There’s something deeply comforting about stepping into a bookshop in a faraway city. The smell of aging paper and polished wood. The way light filters through antique windows onto worn armchairs and the spines of well-loved classics. These spaces invite us to linger. To wander. To breathe slower.
But some bookshops go even further—they seduce the camera. With their vaulted ceilings, cinematic staircases, rainbow-tiled floors, or Instagram-famous nooks, these are the spots that don’t just sell stories—they are the story. This guide is a love letter to the world’s most photogenic bookshops and the stories they hold, not just between the pages, but in the walls themselves.
From baroque palaces-turned-book-heavens to hole-in-the-wall marvels built on boats, let’s explore the bookshops that make you pause mid-scroll, wish you were there, and maybe even book a trip just to visit.
El Ateneo Grand Splendid — Buenos Aires, Argentina
Walk into El Ateneo, and you’d be forgiven for forgetting it’s a bookshop. This place was once a lavish theatre in the 1910s, later a cinema, and finally reborn in 2000 as what The Guardian called the "world’s most beautiful bookstore."
What makes it unforgettable is its layout: the dramatic stage, complete with red velvet curtains, now serves as a café where customers sip cortados under chandeliers. The ornate balconies are lined with books instead of opera-goers, and the high frescoed ceiling steals every visitor’s breath.
Trip Tale: A solo traveler from the U.S. once told me she hadn’t read a full novel in five years—until she stepped into El Ateneo. She sat in one of the plush theatre boxes, cracked open Borges (of course), and stayed for three hours. She didn’t even notice it had started to rain.
Bring a zoom lens or your phone’s telephoto setting. You’ll want to get that top-down shot from the mezzanine looking out over the full grandeur.
Libreria Acqua Alta — Venice, Italy
In a city where streets are water and sidewalks double as boat docks, Venice's Libreria Acqua Alta leans all the way in. Here, books are stacked in gondolas, bathtubs, and plastic bins—everything designed to float. Why? Because this bookshop is in a flood zone, and “high water” (acqua alta) isn’t rare—it’s expected.
But it’s not just practical. It’s magical. Cats nap on piles of vintage paperbacks. The back courtyard has a staircase built entirely out of outdated encyclopedias, leading to a postcard-worthy view of the canal. Every corner feels like a scene from a film that never got made.
Triptuition: Before you leave, ask yourself: what’s one thing in your life you could store differently—not for aesthetic, but for resilience?
Shakespeare and Company — Paris, France
Of course, this one makes the list. But there’s more to Shakespeare and Company than literary legacy or its iconic green facade. Located just across the Seine from Notre-Dame, it’s a maze of creaky floors, tucked-away beds, typewriters, and handwritten notes slipped between the books.
Originally opened in the 1920s (and later revived in 1951), this shop has been a haven for writers like Hemingway, James Baldwin, and more recently, broke backpackers looking for a free place to crash—because yes, you can still sleep there, if you help out with a few chores.
Trip Trick: Head upstairs, even if you're not buying. There’s a reading nook surrounded by walls of books, and sometimes impromptu piano sessions happen when a musically inclined visitor finds the keys.
Cook & Book — Brussels, Belgium
Bookshops can be whimsical without being dusty. Enter Cook & Book, where you dine inside themed rooms—each decorated to match the books they house. Think: a ceiling made entirely of suspended books in the fiction room, or a travel section inside a vintage Airstream trailer.
What makes it work isn’t just the design—it’s the energy. Locals meet here for wine after work, tourists stumble upon it after visiting the Atomium nearby, and kids run around the comic section in giddy awe. It's a full sensory experience where reading, eating, and wandering all blend together.
Triptuition: When’s the last time you let yourself explore a space not for what you were supposed to do, but for what felt playful and curious?
