6 Wonderful English Bookshops in Paris to Visit

Book lovers in Paris can’t miss out on these Paris bookstores! Whilst Shakespeare & Co is undoubtedly the most famous Paris bookshop, there are lots of other English bookshops in Paris worth adding to your itinerary.

Paris has a rich literary history spanning centuries. This beautiful city has inspired writers all over Europe and many beyond Europe as well.

You’d expect the Paris that inspired the likes of Hemingway and F Scott Fitzgerald to be teeming with bookshops, and of course, it is!

Here are just 6 of the best (and most beautiful) English language bookshops in Paris you must visit.

If you’re new here, hi! I’m Laura – a self-confessed francophile who fell head over heels for Paris years ago. I studied French literature at Oxford University and spent a year living in the city, wandering its cobbled streets, eating croissants and browsing old bookshops. Paris has never stopped feeling like magic to me, and I return as often as I can. Here, you’ll find my favourite places and experiences in the city that will always have my heart.

English Bookshops in Paris

Shakespeare and Company

Shakespeare and Company is undoubtedly the most famous English bookstore in Paris. Potentially even the most famous bookstore in Paris.

When it opened in 1951, it became a sort of hub for ex-pats living in France.

It was inspired by the original Shakespeare and Company store by Sylvia Beach where writers such as Joyce, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Eliot and Pound would gather.

George Whitman’s new store pays homage to her and continues to attract numerous anglophone readers, writers and tourists every day.

Here you’ll find the most popular new releases as well as all the classics. Shakespeare and Co stocks some of the most beautiful editions of books that are hard to come by in most other Paris bookshops.

It’s the sort of place you should check out if you’re shopping for gifts or you’d like to treat yourself.

Each and every book purchase made at Shakespeare and Co will be stamped with their own bookshop stamp, so you’ll never forget where you purchased it!

What’s special about Shakespeare and Company is that it offers young writers and artists a place to sleep at night if they’ve nowhere else to go.

George Whitman wanted to use his bookshop to create a community, and these guests were referred to as “Tumbleweeds”. Over the years, the shop has hosted over 40,000 Tumbleweeds!

In exchange, these Tumbleweeds must do three things: read a book a day, help at the shop for a few hours a day, and produce a one-page autobiography. Seems like a pretty good deal in exchange for sleeping in this beautiful shop free of charge!

This bookshop has become a major tourist attraction because of its rich history and connection with ex-pat writers and intellectuals in Paris. It’s crowded on most days, full of either avid bookworms or curious travellers.

At peak times, there’s often a long queue outside its doors. It moves relatively quickly, but you’ll want to factor some potential wait time into your Paris itinerary.

RELATED: While you’re exploring Paris’s Left Bank, don’t miss the famous and historic literary cafes just a 15-minute walk away: Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore.

The bookshop also hosts at least one free literary event a week, often with some very famous writers, so you should definitely check out their events page before you visit.

There’s also a café next to the bookshop called the Shakespeare and Company Café. This cafe is run in collaboration with Bob’s Bake Shop.

A little pricey as you’d expect, but a lovely place to sit down for a coffee and catch up or a place to squirrel away with your new read!

Address 
37 rue de la Bûcherie
75005 Paris, France

Opening hours 
Shop
Monday to Saturday: 10am – 8pm
Sunday: 10am – 7pm

Café
Every day between 9:30am-7pm

Website 
shakespeareandcompany.com

Librairie Galignani

Librairie Galignani is the only bookshop on this list that stocks both English and French books. It’s located on the famous rue de Rivoli in Paris, just down the road from WHSmith, actually.

The bookshop run by the Galginani family has been around since the beginning of the 19th century, and it’s certainly the grandest of the bookshops in Paris featured here.

Indeed, outside its front doors, it boldly claims to be the first English bookshop established on the continent.

The inside is absolutely breathtaking with a beautiful dark green colour palette. It’s very brightly lit, which makes this a gorgeous space to browse the latest releases in French, English and the arts.

Is it possible for a shop to ooze sophistication? If so, then Librairie Galignani is at the top of its game.

This is one of my favourite and certainly one of the best bookshops in Paris that stocks new copies and is the first place I’d look for new English releases (and French releases too!).

Again, English books in Paris are sold at RRP plus more, since they have been imported so it’s not the cheapest place for English literature.

If you’re an English expat living in France, though, it would be my go-to shop since book prices don’t vary hugely across France.

Address 
224, rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris

Opening hours 
Monday – Saturday, 10am-7pm

Website 
www.galignani.fr

The Abbey Bookshop

The Abbey Bookshop is my absolute favourite bookshop in Paris. It’s a second-hand English bookshop but a very large portion of the books found here are new releases that look brand new!

I’m astounded by the wide selection of recently published books every time I go into this shop. I’m not sure if I’m more appalled that these books have already managed to find their way into a second hand bookshop or pleased that they’re available to buy already.

Books seem to cover every single inch of this tiny store, and if you’re wearing a backpack, you’d be well advised to remove it before entering the bookshop!

