As host to the annual Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, you can bet that Montreal has a lively literary culture with loads to offer—and its many bookstores are just the beginning.

Librairie Drawn and Quarterly

This independent bookstore catches the eye not only for its great selection of books, but for its beautiful design and unique layout. It combines traditional wooden flooring and an Old West saloon-style sign with a clean, modern touch in smooth, velvety red walls, and bright lighting.

It carries graphic novels, literature, nonfiction, and art books in both English and French, with a strong focus on indie presses and local creators. It also has a neat little sunlit reading nook by the storefront, which only ups the grand, almost operatic vibe you get upon walking in.

Address: 176 Rue Bernard O, Montréal, QC H2T 2K2, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 10AM – 7PM

The Word

Housed in a small 19th‑century brick building, the Word is a secondhand bookstore with a wealth of rare and collectible books and a comforting, old-world feel. Founded in the mid‑1970s, it grew from an “underground” apartment bookshop into a literary landmark that buys secondhand books, evaluates libraries, and even rents books for movie sets.

The store has a certain sense of sophistication to it, specializing in academic textbooks, literature, philosophy, and poetry, all in both French and English.

Address: 469 Rue Milton, Montréal, QC H2X 1V8, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Wednesday: 10AM – 6PM
– Thursday & Friday: 10AM – 9PM
– Saturday: 11AM – 6PM
– Sunday: Closed

Argo Bookshop

Argo Bookshop is Montreal’s oldest English-language independent bookstore, founded in 1966 by John George. Its collection consists of new books across genres, specializing in speculative fiction, Japanese literature, poetry, and works by queer and local authors.

In the past, Argo hosted on-site events, but since the pandemic, it shifted its focus to online events, specifically author chats that can connect to writers around the world. The shop also hosts book clubs, specifically a Japanese book club and a translation book club.

Address: 1841-A Rue Sainte-Catherine O, Montréal, QC H3H 1M2, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Friday: 11AM – 8PM
– Saturday & Sunday: 12PM – 6PM

Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore

Here’s a store you could write literal paragraphs about. Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore opened in 1981, right across McGill University. It’s an English-language shop offering a vast general selection, but with a certain knack for academic titles (no surprise—gotta serve that university crowd), plus works by Canadian authors and book-related items.

Though it doesn’t have its own café, it shares an entrance with a coffee shop, making it easy to pick up a nice book and skip over two steps for a relaxing drink.

Address: 2220 McGill College Ave, Montreal, Quebec H3A 3P9, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Friday: 9AM – 9PM
– Saturday & Sunday: 9AM – 7PM

Indigo

Indigo is Canada’s largest bookstore chain—one we’ve mentioned before on our Toronto Bookstores list. Its location in Montreal is just as stylish as other branches, selling books, magazines, stationery, and loads more. This particular location also has a café that sometimes plays live music.

One of its more stand-out features is the spiral staircase—or more specifically, the names of famous, Canada-born figures written on the short, cylindrical wall encasing the top of the staircase. It’s not just writers like Margaret Atwood, either, but famous singers like Shania Twain, Céline Dion, and Sarah McLachlan.

Address: 1500 McGill College Ave, Montreal, Quebec H3B 1E2, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 9AM – 10PM

Librairie Pulp Books & Café

Located in the Verdun neighborhood of Montreal, Librairie Pulp Books & Café has only been open for a couple of years, but has already made a name for itself as an English-language bookstore and coffee bar.

On the book side of things, they’ve got a nice variety of fiction, nonfiction, cookbooks, poetry, and children’s books. The coffee bar, meanwhile, sells cookies and pastries alongside a selection of coffee, tea, and matcha. The store has a sharp but stylish vibe, recently updated with new, sleek furniture.

Address: 3952 Wellington St, Montreal, Quebec H4G 1V3, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Thursday: 10AM – 5:30PM
– Friday: 10AM – 8PM
– Saturday & Sunday: 9AM – 5PM

Joie de Livres

This bilingual bookstore/café and bar has only opened recently, but it’s a pleasant mix of speculative fiction and delicious snacks. The book collection (in both English and French) focuses on fantasy, romance, sci-fi, and horror, with a very special emphasis on queer voices and those from minority cultures.

Its menu is filled mainly with light meals and snacks—think charcuterie boards and nachos. Of course, there’s also a great list of drinks to choose from, including coffee and cocktails. It’s also eager to host events, such as its monthly Sapphic Saturday, targeted specifically toward LGBTQ+ folk and allies.

Address: 5163 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal, QC H2T 1R9, Canada
Opening hours:
– Sunday to Wednesday: 9AM – 10PM
– Thursday to Saturday: 9AM – 12AM

Librairie Le Port de tête

This independent bookstore has been open for almost two decades, showing off a selection of new and used books from loads of different genres and subjects—literature, science, essays—you name it.

