--- title: 15 Coolest Bookstores Around the World description: Curl up with a new book—or catch a reading or concert—at these thriving independent bookstores from Buenos Aires to Brooklyn canonical: https://time.com/3658284/world-coolest-bookstores/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-07T20:02:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:50.581Z og:title: The 15 Coolest Bookstores From Around the World og:description: Curl up with a new book—or catch a reading or concert—at these thriving independent bookstores from Buenos Aires to Brooklyn og:url: https://time.com/3658284/world-coolest-bookstores/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf01a16657f61322a/698778aa8e060153cd459963/worlds-coolest-bookstores.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: El Ateneo Grand bookshop in Barrio Norte, Buenos Aires, Argentina. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The 15 Coolest Bookstores From Around the World twitter:description: Curl up with a new book—or catch a reading or concert—at these thriving independent bookstores from Buenos Aires to Brooklyn twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf01a16657f61322a/698778aa8e060153cd459963/worlds-coolest-bookstores.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The 15 Coolest Bookstores From Around the World > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: 10 Books Everyone Should Read, According to Successful People [Watch (HLS stream): 10 Books Everyone Should Read, According to Successful People](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Bdu4TTCk.m3u8) (1:07)  _Published 2016-01-27_ by [Kavita Mokha / Travel + Leisure](https://time.com/author/travel-leisure/) ## Kavita Mokha / Travel + Leisure Jan 7, 2015 8:02 PM UTC  El Ateneo Grand bookshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina. El Ateneo Grand bookshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Yadid Levy / Alamy by [Kavita Mokha / Travel + Leisure](https://time.com/author/travel-leisure/) ## Kavita Mokha / Travel + Leisure Jan 7, 2015 8:02 PM UTC Rumor has it J. K. Rowling was inspired by Livraria Lello while writing _Harry Potter_ (and teaching English) in Portugal. It doesn’t take long to appreciate Lello’s potential as muse: a stained-glass atrium puts the spotlight on the bookshop’s deep-red staircase, spectacular enough to stop you in your tracks. It’s one of the distinctive bookstores that—against industry odds—continue to thrive across the globe. For travelers, these shops go beyond well-curated selections of books: they pack in an abundance of beauty, quirky character, and local history within their walls. And they serve as community hubs, where you can tap into the creative pulse of a destination. In Paris, the romance between Left Bank fixture Shakespeare & Co. and the city’s literary set dates back to the era of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. And it continues to attract luminaries like Zadie Smith, who recently read to a packed house. Brooklyn, sometimes described as New York’s Left Bank, has become the borough of choice for many local writers—and for independent bookstores. One of the most intriguing is Powerhouse Arena, where readings, book launch parties, temporary art exhibits, and conversations with contemporary literary voices are hosted in an amphitheater-style seating space with soaring 24-foot ceilings. As British author Neil Gaiman once said, “A town isn’t a town without a bookstore.” Our favorites live up to that assessment, whether located in a converted church, bank, home, or even a former bomb shelter. ## [Livraria Lello, Porto, Portugal](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-coolest-bookstores/2) The neo-Gothic façade of [this former library](http://lelloprologolivreiro.com.sapo.pt/) barely hints at the opulence inside: carved wood, gilded pillars, ornamented ceilings, and a gorgeous red staircase lit by a stained-glass atrium. The century-old bookshop features more than 100,000 different titles in several languages, including English translations of Portuguese talents Fernando Pessoa and José Saramago. You’ll also find magazines, CDs, antique books, and a large selection on Porto itself. ## [Barter Books, England](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-coolest-bookstores/3) This [Alnwick bookshop](http://www.barterbooks.co.uk/) attracted attention for its role in discovering and producing the now ubiquitous World War II Keep Calm and Carry On poster. Housed in an old Victorian railway station, Barter Books has a cozy living room vibe, thanks to rugs, crackling fireplaces in the winter, toys for kids, a model railway acting as a link between the book columns of the central room, and comfy seats amid a vast selection of secondhand books on a variety of subjects. It’s even more irresistible once you hear the owners’ backstory: U.S.