Beautiful bookshops in Europe are worth building a city trip around, especially in autumn. From September into November, literary travel naturally moves between bookshops, cafés, libraries and the streets that connect them, with more time spent browsing and fewer reasons to rush through a city.
This selection travels from historic booksellers in Paris and antiquarian shops in Kraków to independent bookshops in Berlin, Ghent and Aarhus, with a few literary stops worth adding along the way. Some are destinations in their own right; others are starting points for discovering a neighbourhood, a Sunday book market or the literary culture of a city. Together, they offer five very different ideas for a book-focused autumn trip through Europe.
Beautiful Bookshops in Europe for an Autumn City Trip
Ghent
Ghent is particularly easy to explore through its bookshops. The historic centre is compact enough to walk between independent bookstores, cafés and the streets along the River Lys, so a literary day in the city rarely requires much planning.
Paard van Troje
Paard van Troje is one of the best places to understand why Ghent works so well as a literary city. Set on the Kouter in the city centre, the independent bookshop combines a substantial English-language selection with Dutch titles, independent publishers, poetry, graphic novels and a large, beautifully presented children’s section.
Its role in the city goes beyond the shelves. Paard van Troje regularly works with publishers, writers and Ghent cultural institutions on book presentations and literary events, connecting the shop to the city’s contemporary literary scene. For international visitors, the English section alone is worth allowing time for.
Where: Kouter 113, central Ghent
Good to know: Leave enough time for the English-language and children’s sections.
Sunday Book Market on the Ajuinlei in Ghent
On Sunday mornings, Ghent’s book culture moves outside. Second-hand booksellers set up their stalls along the Ajuinlei, directly beside the River Lys and a row of 18th- and 19th-century townhouses.
The weekly market has been held here since 2007 and works particularly well as part of an autumn Sunday in Ghent. Browse the tables along the water, then continue through the historic centre for coffee or another bookshop.
Where: Ajuinlei, along the River Lys
Good to know: The market takes place on Sunday mornings and is outdoors, so check current information before visiting in poor weather.
Planning more time in the city? The Pretty Book Places guide to coffee and bookshops in Ghent brings together more independent bookstores, book cafés and coffee stops for a literary day in the city.
Paris
Autumn is one of the best seasons for a literary trip to Paris. From September into November, rainy afternoons are mixed with clear, sunny days and a softer light that changes the streets, the Seine and the historic façades of the city. It is an easy time to understand why Paris has attracted generations of writers and artists.
Bookshops fit naturally into days spent walking between the Latin Quarter, the river and the Tuileries, with cafés providing the obvious stops in between. And the bookshops themselves could hardly be more different: from densely packed English-language shelves to one of the city’s grandest historic booksellers.
The Abbey Bookshop
Books occupy almost every available surface at The Abbey Bookshop. More than 40,000 English-language titles fill the narrow rooms and basement of this independent bookshop in the Latin Quarter, with new and second-hand books ranging from Canadian literature to fiction and academic titles.
The shop was founded in 1989 by Toronto-born Brian Spence, who is often there himself and always seems to have a story to tell. He has also organised Sunday walks beyond Paris, taking groups into the surrounding countryside. The location has its own literary connection: Rue de la Parcheminerie was once known as Rue des Écrivains and the bookshop occupies an 18th-century historic building.
Where: 29 Rue de la Parcheminerie, 5th arrondissement
Good to know: Don’t rush the visit. Part of the experience is navigating the densely packed shelves and talking to the people behind the shop.
Shakespeare and Company
Shakespeare and Company is no secret, and that is hardly a reason to leave it out. Opened by George Whitman in 1951, the English-language bookshop opposite Notre-Dame has been part of Parisian literary life for more than seventy years, welcoming generations of writers, readers and the travelling writers known as “Tumbleweeds”, who have slept among its bookshelves.
Even with the queues that now regularly form outside, the shop has not lost its appeal. The rooms are worth exploring slowly and there is almost always a book worth taking home. Afterwards, cross next door to the Shakespeare and Company Café for coffee and a view towards Notre-Dame. It remains one of the simplest and most enjoyable literary rituals on the Left Bank.
Where: 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, 5th arrondissement
Good to know: Visitor numbers inside are limited at busy times, so a queue is possible.
Galignani
Galignani offers a completely different bookshop experience. Founded in 1801 and established on Rue de Rivoli since 1856, the historic bookseller is large, elegant and meticulously ordered, with extensive French and English-language sections alongside an especially strong collection of art books and illustrated volumes.
Its location is part of the reason to visit. The bookshop sits opposite the Tuileries on one of Paris’s grandest streets, making it an easy stop between museums, gardens and cafés. In autumn, there is an even better addition: Angelina is directly next door. Pick up one of its famously rich hot chocolates to take away before continuing through the Tuileries.
Where: 224 Rue de Rivoli, 1st arrondissement
Good to know: Allow time for the art and illustrated book sections, which are among Galignani’s longstanding specialities.
Already planning a bookshop itinerary? The Pretty Book Places guide to the best bookstores in Paris brings together 20 literary addresses across the city.
