{"id":366736,"date":"2025-08-23T08:05:29","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T08:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/366736\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T08:05:29","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T08:05:29","slug":"two-of-the-worlds-most-beautiful-bookshops-are-in-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/366736\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Of The World\u2019s Most Beautiful Bookshops Are In London"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bookshops can be sacred places.\u00a0When done right, these cosy spots are delightful places to spend a few hours time leafing through beautiful editions, soaking up that delicious new book smell. But not all bookshops have\u00a0that magical combination of comfort, charm and intrigue.<\/p>\n

Here at Time Out we\u2019re big fans of London\u2019s excellent roster of bookshops<\/a>, but we\u2019re not the only ones.\u00a0In a recent ranking of the world\u2019s most beautiful bookshops by book-loving travel guide site\u00a01000 Libraries<\/a>, two of the top 10 were in the capital.<\/p>\n

Out of the planet\u2019s 10 most gorgeous bookshops,\u00a0the two London entries came in fifth and eighth place. Taking the crown for London was Word on the Water<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in fifth place overall. This famous\u00a0bookbarge\u00a0can be found on a\u00a01920s Dutch barge\u00a0floating on Regent\u2019s Canal near King\u2019s Cross.\u00a0As well as selling keenly prices\u00a0editions in all sorts of genres, this retailer also puts on live music events every now and again, with jazz musicians playing atop the barge.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Word on the Water offers a unique way to enjoy literature,\u2019 wrote 1000 Libraries. \u2018It has a diverse collection of new and secondhand books in English and hosts a variety of events: live music, poetry readings, writing workshops, and more.<\/p>\n

\u2018The interior is eclectic but welcoming, with a hodgepodge of furniture, knick knacks, and potted plants that make it feel like a home away from home (if your home was on a river).\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Daunt
\nFoto: Shutterstock <\/p>\n

Also making the top 10 was Marylebone\u2019s Daunt Books<\/strong><\/a>. Thanks to the stunning Edwardian building it resides in inside Daunt Books is often included in lists of the world\u2019s most beautiful bookshops. It\u2019s also got a cult a following \u2013 any bookworm worth their salt probably\u00a0owns a Daunt Books tote bag.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what 1000 Libraries said about Daunt: \u2018Known for its long oak galleries, graceful skylights, and a beautiful stained-glass window, Daunt Books has been around since 1990, set in an Edwardian-style building built in 1912. It has a unique method of categorisation, organising its collection by geographical origin rather than genre or topic. It\u2019s a method well-suited to its origins specialising in travel-related books.\u2019<\/p>\n

Want to find out which bookshop got first place in 1000 Libraries\u2019 ranking? See the full list of the world\u2019s 10 most beautiful bookshops here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

London\u2019s most brilliant bookshops<\/a>, according to Time Out.<\/p>\n

Topshop is returning exclusively to this iconic London department store next week<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke \u2013 from news and reviews to events and trends. Just\u00a0follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stay in the loop: sign up for our\u00a0free Time Out London newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bookshops can be sacred places.\u00a0When done right, these cosy spots are delightful places to spend a few hours…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366737,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,57569,393,4884,257,57570,246,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-366736","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-categories-shopping","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-london","13":"tag-news-shopping-style","14":"tag-shopping","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115077050289366776","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}