-born Mary and British-born Stuart Manley met on a transatlantic flight. ## [Powerhouse Arena, Brooklyn](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-coolest-bookstores/4) Brooklyn has emerged as the center of New York’s literary scene, with notable residents like Paul Auster, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Jennifer Egan and flourishing independent bookstores. Begin your browsing at the [PowerHouse Arena](http://powerhousearena.com/), which opened in DUMBO in 2006 and bills itself as a “laboratory for creative thought.” The industrial, modern space is dedicated not only to books, but also to hosting a variety of events—readings, book launch parties, temporary art exhibits, and conversations with contemporary literary voices in its amphitheater-style seating space with soaring 24-foot ceilings. Art books and children’s literature dominate the shelves. ## [Cafebrería El Péndulo, Mexico City](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-coolest-bookstores/5) Shopping for books is almost beside the point at [Cafebrería El Péndulo](http://pendulo.com/), which hosts live music, poetry readings, stand-up comedy, and other events in an attractive space with balconies and lush plants. While the chain has several locations throughout Mexico City, its Zona Rosa shop stands out for its vast selection of English titles, along with Bukowski’s Piano Bar, dedicated to poet and novelist Charles Bukowski and “all writers inspired by alcohol.” Café Baudelaire and vodka-infused Kerouak are among the writer-inspired cocktails on tap here. ## [Shakespeare and Co., Paris](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-coolest-bookstores/6) Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, and their literary contemporaries famously hung out at this Left Bank bookstore overlooking the Seine (it’s referenced in Woody Allen’s _Midnight in Paris_). [Shakespeare & Co.](http://shakespeareandcompany.com/), one of Paris’s many icons, continues to be a bohemian refuge, attracting countless tourists and expats. Writers can even bunk here for a few days or weeks, in exchange for a couple of hours’ worth of work around the shop. Contemporary talents like Dave Eggers and Martin Amis have also found home at the celebrated bookshop, which hosts book readings, writers’ meetings, and Sunday tea. [Read the full list HERE.](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-coolest-bookstores?xid=PS%5Ftime) _More from Travel + Leisure:_ * [Most Beautiful Libraries in the World](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/most-beautiful-libraries-in-the-world?xid=PS%5Ftime) * [Best Places to Travel in 2015](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/best-places-to-travel-in-2015?xid=PS%5Ftime) * [America’s Best Comic Book Stores](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-best-comic-book-shops?xid=PS%5Ftime) _Read next:_ [_5 Ways That Traveling on the Cheap Has Changed—for the Better_](http://www.time.com/money/3652490/budget-travel-tips-tools-matt-kepnes/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://www.time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3658284/world-coolest-bookstores/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3658284/world-coolest-bookstores/"},"headline":"The 15 Coolest Bookstores From Around the World","datePublished":"2015-01-07T20:02:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:05:50.581Z","description":"Curl up with a new book—or catch a reading or concert—at these thriving independent bookstores from Buenos Aires to Brooklyn","url":"https://time.com/3658284/world-coolest-bookstores/","keywords":["Living","Travel","Culture"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf01a16657f61322a/698778aa8e060153cd459963/worlds-coolest-bookstores.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kavita Mokha / Travel + Leisure"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf01a16657f61322a/698778aa8e060153cd459963/worlds-coolest-bookstores.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"El Ateneo Grand bookshop in Barrio Norte, Buenos Aires, Argentina.","caption":"El Ateneo Grand bookshop in Barrio Norte, Buenos Aires, Argentina.","creditText":"Yadid Levy / Alamy","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3658284/world-coolest-bookstores/","name":"The 15 Coolest Bookstores From Around the World"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Best Free and Cheap Ebooks Sites","description":"Some of our favorite places to go for summer reading on the cheap.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/35n2mZWt/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-06-25T15:53:11.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/35n2mZWt.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3658284/world-coolest-bookstores/","duration":"PT1M42S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3658284/world-coolest-bookstores/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"10 Books Everyone Should Read, According to Successful People","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Bdu4TTCk/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-01-27T15:44:41.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Bdu4TTCk.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3658284/world-coolest-bookstores/","duration":"PT1M7S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3658284/world-coolest-bookstores/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```