London's Most Beautiful Bookstores

Independent Bookshops, London

Daunt Books, Marylebone

When it comes to beautiful bookshops in London, Daunt Books is the first name that comes to mind.

Although there are six Daunt bookshops in London, the one on Marylebone High Street is the original and without a doubt the most famous.

It has a large gallery lined with books and an amazing stained glass window at the end, making it one of the most instagrammable bookshops in London.

Old and new books, fiction and non-fiction, as well as a large selection of travel-related books, can be found here. Each purchase includes a Daunt bookmark, and you can also get a popular Daunt Books tote bag.

Address 84 Marylebone High Street Marylebone, W1U 4QW Opening Hours 9am – 7:30pm

Foster Books, Chiswick

Behind the instagrammable green facade is a hidden gem of a bookstore. Foster Books has a charming bow window as well as a stunning collection of rare books. The shop regularly draws lifestyle bloggers to Chiswick, but they'd be wise to stay and browse after the posing is done.

Foster Books has a stunning bright green exterior that is difficult to overlook as you walk down Chiswick High Street. A quick peek through the window reveals that the store is brimming with old books. When the weather is nice, these books will spill out onto the street as multiple tables are set up outside the store.

Foster Books specializes in old and rare books, so this is a good place to look if you're looking for a first edition of your favorite book.

Address 183 Chiswick High Road Chiswick, W4 2DR Opening Hours 10:30am – 5:30pm

Hatchards, Picadilly Circus

Hatchards is now a Waterstones, but it claims to be the UK's oldest bookshop, having opened in 1797.

This is the place to go if you're looking for the latest releases in both fiction and nonfiction, or if you want to pick up a particularly beautiful edition of one of your favorite books.

Author events are frequently held here, so you might be able to get a signed copy of that hot new release!

Hatchards has one of the most luxurious interiors of the beautiful bookshops featured, which is fitting given its Piccadilly location.

They've also launched their own annual book subscription service, with six distinct categories from which to choose, which could make an excellent gift.

Address 187 Piccadilly London, W1J 9LE Opening Hours 9:30am – 8pm

John Sandoe Books, Chelsea

For over sixty years, John Sandoe Books, an endlessly charming, Dickensian-looking spot just off the Kings Road, has been fiercely independent. You'd have to be extremely picky to leave empty-handed with over 30,000 titles in stock - there are even books stacked up the stairs!

John Sandoe Books is a group of three adjoining eighteenth-century shops on Sloane Square. It's a general bookstore with a humanities bent, so expect to find general fiction, classics, poetry, history, biography, and other titles.

I fell in love with it after discovering a large collection of books from Everyman's Library tucked away in a corner. John Sandoe Books is the place to go if you want to buy beautiful editions of important books.

Address 10 Blacklands Terrace Chelsea, SW3 2SR Opening Hours 9:30am – 6:30pm

Persephone Books, Bloomsbury

Persephone Books' books are easily identified by their simple light grey covers, which lack illustrations and fancy embellishments. Because of its niche stock, it's a small store, but it's well worth exploring and investing in.

Persephone Books is a one-of-a-kind bookshop in London that specializes in women's fiction. More specifically, women's fiction that has gone unnoticed over the years. They reprint neglected fiction and nonfiction by women writers from the mid-twentieth century, which is a fantastic idea.

Address 59 Lamb’s Conduit Street London, WC1N 3NB Opening Hours 10am – 6pm

Libreria, Shoreditch

Mirrored walls and ceilings make this place appear enormous, and the books are organized in unusual categories such as "mothers, madonnas, and whores." However, because this is a no-tech zone, leave your phone at home.

What better place to start than with a literary-inspired bookstore? Libreria was inspired by Jorge Luis Borges' 'The Library of Babel,' a short story about a library that holds all books.

I discovered Libreria a few months ago and it has quickly become one of my favorite bookstores. Libreria is unique in that books are organized by theme, which is a great way to find new books.

Address 65 Hanbury Street London, E1 5JP Opening Hours 12pm – 7pm

Word On The Water, Kings Cross

This one blows away the competition for the title of best bookshop in London. Word on the Water, which floats on Regent's Canal, is easily London's most buoyant bookshop. While the novelty of shopping on a barge is appealing, the boat's variety of talks, poetry readings, and musical performances make it a must-see.