Berlin
Berlin is a city for long bookshop days. Its literary landscape is spread across very different neighbourhoods, from established independent booksellers in the west to international bookshops and book cafés in Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg. Autumn is particularly good for exploring the city this way: spend a few hours walking through one neighbourhood, stop for coffee when it gets colder and make the bookshops themselves part of the route.
Der Zauberberg
Der Zauberberg in Friedenau is a bookshop for readers who want to spend serious time with books. Literature is at its centre, with carefully selected fiction and poetry alongside philosophy, history, society and politics. There is also a large dedicated children’s section with beautifully illustrated books for younger readers.
The literary history of the address reaches back much further than the current shop. Books have been sold here since 1929, when Wolffs Bücherei became one of Berlin’s literary institutions. Today, Der Zauberberg continues that tradition through readings and discussions on literature, culture, society and contemporary history. The generous interior and high shelves make the physical space as memorable as the selection.
Where: Bundesallee 133, Friedenau
Good to know: Look beyond the fiction shelves. The sections on philosophy, history and society are an important part of what makes this a genuinely literary bookshop.
Shakespeare and Sons
Shakespeare and Sons represents a very different side of literary Berlin. The independent bookshop on Warschauer Straße specialises in English-language books and combines its shelves with Fine Bagels, its in-house bakery and café. The result feels less like a quick book-buying stop and more like a place to spend part of the morning.
The selection makes it particularly useful for international visitors, but the location matters too. This is Friedrichshain rather than Berlin’s historic centre, surrounded by the everyday cafés, restaurants and streets of one of the city’s busiest neighbourhoods. Order a coffee and a bagel, browse the English-language shelves and make the bookshop the starting point for exploring this part of Berlin.
Where: Warschauer Straße 74, Friedrichshain
Good to know: The bookshop and Fine Bagels operate together, so this is an easy place to combine breakfast or coffee with book browsing.
Berlin has far more literary addresses than can fit into one European selection. Find more independent bookstores and book cafés in the complete Pretty Book Places guide to the best bookstores in Berlin.
Kraków
Kraków is still surprisingly underestimated as a destination for a book-focused weekend. The city has a dense network of independent bookshops and antiquarian dealers, a strong café culture and the distinction of being a UNESCO City of Literature. Much of it can be explored on foot around the historic centre.
Autumn brings an additional literary layer to the city. The annual Conrad Festival gathers international writers, readers and publishers in Kraków for discussions, readings and events, making literature particularly visible across the city during the season.
Massolit Books & Café
Massolit Books & Café
Massolit Books & Café unfolds across a series of interconnected rooms inside a residential building close to Kraków’s Old Town. Predominantly English-language books fill shelves reaching high up the walls, with handwritten signs and small reading corners throughout the shop.
The atmosphere is warm and informal rather than polished. Order coffee and cake in the café, then continue through the back rooms; another shelf or doorway always seems to appear. For international readers, it is also one of Kraków’s most useful addresses for browsing English-language literature.
Where: Felicjanek 4, close to Kraków Old Town
Good to know: Keep going beyond the first rooms. Much of Massolit’s character is found further inside the shop.
Rara Avis
Kraków’s literary landscape also includes a serious antiquarian book tradition. Rara Avis has been dealing in rare and historic books since 1992, specialising in publications printed before 1945 as well as maps, prints, posters and photography. Polish avant-garde editions are a particular focus.
This is a place to look closely rather than browse quickly. Old bindings, printed ephemera and works that have survived for decades make Rara Avis a very different experience from a contemporary bookshop. The shop also operates as an auction house, holding several antiquarian auctions each year.
Where: Szpitalna 11, Kraków Old Town
Good to know: Look beyond the books: historic maps, prints, posters and photographs are part of the collection.
Kraków has many more independent bookshops and antiquarian dealers worth finding. Continue with the complete Pretty Book Places guide to the best bookshops in Kraków.
Aarhus
Reading is remarkably visible in everyday life in Aarhus: in independent bookshops, cafés and one of Scandinavia’s most interesting public libraries. In autumn, the compact scale of the city makes it easy to move between all three, with the waterfront, architecture and coffee culture becoming part of the same literary day.
Løve’s Bog- og Vincafé
Løve’s Bog- og Vincafé brings books, coffee and wine together without treating any of them as decoration. The shelves hold both contemporary literature and classics, while readings, author visits and literary evenings make the café an active part of Aarhus’ literary scene.
People arrive for books and stay for a glass of wine. Others come for the café and leave with a novel. That combination works particularly well in Aarhus, where coffee shops and cultural spaces are part of everyday city life rather than separate stops on an itinerary. Løve’s is a place to sit down, browse and stay for a while.
Where: Nørregade 32, central Aarhus
Good to know: Check the programme before visiting if you would like to combine your visit with a reading or literary event.
Also worth visiting: Dokk1
A bookshop trip through Aarhus is easy to extend to Dokk1, the city’s large public library on the waterfront. It functions as much as a community space as a library, with reading and work areas, extensive spaces for children and families and room for learning, meeting and experimenting with new technologies. The walk from the centre also brings you towards Aarhus’ contemporary harbour architecture, making Dokk1 a natural final stop on a literary day in the city.
For more bookshops, libraries, coffee stops and literary places, continue with the complete Pretty Book Places literary travel guide to Aarhus.
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