After two months of passionate voting, the global book-loving community has delivered their verdict on the world’s most stunning bookshops.
In May 2025, the 1000 Libraries Awards team nominated 19 exceptional bookshops for their outstanding work in keeping the magic of books alive in 2025, using metrics from social media engagement to online reviews.
From May 15th to July 15th, we asked the 1000 Libraries community to vote for the ones they found the most beautiful in the largest global competition of its kind.
Over 60 days of intense competition, 200,000 votes were recorded and book lovers from all around the world have now spoken. The response was overwhelming—bookworms, bibliophiles, tourists, and literary enthusiasts cast their ballots for the spaces that capture the beauty of bookshops old and new.
These places represent the enduring power of independent bookselling in our digital age. Each bookshop that made it to the top represents something unique—whether it’s breathtaking historical significance, innovative modern design, or outstanding community vibes.
Here are the 2025 Top 10 World’s Most Beautiful Bookshops – as voted by the largest online community of book lovers.
1st Place: Boekhandel Dominicanen
Voted as the most beautiful bookstore in the world for 2025, Boekhandel Dominicanen proudly holds the top spot! Housed in a beautifully restored 13th-century Gothic church, this multi-level bookshop showcases its historic architecture on full display: soaring vaulted ceilings, original frescoes, plus a monumental steel bookcase. It’s a place that feels at once imposing and reverent, like a religious house of literature.
The store offers a wide range of books, including English titles, as well as a music section with CDs and vinyl records. It also has a café, where cultural events like readings and live music performances take place, organized by Boekhandel Dominicanen in collaboration with the café.
Address: Dominicanerkerkstraat 1, 6211 CZ Maastricht, Netherlands
Opening hours:
– Monday: 10AM – 6PM
– Tuesday to Saturday: 9AM – 6PM
– Sunday: 12PM – 6PM
2nd Place: Shakespeare and Company
Opposite the world-famous Notre-Dame stands Shakespeare and Company, an English-language bookstore in Paris founded in 1951. It’s no exaggeration to call it famous either, considering that over the years, it has attracted literary icons like Allen Ginsberg, James Baldwin, and Anaïs Nin.
On top of its broad range of English-language books, the shop hosts literary events and even has a café that partners with local businesses for baked goods and delicious coffee.
Address: 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, 75005 Paris, France
Opening hours:
– Monday to Wednesday: 10AM – 8PM
– Thursday to Saturday: 10AM – 9PM
– Sunday: 12PM – 7PM
3rd Place: El Ateneo Grand Splendid
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Jot this down for one of the most gorgeous bookshops in the world. We mean that quite literally, by the way—National Geographic even named it as such in 2019. And with the backstage of an ornate, 1919 theater house, you better believe it lives up to its name.
Viewing boxes have been transformed into reading nooks with shelves spread across the main floor. Most of the collection is in Spanish, but there’s a (very) small English section as well. The main stage, meanwhile, now serves as a café that gives the perfect view of the elaborate moldings and painted, domed ceiling.
Address: Av. Sta. Fe 1860, C1123 Cdad. Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Opening hours:
– Monday to Saturday: 9AM – 9PM
– Sunday: 12PM – 9PM
4th Place: The Gently Mad Bookshop
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This family-run bookseller and bookbinder has a focus on used and antiquarian books. It offers a charming, nostalgic atmosphere with a carefully curated selection that includes children’s books, art, philosophy, and local interest. They also sell vintage prints, postcards, and some antiques.
On the bookbinding side of things, they can rebind leather or cloth-bound books and perform a wide range of book restoration. They’ve even served Edinburgh University and the Queen of England herself, so you know they’ve got some serious skills.
Address: 2 Summer Pl, Edinburgh EH3 5NR, United Kingdom
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 11AM – 5PM
5th Place: Word on the Water
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Ever wonder what a floating bookstore would be like? Word on the Water is exactly that—set on a barge permanently moored on Regent’s Canal in London, it offers a unique way to enjoy literature. It 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.
The 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).
Address: Regent’s Canal Towpath, London N1C 4LW, United Kingdom
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 12PM – 7PM
6th Place: Dujiangyan Zhongshuge
If you ever wanted to see a live surrealist painting as a bookstore, take a trip to Dujiangyan Zhongshuge. The high arches with tall, spindly columns, curved bookcases, and spiral staircase reflect off of a mirrored ceiling, giving an impression of infinitely reaching bookshelves.
Located on the second floor of a shopping mall, this bookstore houses a wide variety of books (all in Chinese) as well as a children’s area with bamboo shelves and panda motifs. It’s eminently Instagrammable and well worth a visit.
Address: 2F Chengdu Rongchuanmao Mall, No. 1 Zhizhen Road, Dujiangyan City, Chengdu, Sichuan, China / 都江堰市至臻路1号成都融创茂2F
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 10AM – 9PM
7th Place: Eterna Cadencia
Located in Buenos Aires’ Palermo district, this bookshop and café/bar is lined with dark wooden bookshelves, neatly organized to display the collection’s full wealth of literary knowledge. It maintains the elegance of its past as a classical mansion, hung with decorations both new and old, like an elaborate chandelier and cut-out paperback ornaments. Most of the selection is in Spanish, but there are some English-language titles as well.
The café side sells tea, coffee, cocktails, and a light menu, complete with a patio for maximum relaxation.
Address: Honduras 5582, C1414BTM Cdad. Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Opening hours:
– Monday to Friday: 9AM – 9PM
– Saturday: 12PM – 8PM
– Sunday: Closed
8th Place: Daunt Books
Known 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 categorization, organizing its collection by geographical origin rather than genre or topic. It’s a method well-suited to its origins specializing in travel-related books.
However, nowadays, it sells a much broader range of genres, and has even expanded into multiple locations across London and beyond.
Address: 84 Marylebone High St, London W1U 4QW, United Kingdom
Opening hours:
– Monday to Saturday: 9AM – 7:30PM
– Sunday: 11AM – 6PM
9th Place: Albertine Books
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For an unforgettable combination of literature, galactic beauty, and a certain je ne sais quoi, Albertine Books is where you want to go. Seated in New York City’s French Embassy, this is the only bookstore in the Big Apple dedicated entirely to French-language texts and a number of English-language translations.
Aside from being downright gorgeous, with dark, elegant furniture and a zodiac-inspired ceiling, Albertine hosts a variety of events, particularly literary discussions and cultural activities that promote French-American exchange.
Address: 972 5th Ave, New York, NY 10075, United States
Opening hours:
– Tuesday to Saturday: 10AM – 6PM
– Sunday & Monday: Closed
10th Place: The Last Bookstore
Based inside a historic former bank, the Last Bookstore is one of California’s largest new and used bookstores. It features over 250,000 books, vinyl records, and graphic novels across two floors, plus an arts and rare books annex.
But this place isn’t just about size—it has quality in spades, too, with loads of creative art displays, its most notable ones being a gravity-defying book tunnel made up of books and a cashier’s counter lined with hundreds of books’ leather spines.
Address: 453 S Spring St Ground Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90013, United States
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 11AM – 8PM