It sells secondhand books at very reasonable prices, as well as some beautiful special editions.

You never know what you'll find here, but that's all part of the fun!

Address Regent’s Canal Towpath Kings Cross, London Opening Hours 12pm – 7pm

Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers, Bloomsbury

After touring the British Museum, I discovered Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers - it's right outside on the street!

The structure comes from the early eighteenth century, and the interior bookshop contains several antique furniture that lend to its appeal.

They specialize on 18th and 19th century English literature and history, and you can be confident that you will discover some outstanding Dickens editions here. They also have works by William Gladstone and William Hazlitt, both of whom are commemorated with literary hotels.

You may read about my trip to Gladstone's Library here.

Here's what I discovered throughout my time at Hazlitt's Hotel.

Address 46 Great Russell Street Bloomsbury, WC1B 3PA Opening Hours 11am – 5:30pm

London Review Bookshop, Bloomsbury

They have everything from classics to modern novels, as well as sections for poetry, history, politics, cookery, philosophy, and even children's books.

The London Review Bookshop is located in the heart of Bloomsbury, an area recognized for its literary connections to Virgina Woolf, E M Forster, and others.

The London Review of Books has a physical location near the British Museum. It's a place to find everything you knew you needed, plus a bunch more books you didn't need but secretly wanted. Their coffee and cake shop is rather nice, and it's a popular stop for writers promoting their new work.

Address 14-16 Bury Place Bloomsbury, WC1A 2JL Opening Hours 10am – 6:30pm

Lutyens and Rubinstein, Notting Hill

It's not a big store, but they offer a well curated selection of fiction and nonfiction books, so you know you're getting something good when you browse these shelves.

We love bookshops and Notting Hill, therefore we're great admirers of this spot. It's a charming setting to idle away the hours, and it's crammed to the rafters with an amazing assortment of literature. You can attend their regular author lectures and Q&As, but for our money, finding the proper book and heading up the road to Biscuiteers to lay around reading and munching biccies is your best chance.

Address 21 Kensington Park Road London, W11 2EU Opening Hours 10am – 6:30pm

Hurlingham Books, Fulham

Ray Cole founded Hurlingham Books in 1968 and is still in charge half a century later. It's not a place for window shopping because the windows are frequently obscured by stacks and piles of books. This bookshop has almost one million volumes between the shop and the adjoining warehouse, so if you can't find something here, you're no friend of books.

Hurlingham Books in Fulham was love at first sight for me. I noticed rows of books lining the outside window ledge and the outside of the business as I walked up Fulham Road from Putney Bridge tube station. Then I got outside and saw the massive window displays with heaps and mounds of books.

Address 91 Fulham High Street Fulham, SW6 3JS Opening Hours 9am – 6pm

Heywood Hill, Mayfair

Heywood Hill has managed to keep her wit and humour in today's bookshop, and they've even created a one-of-a-kind boxset of her five best works.

Heywood Hill in Mayfair is a beautiful Georgian home. Although the bookstore is small, each book has earned its place.

They sell both new and old books in literature, history, architecture, biography, and travel.

Its rise to prominence as one of London's top bookshops is largely due to novelist Nancy Mitford's employment here during the second half of WWII.

Address 10 Curzon Street Mayfair, W1J 5HH Opening Hours 9:30am – 6pm

Gay's the Word

In the years since, they've battled discrimination, Customs raids, and the rise of internet bookstores to bring fiction and nonfiction to the people of London, while simultaneously serving as the headquarters for numerous LGBT rights movements. May they endure indefinitely.

Since the 1970s, Gay's the Word, the UK's oldest LGBTQ+ bookstore, has been a London institution.

Address

66 Marchmont Street, Kings Cross, WC1N 1AB

Opening Hours

Mon-Sat 11am-6pm. Sun 1pm-6pm

It's as simple as that! These, in my opinion, are the most beautiful bookshops in London.

Some are well-known as top London bookstores, but others are hidden gems that I hope you appreciate.

If you want to visit even more bookshops, check out our piece on the best used bookshops in London.

Because this list focuses on independent London bookstores, I'm unhappy that it excludes Foyles and Waterstones Piccadilly, both of which are wonderful London bookstores!