There are books piled high in every nook and cranny of the place, and one misstep could bring tonnes of books down upon you. I love how narrow this bookstore is and admire them for trying to cram so many titles into one space.

You’ll find every genre of book here, from new releases to classics to general fiction to history.

If I lived in Paris, this is 100% where I’d buy all my books!

Address 
29, rue de la Parcheminerie
75005 Paris

Opening hours 
10am-7pm, Monday – Saturday

Website 
abbeybookshop.wordpress.com

San Francisco Book Co

San Francisco Book Company is fairly similar to The Abbey Bookshop in that it stocks second-hand English books.

It’s within a 5-10 minute walk of both Shakespeare and Co and The Abbey Bookshop, so it’s well worth visiting these three all together if you’re in the Latin Quarter of Paris.

The difference between this one and The Abbey Bookshop is that “new” books are hard to come by in this one. This shop seems reserved for the older, worn titles of classics and other books from eras gone by.

I love the pop of colour this bookshop brings to an otherwise classically beige, Parisian street, and the rows and rows of books outside the store are so enticing!

This bookshop has layer upon layer of books upon its shelves, and you could easily pass a few hours in here digging behind books to see what could be hidden further behind on the shelves.

This is the sort of place you’d come to look for a book if you’re not really sure what you’re in the mood for and you’re looking for something to take your fancy. There’s bound to be a hidden gem in here somewhere just calling your name!

Address 
17, rue Monsieur le Prince
75006  Paris

Opening hours 
Monday – Saturday, 11am – 9pm
Sunday 2pm to 7:30pm

Website 
www.sfparis.com

Smith & Son

Smith & Son (formerly WHSmith) is the place to go for all things British if you’re living in Paris and missing home. They’ll cost you a fortune, but it’s the easiest place to find your favourite foods, magazines and books.

In general, I tried to stay away from here and buy from French shops. However, if you’re craving real British cheddar cheese (and not the bright orange grated stuff occasionally found in French supermarkets), then this is your best bet.

Wait – wasn’t I supposed to be talking about books?

Smith & Son in Paris stocks pretty much all the same books you’ll find in WHSmith in England. It’ll have all the new releases, bestsellers and more.

It’s a very large bookstore with the books covering the entire bottom floor and food and other products covering the top floor.

If you’re desperate to get your hands on a new release as soon as it’s published, then WHSmith would be your best bet.

Unfortunately, as these are “foreign” language books being sold in France, they are really quite expensive.

Whilst in England there are usually discounts on the RRP, in France, they will sell at RRP plus costs for importation.

Taking these factors into account and the poor exchange rate at the moment, it will cost you far more to purchase a book here than the same book in the UK.

For this reason, I wouldn’t hugely recommend this as an English bookshop in Paris but more of a familiar English shop to go to when you’re seriously craving something British. Like cheddar cheese.

Address 
248, Rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris

Opening hours 
Monday – Saturday, 10:30am-7:30pm
Sunday 12-7pm

Website 
www.smithandson.com

The Red Wheelbarrow

Directly opposite the Jardin du Luxembourg is the Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore, another wonderful English bookshop in Paris.

It takes its name from a poem by William Carlos Williams, The Red Wheelbarrow, which is a lovely nod to the joy of poetry:

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

The bookshop itself is stunning too, with its gorgeous, striking blue exteriors and large floor-to-ceiling windows that fill the bookshop with soft natural light. Dark wooden shelves stretch all the way up to the ceiling with a tall ladder resting against them, giving the whole shop a classic, old-world feel, despite its modernity.

The Red Wheelbarrow stocks an excellent range of contemporary and classic fiction, along with non-fiction, poetry, and a particularly charming section dedicated entirely to Paris.

Whether you’re searching for a new release, a less well-known literary gem, or a book to accompany you during your time in the city, their curation is consistently strong

The booksellers here are wonderfully knowledgeable too – warm, well-informed, and always happy to offer thoughtful recommendations if you’re not sure what to pick up next.

A few doors down, you’ll find their sister shop, The Red Balloon, which focuses on children’s bilingual books and is equally warm and welcoming.

When you leave, inevitably with a book (or two) in hand, you’re in the perfect neighbourhood to enjoy it.

With the Luxembourg Gardens just across the road and plenty of cafés and bistrots nearby, it’s easy to settle in with a coffee and start reading your latest find straight away.

Address 
9, 11 Rue de Médicis
75006 Paris

Opening hours 
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 10am-6pm
Wednesday, Saturday: 10am-7pm
Sunday 12-6pm

Website 
theredwheelbarrowbookstore.com

So there you have my top 6 English bookshops in Paris!

If you need more help planning your trip to Paris, check out my other posts:
13 Museums to Visit in Paris that Aren’t the Louvre
The Best Bakery in Paris: Du Pain et Des Idées 
Hotel Monte Cristo Paris Review
Me Before You Filming Locations in Paris

Want more international bookshops?
Bookshops in Dublin
Bookshops in London
Bookshops in Barcelona
Bookshops in Girona
Bookshops in Amsterdam
Bookshops in Barcelona
Bookshops in Obidos
Bookshops in San Diego
Bookshops in Lausanne