1. Libreria Alta Acqua, Venice, Italy
A tiny sign outside says, “Welcome to the World’s Most Amazing Bookshop” This could just be. Step inside to see a gondola full size right in the middle of the store, packed with books. Go back and take a seat in front of the doors open; the river at your feet, water splashing softly against the pavement as you flip through a novel.
2. Bart’s Books, Ojai, California
Bart ‘s Books was founded in 1964 and are a charming outdoor bookshop where you can drink lemonade in the courtyard surrounded by a labyrinth of bookshelves, play a chess game in the shade or read a short story under the apple tree. Bart ‘s Books does not just have a beautiful alfresco space, it has heart. It’s a bit of a neighbourhood tradition to come together here for art shows and frequent group activities.
3. Atlantis, Santorini, Greece
Without a question, one of the Mediterranean’s most gorgeous islands but not quite the spot you ‘d imagine you ‘d go searching for a nice English bookshop. Located in the basement of one of the white houses in Santorini, Atlantis Books was conceived when two young friends, Oliver and Craig spent a week in Santorini, and one evening over a bottle of wine agreed to open a bookshop on the Santorini Island.
4. Word on Water, London
London ‘s largest floating second-hand bookshop, Word on the Water is a Dutch book barge that tours the canals and moors at various places including Camden Lock, Angel, Hackney and Paddington for two weeks at a time.
5. The Abbey Bookstore, Paris, France
The Shakespeare & Co in Paris is world-renowned for its ancient beauty, its relation to Hemingway and the mystical feeling you get when you duck and squeeze into its nooks and crannies. There is only one problem: it is hard to grab it on a day when visitors are not overwhelmed. And this is where the bookshop for the Abbey fits in.
6. Books Actually, Singapore
This elegant and cheerful little indie is tucked away in Tiong Bahru ‘s old Singaporean housing estate. Builder Kenny Leck is another bibliophile who knows how to stay alive and running his book company by selling fascinating and retro knick-knacks on the side complementing the literary palate. But as far as his books are concerned, Kenny knows his stuff and picks every title sold in the shop.
7. Barter Books, England
Barter Books is an Eden of sentimental gold, which has to tell a very unique tale. One of the world’s most famous signs, the wartime catchphrase Stay Cool and Move On, was originally lost in history until 2000 when it was rediscovered at this quaint second-hand bookshop in North England inside a dusty old crate. Discover the story in this video and the bookshop.
8. Les Bouquinistes, Paris, France
What will be a fun stroll down the Seine without the bouquinistes?! Hemingway and other great Belle Epoque creatives once browsed these unusual bookstores that squatted the banks of the Seine to get their literary fix.
9. The Last Bookstore, Los Angeles
Initially, this mystical location started in 2005 in a loft in downtown Los Angeles. The creator, Josh Spencer, selling second-hand stuff on eBay, from clothing to cars, became a bit of a whiz and wanted to start selling books – his main love. Today it is California’s largest independent bookstore buying and selling used & fresh books and music.
10. Brattle Book Shop, Boston
The Brattle Book Shop has an amazing collection of books located in a three-story structure, two floors for widely used books and one floor for rare, signed, and collectable books.
