SubscribeSign In
The World’s Top Bookshops Will Make You Want to Drop Everything and ReadView 12 Photos

The World’s Top Bookshops Will Make You Want to Drop Everything and Read

Gestalten’s latest page-turner is an ode to the best bookstores in the world.
Text by
View 12 Photos

Bookshops are so much more than commercial storefronts—they’re trusted curators, cozy lounges, and neighborhood commons where ideas are exchanged and the fabric of communities is knit tight. Gestalten’s new book, Do You Read Me?, celebrates over 60 of the world’s most beloved (and beautifully designed) bookshops through profiles, essays, and vibrant photography.

Canonical legends like Shakespeare & Co. and The Strand share the shelf with recent arrivals and lesser-known gems in diverse geographies ranging from Reykjavík to Lagos, Istanbul, and Taipei. If you love perusing new tomes and digging into a great read, scroll on for a look at 12 incredible bookstores, with captions excerpted from the text.

FiLBooks in Istanbul, Turkey

Cemre Yeşil Gönenli opened FiLBooks four years ago in Istanbul’s trendy Karoköy neighborhood. Today, his bookstore-café is a popular gathering place for artists, photographers, coffee lovers, and bookworms. 

Cemre Yeşil Gönenli opened FiLBooks four years ago in Istanbul’s trendy Karoköy neighborhood. Today, his bookstore-café is a popular gathering place for artists, photographers, coffee lovers, and bookworms. 

Cărturești Carusel doesn't just tell the stories of the books spread across the four dazzling white floors of its history-steeped home. This extraordinary bookstore also relates the storied past of this building, which has recently been given a new lease on life.

Cărturești Carusel doesn't just tell the stories of the books spread across the four dazzling white floors of its history-steeped home. This extraordinary bookstore also relates the storied past of this building, which has recently been given a new lease on life.

Lagos wouldn’t be Lagos without The Jazzhole. The popular store selling books and vinyl has been providing stimulation to the Nigerian capital, which lies on the Atlantic coast, for almost 30 years. 

Lagos wouldn’t be Lagos without The Jazzhole. The popular store selling books and vinyl has been providing stimulation to the Nigerian capital, which lies on the Atlantic coast, for almost 30 years. 

Books Over the Clouds in Shanghai, China

The name of this bookstore is far from an exaggeration: Books Over the Clouds looks out over a Chinese megacity from the 52nd floor of the Shanghai Tower. 

The name of this bookstore is far from an exaggeration: Books Over the Clouds looks out over a Chinese megacity from the 52nd floor of the Shanghai Tower. 

Was Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling really inspired by this bookstore? Standing on the velvety ed staircase and gazing out over the gorgeous Livraria Lello, you could well imagine that you’ve arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Was Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling really inspired by this bookstore? Standing on the velvety ed staircase and gazing out over the gorgeous Livraria Lello, you could well imagine that you’ve arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Pro qm has been part of the German capital’s art and cultural scene since 1999, providing food for thought, hosting panel discussions, and selling the right kind of reading material. "The store evolved from theoretical debates and discussions on urban politics and alternative spaces for cultural production, especially here in Berlin in the late nineties, into a physical location to engage in these issues with a wider public," says Katja Reichard, who today runs Pro qm alongside Jesko Fezer and Axel John Wieder as part of a team of seven.

Pro qm has been part of the German capital’s art and cultural scene since 1999, providing food for thought, hosting panel discussions, and selling the right kind of reading material. "The store evolved from theoretical debates and discussions on urban politics and alternative spaces for cultural production, especially here in Berlin in the late nineties, into a physical location to engage in these issues with a wider public," says Katja Reichard, who today runs Pro qm alongside Jesko Fezer and Axel John Wieder as part of a team of seven.

Daikanyama Tsutaya Books is often described as the "book empire" of the Japanese capital, and not without reason: the enormous bookstore is hugely inviting despite its sheer size, and it offers a vast selection of books for visitors to lose themselves among.

Daikanyama Tsutaya Books is often described as the "book empire" of the Japanese capital, and not without reason: the enormous bookstore is hugely inviting despite its sheer size, and it offers a vast selection of books for visitors to lose themselves among.

If there’s a heaven for book lovers, then the hallowed aisles and hushed galleries of this Gothic church in Maastricht might well be it. Behind the monumental doorway to the Boekhandel Dominicanen, the old Gothic church is stuffed with classical and scholarly literature, international magazines and newspapers, and a huge selection of music.

If there’s a heaven for book lovers, then the hallowed aisles and hushed galleries of this Gothic church in Maastricht might well be it. Behind the monumental doorway to the Boekhandel Dominicanen, the old Gothic church is stuffed with classical and scholarly literature, international magazines and newspapers, and a huge selection of music.

Jorge de la Garza has run Casa Bosques alongside Rafael Prieto since 2012. "We both moved to Mexico City around the same time and realized that although the art scene was very sophisticated, with many museums, galleries, [and] institutions, there wasn’t really a specialized art and design bookstore in the city. So we decided to open one ourselves."

Jorge de la Garza has run Casa Bosques alongside Rafael Prieto since 2012. "We both moved to Mexico City around the same time and realized that although the art scene was very sophisticated, with many museums, galleries, [and] institutions, there wasn’t really a specialized art and design bookstore in the city. So we decided to open one ourselves."

El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires, Argentina

With its crimson theater curtains and shimmering gold boxes, El Ateneo Grand Splendid must be one of the most spectacular bookstores in the world. Visitors browse through the large selection of titles to the strains of soft piano music: a pianist plays live, in an echo of the magnificent hall’s previous life.

With its crimson theater curtains and shimmering gold boxes, El Ateneo Grand Splendid must be one of the most spectacular bookstores in the world. Visitors browse through the large selection of titles to the strains of soft piano music: a pianist plays live, in an echo of the magnificent hall’s previous life.

The Book Barge is going against the current—or, more precisely, against the Amazonian current, stresses Sarah Henshaw with a wink. And she means it literally: her floating bookstore is the opposite of the online giant in almost every respect.

The Book Barge is going against the current—or, more precisely, against the Amazonian current, stresses Sarah Henshaw with a wink. And she means it literally: her floating bookstore is the opposite of the online giant in almost every respect.

When Rania Naufal moved back to her native city of Beirut from New York, she already had the idea for Papercup tucked away with her luggage. She opened the little store with its pretty floor tiles in the trendy Mar Mikhaël neighborhood in 2009.

When Rania Naufal moved back to her native city of Beirut from New York, she already had the idea for Papercup tucked away with her luggage. She opened the little store with its pretty floor tiles in the trendy Mar Mikhaël neighborhood in 2009.

Do You Read Me?: Bookstores Around the World
Bookshop
Bookstores are more than just places that sell books. They are focal points of communities, a warm welcome to a city, a place for first-time visitors and longtime residents alike to gather in a shared love of the written word.
Shop
Mike Chino
Mike Chino is Dwell’s senior design editor. For the past 15 years, he’s written, edited, and produced forward-looking stories that show how good design improves quality of life for individuals, communities, and the world at large.

Published

Topics

Roundups

Get the Dwell Newsletter

Be the first to see our latest home tours, design news, and more.