7 Best Bookshops in Bath to Visit

Looking for the best bookshops in Bath? This literary guide covers seven brilliant independent bookshops, complete with a map, addresses, and tips for your visit.

Bath is well known for its many literary connections, most notably those with Jane Austen.

It’s historic links to Austen, Dickens, Shelley and more make it one of the best cities in Britain for bookworms to explore, and it’s one of my absolute favourites.

But beyond the connections to authors and their writings, there are also many bookshops in Bath worth visiting that should be on any literary traveller’s bucket list.

Keep reading to find out more about the best Bath bookshops, including the Bath bookshop that has won UK’s best independent bookshop twice!

Then check out my literary tour of Bath for even more bookish spots.

Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights

Mr B’s Emporium is an award-winning independent bookshop in Bath that you must add to your Bath itinerary.

The shop spans across several floors and each room has its own character and charm.

On the bottom floor you’ll find a bath filled with books and upstairs there are cosy armchairs and even a small tropical-themed reading room.

You’re welcome to stay awhile at Mr B’s so sit down, snuggle down with your new book and stay put for an afternoon.

They’ve even left out water jugs by the armchairs for their customers!

Beautiful decor aside, it’s also a great bookshop to browse when you want to pick up something new and you’re open to being persuaded.

There are personal recommendations from the staff on most shelves of the store, which makes you feel like you are shopping with a knowledgeable bookish friend!

One of the most unique offerings from this shop are the “reading spa” sessions. You’ll sit down with a bibliotherapist over tea and cake and discuss what you like to read. They’ll suggest around 24 (!) books for you and you can take around 6 home with you (the experience includes a £60 voucher).

It’s incredibly popular though so you need to book months in advance!

Mr B’s Emporium has been named the UK’s best independent bookshop not once, but twice so it’s not one to miss.

Address: 13-15 John St, Bath BA1 2JL
Website: mrbsemporium.com

Topping & Company Booksellers of Bath

Topping & Company has got to be the most beautiful bookstore in Bath – both inside and out.

The store occupies the very impressive Friends Meeting House in Bath, having moved their from The Paragon in 2021.

This building was designed by the same guy that designed the National Portrait Gallery in London which explains the sense of grandeur!

Then inside, there are the signature brown wooden shelves and sliding ladders that every Topping & Co bookshop boasts.

The upgrade to York Street meant that Toppings were able to stock 80,000 more books, so the shop is simply enormous and a must visit for any book lover in Bath.

They stock everything you’d expect here with every single genre from general fiction to cookery to poetry.

Toppings bookshop also frequently hosts reading groups and author events for the biggest names in British fiction so check out their events page before you visit to see what’s going on. They host over 200 author events a year!

They have great connections to authors and so it’s a fantastic shop for signed first editions of popular recent fiction too!

Address: York Street, Bath BA1 1NG
Website: www.toppingbooks.co.uk

Skoobs Books

Skoobs Books is the best place to shop for secondhand books in Bath. They’ve got a small space in Guildhall Market but it’s filled with towering stacks of books.

The range here is seriously impressive as you can shop for any fiction book from classics to new releases!

Their copies are all in very good condition and the prices are low too making it an all-round winner.

If you’re looking for a particular book, just ask a member of staff and they’ll point you in the right direction.

It can be quite overwhelming looking at all those books!

Their stock is so extensive that they’ve got multiple copies of most books so chances are they’ll have what you want.

They’ll also buy back your old books so if you want to declutter your bookshelves this is a great second hand bookshop in Bath to bring your unwanted copies to.

NB Skoobs Books Bath is not affiliated with Skoob Books in London!

Address: 40 – 42 Guildhall Market, Bath, Somerset BA2 4AW

Persephone Books

Persephone Books operates around a unique concept: they only stock literature written by women. They reprint neglected books by female writers in an effort to get these stories seen and read again.

How cool is that?

Whilst you’ll probably never have heard of authors such as Etty Hillesum, they’ve also reprinted works by notable female authors such as Virginia Woolf.

In either case, Persephone Books will have reprinted a book or books by these wonderful authors of the twentieth century that have largely been forgotten since then.

It helps that this is one of the most beautiful bookshops in Bath too with perfectly organised shelves and beautiful bunches of flowers on the tables in the centre of the room.

And it’s not just a beautiful bookstore! Each and every book has a beautiful grey cover, so you can instantly recognise a book from Persephone’s.

Persephone Books moved from the heart of London’s literary Bloomsbury to the smaller city of Bath in 2021. The above photos are from Persephone Books in London but the two stores look much the same!

Address: 8 Edgar Buildings, Bath BA1 2EE
Website: www.persephonebooks.co.uk

Bath Old Books

Bath Old Books is located right by Royal Crescent and The Circus, making it a popular Bath bookshop for bookish tourists.

It seems like a small and cosy bookshop when you first enter but underneath there’s a large room filled with even more books!

It’s run by five wonderfully friendly book dealers who specialise in a broad range of areas from travel to children’s literature to art. If there’s something you want that they don’t have, they might even be able to source it for you.

Bath Old Books is also a great place to shop for Jane Austen souvenirs as they’ve got a wide selection of her works and many different editions to choose from.

Address: 6A Margaret’s Buildings, Bath BA1 2LP

George Bayntun

George Bayntun bookshop in Bath (or ‘Geo Bayntun’ when I visited (see pic)) is the oldest bookshop in Bath and has a fascinating history.

George Bayntun himself was given the title of Bookseller to Her Majesty in 1950 by Queen Mary, King George V’s wife.

This Bath bookstore sits inside a listed building that was once the Post Office’s sorting office.

It was converted into a book bindery and bookshop in 1938 and it has retained its antique furnishings since then.

There are lots of first editions to be found here as well as maps, prints and secondhand books.

This one is great for bibliophiles in Bath who want to see some seriously beautiful editions and find out a little about how these books are made.

Poke your head in and have a little wander around as soon as you arrive in Bath – it’s right by Bath Spa train station!

Address: 23 Manvers Street, Bath, BA1 1JW
Website: www.georgebayntun.com

The Jane Austen Centre Gift Shop

I’m giving the Jane Austen Museum shop a little shout out at the end of this post because they stock a wide array of Austen-related books here.

If you’re looking for some of the most beautiful editions of Austen’s work then this is a great place to look.

There are also books about Austen, the adaptations of her work, colouring books, crossword books and more. It’s a great place to look for gifts if you know an Austen fan!

Address: 40 Gay St, Bath BA1 2NT
Website: www.janeausten.co.uk

So there you have seven of the best Bath bookshops and given that it’s a small city and they’re all located near popular tourist spots, you should be able to squeeze most of these into your Bath itinerary!

Now check out my literary tour of Bath for even more spots for book lovers in this beautiful British town.

Pin now, read again later!

If you’re looking for even more UK bookshops, check out my other bookshop guides:
Bookshops in Oxford
Bookshops in Cambridge
Bookshops in York
Bookshops in Edinburgh
Bookshops in Hay-on-Wye
Bookshops in Brighton
Independent Bookshops in London
Specialist Bookshops in London
Second-Hand Bookshops in London