The Most Beautiful Bookstores in the Whole World

2) Shakespeare and Company in Paris, France

If cozy and packed to the gills is more your style then this English-language bookstore in Paris should suffice. Around each corner in another cubby of books stuffed floor to ceiling and dimly lit with chandeliers. This bookstore is charming in a way that’s also quite humble.

Opened in 1951 this Latin-Quarter book shop at Kilometer Zero near Notre Dame is only on its second proprietor, and takes its name from a Belle Époque era bookstore also in Paris.

1) Livraria Lello in Portugal, Spain

This Art Nouveau building was built in 1906 and designed by Xavier Esteves. The shapes and carvings capture the fantasy of the era. Many people today call it the Harry Potter bookstore because of the spellbinding carvings and stained glass that set this space apart from any other bookstore that most folks have shopped in.

The second story is reached through a red-carpeted winding staircase which brings one closer to the ethereal stained glass overhead. The shop is understandably a must-sought tourist stop!