located in Tokyo, Daikanyama Tsutaya Bookstore started as a rebranding project for the media giant Tsutaya, which has 1,440 bookstores and CD-rental outlets throughout Japan. Unlike other large bookshops, Daikanyama Tsutaya does not carry a broad inventory. The most unique thing is this is not just a business bookstore, but with the special book selection, the high level of service, and the extended business hours (the shop is open daily from 7 am to 2 am). The whole room is just like a living room, full of warm, friendly materials and fashioned custom furniture and lighting to match. It is designed to feel like home, a place to take a breath and a brief escape
Atlantis Books, Santorini, Greece
Everyone loves to hear a story about Atlantis the mystery story. Here fairy tales and legends come to life at Atlantis Books in Oia, Santorini. It is different to what you would expect from a typical bookstore. While the quirky Hobbit-hole has worked its way to the best of the best as far as inspiring bookshops are concerned. More recently, it made its way to the number 1 spot of the Top 10 list of the world’s most interesting bookstores in National Geographic’s latest edition of Destinations of a Lifetime. Atlantis Books feels alive and homely and thriving, and even has a resident cat and dog.
Liberia Acqua Alta, Venice, Italy
Keeping a collection of books in Venice is a very dangerous idea because this is a place where the roads are made of water. But, Libreria Acqua Alta has thought of everything and they keep all their collections in waterproof basins. When you walk in, over-stuffed rooms stacked wall-to-wall with books, magazines, maps, and other ephemera. Because of Venice’s constant flooding, these picturesque piles are all placed inside basins, and in one room a full-size gondola, so when dangerous tides come in, they can bring those books and easily “walk away”.