Shakespeare And Company – Paris, France

I heard of Shakespeare and Company’s bookshop a while ago, and i even saw pictures, and, let me tell you, this left me dreamy for a while. I absolutely loved what i was seeing, from the messy bookshelves to the front window. And, like that, I just knew i had to go and see this place for myself. I had the occasion to, on my last trip to Paris. And I wasn’t disappointed.

Two steps away from Notre Dame, right across the Seine, is this lovely bookshop. The front window already dragged me to it, so different from what you usually see. Because this isn’t an ordinary bookshop. Don’t let yourself be intimidated by tourists who will try to come inside two at a time, and take selfies with the Shakespeare and Company sign. I promise you, fighting against this flood is worth it.Out front, you can already go through many secondhand books put out on shelves. So you could think this is enough, but it clearly isn’t. Coming inside feels like coming in an old library, not in a bad way for us bookworms. We’re taken years before technology, where books hold all the knowledge and all the secrets we need, and want to know.

Everything a good bookworm need, is here : the smell, the books slightly bend in the wrong way, the twisted alleys of the shop leading you to what feels like secret passageways to even more books and treasures you didn’t imagine could exist. A crooked staircase leads you upstairs, where more surprises await. It would be too complicated to try and draw a map of this place, and that’s the thrill : who didn’t dream of getting lost in a sea of books? Well, here you can do it easily, in a peaceful climate, you just need to find the right places away from tourists. And it exists : Shakespeare and Company holds a billion of secrets, you just have to come and figure them out.

Shakespeare & Company
37 rue de la Bûcherie, 75005 Paris, FRANCE.
Open 7 days a week, from 10 am to 11 pm.

Their Website • Twitter • Facebook