Travel Bookshops in London (For When You Need Travel Inspiration)
London has no shortage of beautiful bookshops, but if you’re specifically looking for travel bookshops in London to inspire your next adventure, there are a handful of great bookshops to scratch that itch.
Some are dedicated entirely to travel. Others began life that way and still carry that spirit today.
Fair warning: I make a point of visiting all of the bookshops below regularly and always come away with a travel bucket list that’s the length of my arm.
I take zero responsibility for any wanderlust caused by a visit to these bookshops!
Here are the travel bookshops in London worth knowing about.
Travellers’ Tales
Opening in December 2025, Travellers’ Tales is one of London’s newest specialist travel bookshops, and definitely its most charming.
It’s located in Marylebone, already one of my favourite London neighbourhoods, but this feels like a really special new addition.
The space may be small, but it’s wonderfully cosy, and really beautifully designed.
Dark red bookshelves line the walls, and a sliding ladder runs along one side, which is surely a universal book-lover fantasy.
Then suspended from the centre of the ceiling is a hot air balloon installation that perfectly captures the spirit of adventure.
Where can I get one of these?
(Seriously.)
Despite its small size, it’s incredibly well curated.
You won’t find endless rows of the same guidebook; instead, there’s a thoughtful mix of travel writing, destination-led fiction, photography books, and practical guides.
One of its most unique features, however, is the letter-writing experience. You can write a letter to yourself (or someone else), seal it, and choose a future posting date.
You drop it into the shop’s red letterbox, and it’s sent later in the year.
I wrote one to myself, and I already know future me is going to love receiving it!
For those who are still fans of sending snail mail, there’s a lovely stationery section stocking the most beautiful luxury stationery items. Perfect for gifts, or for romanticising the everyday.
Also, when I visited, the staff were genuinely really lovely. They tidied shelves so I could take photos and chatted to me about the story behind the shop, which made the whole experience feel that much more personal.
Plan Your Visit
- 📍 87 Wimpole Street, Marylebone, W1G 9RL
- 🕰 10am–6pm Tuesday–Sunday (closed Monday)
- 🚇 Nearest tube: Bond Street
- 💡 Best for: Thoughtfully curated travel reads, and gifts for travel lovers
Stanfords
If Travellers’ Tales is intimate and curated, Stanfords is expansive and iconic.
Located in Covent Garden, Stanfords has been synonymous with travel for almost two centuries.
Although it moved from its historic red-fronted location a few doors down a while ago, the spirit of the shop remains the same: two floors dedicated to travel guides, maps, travel writing, and globes.
I always gravitate towards the guidebooks here. If you want practical planning material (Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, Marco Polo etc.), you’ll find entire walls of it here.
But don’t forget to explore the area downstairs, which is my favourite area of the shop.
There’s a striking display of globes in different colours and sizes, decorative hot air balloons and planes hanging overhead, and even a map design across the floor.
It wasn’t particularly busy when I visited (surprisingly calm for such a central location), and I wondered if this may be a sign of the times as people gravitate towards social media for free travel guides, but there is still something special about physical guidebooks.
Beyond books, you’ll also find maps (including some beautifully designed ones that would make thoughtful gifts), atlases, travel accessories, and a café where you can sit and map out your next itinerary.
Plan Your Visit
- 📍 7 Mercer Walk, Covent Garden, WC2H 9FA
- 🕰 9am–8pm Mon–Sat | 11:30am–6pm Sun
- 🚇 Nearest tube: Covent Garden or Leicester Square
- 💡 Best for: Comprehensive travel guides as well as globes and maps
Daunt Books (Marylebone)
Whenever anyone talks about beautiful bookshops in London, Daunt Books is usually the first name mentioned, and for good reason.
The Marylebone branch was originally founded as a travel bookshop, and although it has since expanded into a more generalist bookshop, that travel DNA is still very much intact.
The most distinctive feature is the long oak gallery with its skylights and stained-glass window at the far end.
It’s one of the most visually striking bookshop interiors in London (and yes, you’ll find lots of people taking pictures in here).
What I particularly love is how the main gallery is still organised geographically. Fiction and non-fiction are shelved by country, so you browse by destination rather than genre.
It completely changes how you discover books.
Planning a trip to Japan?
You’ll find novels, memoirs, history, and travel guides all together in one place.
It makes the literary traveller in me very happy!
Plan Your Visit
- 📍 84 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4QW
- 🕰 9am–7:30pm (check seasonal variations)
- 🚇 Nearest tube: Baker Street or Bond Street
- 💡 Best for: Destination-led browsing in one of London’s most beautiful interiors
The Notting Hill Bookshop
“Do you have any books by Dickens?”
“No, we’re a travel bookshop. We only sell travel books.”
“Oh, right. How about that new John Grisham thriller?”
“No, that’s a novel too.”
“Oh, right. Have you got a copy of ‘Winnie the Pooh’?”
Notting Hill (1999 film)
Beyond the three bookshops above, there is one very famous fictional travel bookshop in London: Notting Hill’s Travel Book Co.
Whilst this shop sadly does not exist, it was inspired by the real bookshop now called The Notting Hill Bookshop.
A quick clarification: the film Notting Hill was not filmed at or inside this bookshop.
However, this is the site of the real bookshop that inspired the travel bookshop in the film. There’s a blue plaque outside confirming this connection.
Today, The Notting Hill Bookshop is a general bookshop rather than a specialist travel store, but it still retains a travel section (complete with a “Travel Book Co” sign), a nod to its cinematic connection.
Every time I’ve visited, it’s been busy.
Very busy.
There’s often a queue outside, especially on weekends, though it tends to move quickly.
If you’re local, I’d recommend going earlier in the day or midweek if possible.
Inside, it’s compact and cheerful, with staff who are used to the steady stream of film fans.
While it’s no longer purely travel-focused, it absolutely earns its place on a list of London travel bookshops because of its inspiration story alone.
Plan Your Visit
- 📍 13 Blenheim Crescent, Notting Hill, W11 2EE
- 🕰 Opening hours vary (check ahead)
- 🚇 Nearest tube: Notting Hill Gate
- 💡 Best for: Film history and a nostalgic browse
I hope these London bookshops help inspire your next real-life adventure!
For more London bookshops, you may enjoy these guides:
