Stanfords
So iconic is this travel bookshop it even gets a mention in Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’. Opened in 1901, it’s one of the largest specialist travel bookshops in the world and an essential destination for explorers, backpackers and map fanatics. There are three floors stacked high with travel writing, guides, maps and gifts and also regular events from the great and good of exploration and travel writing.
London Review Bookshop
The London Review of Books opened this thriving bookshop in 2003. The shelves are intended to reflect the ethos of the literary publication, in their words: ‘intelligent without being pompous; engaged without being partisan.’ Its focus is on classic and new fiction as well as history, politics and philosophy. There’s also an excellent and busy café plus a programme of high-profile literary events.
Daunt Books — Marylebone
This may be London’s most beautiful bookshop. Occupying an Edwardian building on Marylebone High Street, it boasts an incredible galleried main room and stained glass windows that feel like they’re from a lost era. All the books are arranged by country – regardless of content – which makes for a fun and unique browsing experience.
Foyles Charing Cross Road
Foyles’ flagship store is a vast temple to the printed word. Recently re-opened in a brand new spot on Charing Cross Road, it covers a whopping five floors, with a staggering 4 miles’ worth of shelves holding over 200,000 titles. You can easily lose yourself for a few hours in here. On the top floor there’s a café and exhibition space – look out for some high-profile authors doing readings and talks.
Gosh!
On a corner in Soho in a slick, modern building is this excellent shop dedicated to graphic novels. Gosh! embraces the medium in all its guises; you’ll find stacks of colourful manga, European fiction, vintage children’s books and indie releases as well as mainstream superhero fare. Both diehard comic fans and complete newbies alike will find it hard to leave here empty-handed.
Gay’s the Word
This much-loved community bookshop is the only surviving LGBT+ bookshop in the UK. It stocks a large range of fiction as well as books on all aspects of queer theory, as well as titles covering sex, relationships, parenting and children. This isn’t just a place to buy books though; it’s an important community hub and hosts regular discussion groups and meet-ups.
Koenig Books
The books at Koenig are displayed with their covers showing, giving due prominence to the beautiful designs of hundreds of publications dedicated to art, photography and architecture. The independent German business also stocks the bookshops at the Serpentine and Whitechapel galleries.
Persephone Books
This unique shop and publisher gives a new lease of life to forgotten, out-of- print novels, with a focus on interwar stories written by women. It released ‘Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day’ back in 2001 and the book became a hit, eventually being made into a film. Each release is beautifully realised with grey covers and vibrant linings. The shop itself, a Grade II-listed building on Lamb’s Conduit Street – is also a delight.
Quinto/Francis Edwards
For those who like their books a little musty (in a good way!), add this secondhand bookshop to your list. On the ground floor is Francis Edwards, specialising in rare, antique and collectible books while downstairs, in the basement, is Quinto, which has more general stock including fiction paperbacks. The latter is good for rummaging.
Hatchards
On Piccadilly, in a prestigious spot next to Fortnum & Mason, is the UK’s oldest surviving bookshop. First opening its doors in 1797, Hatchards covers four floors and is home to 100,000 books. Today it’s owned by Waterstones but it doesn’t feel like a chain store; three royal warrants means a visit here is still very much a refined experience. In 2014 it opened a second store in St Pancras Station.
London visitor 