While it carries both English and French-language volumes, there’s a distinct focus on Canadian and French titles from small presses, so you’re likely to find books here that you won’t find elsewhere. The interior is neat, giving a fresh feeling with wooden shelves and an open, spacious layout.

Address: 222 Avenue du Mont-Royal E #269, Montréal, QC H2T 1P5, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Wednesday: 10AM – 8PM
– Thursday to Saturday: 10AM – 9PM
– Sunday: 10AM – 6PM

Librairie Saint-Henri Books

There’s something quite visually striking about a bookstore with all-white bookshelves and a dark-colored floor. Librairie Saint-Henri Books takes advantage of that by keeping the decor to a minimum so as not to distract from the beauty of simplicity.

Specializing in English-language books, it holds over 5,000 titles in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic novels, kids’ books, and more, prioritizing works by POC, queer, Indigenous, and local authors.

Address: 4622 Rue Notre Dame, Montréal, QC H4C 1S4, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 10AM – 6PM

La Librairie de Verdun (The Bookstore of Verdun)

Here’s another bookstore in the Verdun neighborhood—this one straight-up calling itself the Bookstore of Verdun. However, this French-language independent shop has more than earned its chops, having first been established in 1944, meaning it’s been going strong for almost a century now.

Its book collection features fiction, art books, children’s titles, and more (yes, all in French!), curated to suit local tastes and truly represent the community that gave it life.

Address: 4750 Wellington St, Montreal, QC H4G 1X3, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Friday: 10AM – 6PM
– Saturday & Sunday: 9AM – 6PM

Encore Books & Records

Love both music and literature? You’re not the only one. Encore Books & Records is a family-run business opened by Sean Madden and his late father, Peter, in 2004. Here, you can expect to find tall bookcases lining the wall crowded with secondhand books, rows of boxes with classic comics, and plenty of music—both in vinyl record and CD format. They even sell fine art reproductions made in the basement.

This is a store that’s all about following where the heart leads, combining a father’s love of writing and his son’s love of music.

Address: 5670 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, Quebec H4A 1W7, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Wednesday: 11AM – 5PM
– Thursday, Saturday & Sunday: 11AM – 7PM
– Friday: 11AM – 9PM

Librairie Gallimard

Affiliated with Paris-based Gallimard, Librairie Gallimard in Montreal is a chic bookstore that calls attention from the street with its storefront painted a vibrant red. Its shelves carry poetry, books on theater, essays, French and Québécois literature, and so much more. Even its staircase has been known to showcase a few recommended pieces.

Its stock is French-language only, and its convenient location near the metro and a park make it a great place to drop by whenever you want to learn or indulge in some French.

Address: 3700 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal, QC H2X 2V4, Canada
Opening hours:
– Saturday to Wednesday: 10AM – 6PM
– Thursday & Friday: 10AM – 7PM

Librairie Maktaba Bookshop

Librairie Maktaba Bookshop is an independent, artist-run cultural space in Montreal’s Old Port. It opened recently as a concept bookstore emphasizing diverse, Middle Eastern, and marginalized voices in English-language books for all ages. It also hosts a range of programs like discussions and book launches.

Plus, this place is just plain gorgeous. A lot of thought clearly went into the interior design, with a reading space decked out in a luscious Persian rug and low couches with intricate patterns. The rest of the store is just as lovely, with a unique arrangement of shelves and displayed books.

Address: 165 Saint-Paul St W, Montreal, Quebec H2Y 1Z5, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Saturday: 11AM – 6PM
– Sunday: 12PM – 6PM

L’Euguélionne

This bookstore specializes in feminist and LGBTQ+ literature, located, of course, in Montreal’s Gay Village. (Fabulous choice, don’t you agree?) A collective of students, librarians, and authors opened this store in 2017, and they sell feminist classics, queer works, zines, art, and more.

On top of that, this store hosts loads of events ranging from book launches and reading circles to workshops. It’s dedicated to being a free and open space where anyone in the queer community can feel at home.

Address: 1426 Rue Beaudry, Montréal, QC H2L 3E5, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday, Tuesday, Thursday to Saturday: 10:30AM – 6:30PM
– Wednesday: 12PM – 6:30PM
– Sunday: Closed

Librairie l’Échange

This beloved used bookstore was established in 1976 and sells secondhand books, graphic novels, zines, vinyl records, CDs, and films. Overall, it has a warm, nostalgic atmosphere. The brick wall peeking out above the wooden bookshelves, the tiled floor, and the old-school benches give it an almost train station vibe in parts of the store.

Despite that, it has an easy-to-navigate, modern layout, which is probably one of many reasons why so many locals flock here when they’re in need of a good, affordable book.

Address: 713 Mont-Royal Ave E, Montreal, Quebec H2J 1W7, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 11AM – 7PM