The Last Bookstore — Los Angeles, USA
Tucked inside a 100-year-old bank building, The Last Bookstore in LA is part reading sanctuary, part immersive art installation. It’s famous for its “book tunnel”—a curved hallway made entirely of hardcovers—and for its vault rooms where science fiction and thrillers live behind original steel doors.
It’s a sensory overload in the best way. There are flying book sculptures, mystery nooks, and walls made entirely from torn pages. But it’s also a community space—home to local authors, artists, and secondhand gems waiting for their next reader.
Go on a weekday morning if you want photos without the crowd. Weekends are bustling, especially by the book tunnel.
The store houses over 250,000 new and used books, with an emphasis on curated secondhand finds.
Boekhandel Dominicanen — Maastricht, Netherlands
This bookshop is housed inside a 13th-century Dominican church. Yes, a real church—with vaulted ceilings, frescoes, and stained glass. But instead of pews, you’ll find tall black bookshelves and a sleek café serving espresso under an altar.
The shop respects the sacred without feeling overly reverent—it’s more about awe than solemnity. Light pours in from high windows, and you can climb a metal staircase to browse books from what used to be the choir loft.
Triptuition: Think about how the places you spend time in affect how you feel. Could reverence live in the everyday if our surroundings invited it?
Atlantis Books — Santorini, Greece
High on a cliff in Oia, Atlantis Books looks like something out of a dream. The entrance is carved into sun-bleached stone, and the inside smells like old leather and sea air. Stacks of books—many in English, Greek, and French—sit alongside hand-painted signs, literary quotes, and ladders leading to hidden nooks.
It was started by a group of friends who visited Santorini in 2002 and realized the island didn’t have a bookshop. So they made one. Today, it’s still run independently and operates almost like a community project.
Barter Books — Alnwick, England
Step into Barter Books and you'll hear the hum of a model train weaving through the rafters. Housed in a restored Victorian railway station, it’s one of the largest secondhand bookstores in Britain—and one of the coziest.
There’s a fire crackling in winter, oversized armchairs you can sink into, and an old waiting room turned reading lounge. The name comes from its barter system—you can trade in your books for store credit. But even if you don’t trade, you’ll likely leave with a few treasures.
Barter Books is where the iconic “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster was rediscovered in a box in 2000. It had never actually been circulated during WWII.
Yangzhou Zhongshuge — Yangzhou, China
If architecture-as-art is your thing, this place might blow your mind. Designed by Li Xiang, this ultra-modern bookshop features black mirrored ceilings and curving shelves that create optical illusions, like you're walking through an infinite loop of knowledge.
Some sections are arranged in giant circular vaults, while others feature stepped seating for book lovers to lounge, read, and reflect. It’s not just Instagram-worthy—it’s architecture in service of emotion.
Trip Trick: Wear neutral colors when you go. The space’s reflective surfaces and light-bounce make you part of the art, especially in photos.
Livraria Lello — Porto, Portugal
It’s hard to believe Livraria Lello isn’t part of a fantasy film set. And in a way, it is. Rumor has it that J.K. Rowling drew inspiration from this shop while writing Harry Potter (she lived in Porto in the 1990s). Whether that’s true or not, one thing’s certain: the neo-Gothic interior is breathtaking.
Its winding staircase—deep red, ornately carved, and impossibly photogenic—draws visitors from all over the world. Stained-glass skylights and intricate woodwork add to the dreaminess. Yes, there’s often a line. And yes, it’s worth it.
Because of the high tourist interest, Livraria Lello now charges a small entry fee (which is deducted if you buy a book). It helps preserve the space and maintain crowd flow.
Final Thoughts
Sure, you can get a book delivered in 24 hours. You can download one in 24 seconds. But these places? They offer something else entirely.
They remind us that spaces shape stories, and stories shape lives. They make room for slowness in a world that’s speeding up. They invite us to look up, look around, and sometimes look inward.
As you plan your next trip, ask not just what you want to do—but how you want to feel. Bookshops, in their quiet way, answer both.
