I absolutely love to curl up with a good book and a cuppa, but when you are on the road, and in a foreign country it is often impossible. In Paris, there are many quaint old second-hand bookstores overflowing with literary gems – but they are in French.
There are a few iconic Engish bookstores in Paris. Tea&Tattered Pages second-hand English bookstores in Paris was the most famous of the lot. Sadly Tea&Tattered Pages is permanently closed. There is still a Tea& Tattered Pages bookstore in the US. Anglophiles, bookworms, and intrepid travelers that want to get away from the tourist scene can still find a few English bookstores in Paris.
Best English Bookstores in Paris
Shakespeare &Co.
37 rue de la Bucherie, 5th
Métro St Michel
Open Tues-Fri 2pm-7:30pm, Sat 12pm-8pm, Sun 2:30pm-7:30pm. Closed Mondays
This enchanting iconic English bookstore in Paris is stuffed with new and used English books. The store is a hang-out for local English poets and writers. Upstairs they host literary get-togethers and next door is the book store’s vegetarian restaurant.
Galignani
224 rue de Rivoli, 1st
Métro Tuileries
Open: Mon. – Sat: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
The oldest English bookstore in Paris, Galignani opened in 1801. Today they are best known for their art book section and American-Anglo books.
The Abbey Bookshop
“La Librarie Canadienne de Paris”
29, rue de la Parcheminerie, 5th
Métro St. Michel & Cluny La Sorbonne – Open every day 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Started in 1989 by a Canadian this English bookstore in Paris has a collection of 35,000 used and new English titles. There are many books by Canadian but the collection includes everything from literature to scholarly works. It is a real Aladdin’s Cave with books piled up to the rafters. The bookstore is housed in a former 18th-century hotel, a declared monument and one of the most beautiful buildings in the Latin Quarter.
The San Francisco Book Co.,
17 rue Monsieur-le-Prince, 6th
Métro Odéon
Open Mon – Sat: 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Sun: 2 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
In the heart of the Left Bank is this secondhand English bookstore with its recognizable red storefront. The bookstore was opened in 1997 and stocks a wide range of titles. Although they are predominantly a used-book store there are a few new, in-demand titles. The San Francisco Book Co. will pay cash for secondhand books. In the post-corona era, their open hours may be limited to 12pm-6pm but they are open seven days a week.
W.H. Smith
248 rue de Rivoli, 1st
Métro Concorde
Open Mon – Sat: 9 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.; Sun: 1 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Don’t get put off by the fact that this is such a recognized high street bookstore in the UK. In Paris W.H. Smith is something completely different. It is a classic European bookstore and tea room. Don’t leave without trying the Bookstore Cafe on the 1st floor with views over the Tuileries Gardens. They serve English dishes like ploughman’s lunch and scones. W.H. Smith Paris is the largest English bookstore in Europe. It was opened in 1903 and they hold thousands of books, reference material, CDs, periodicals and magazines, stationery, British and US candy, and more.
Other English Bookstores in Paris
Le Petit Roi Librairie, 39 Passage Jouffroy, 9th, Métro Richelieu-Drouot & Le Peletier
Berkeley Books of Paris, 8, rue Casimir Delavigne, 6th, Métro Odéon, Open Mon – Sat: 11 a.m – 8p.m. ; Sun: 2p.m. – 7p.m.
The Red Wheelbarrow, 9 rue de Médicis, Mon-Wed 10am-7pm, Thurs-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat&Sun 12pm-6:30pm
Thanks you !