Mega List of Bookstores in London, UK
London is a bookworm’s paradise. Whether you’re after novels, comics, antiquarian tomes, or just somewhere beautiful to...
Arthur Probsthain
41 Great Russell St, London WC1B 3PE, UK
This family-run bookshop has been going strong for more than 100 years, stocking titles on Asian and African culture, art, literature, religion,...
BookMongers
439 Coldharbour Ln, London SW9 8LN, UK
This Brixton institution is everything you could want from a secondhand bookshop. Run by American-born Patrick Kelly, who opened the shop’s doors more...
Books For Cooks
4 Blenheim Cres, London W11 1NN, UK
Books for Cooks runs on a simple but very successful formula. From the small open kitchen, co-owner Eric Treuillé cooks recipes from the cookbooks...
The Bookshop On the Heath Ltd
74 Tranquil Vale, Blackheath, London SE3 0BW, UK
Don’t let the violent mint-choc-chip paint throw you off. Bookshop on the Heath is just as functional as it is quirky. Take a quick trip here if...
Daunt Books Marylebone
84 Marylebone High St, London W1U 4QW, UK
This may be London’s most beautiful bookshop. Occupying an Edwardian building on Marylebone High Street, it boasts an incredible galleried main room...
Foster Books
183 Chiswick High Rd., Chiswick, London W4 2DR, UK
Foster Books is a must-visit for any self-respecting bookworm. The tiny historic bookshop has been operating for 50 years in the heart of Chiswick,...
Foyles
107 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0DT, UK
Foyles’ flagship store is a vast temple to the printed word. Standing proud on Charing Cross Road, it covers a whopping five floors, with a staggering...
Gay's The Word
66 Marchmont St, London WC1N 1AB, UK
When this haven opened in 1979, gay books could only be found in a handful of radical shops. These days, LGBTQ+ literature has hit the mainstream, but...
Housmans Bookshop
5 Caledonian Rd, London N1 9DY, UK
Founded by a gaggle of pacifists in 1945, Housmans stays true to its radical roots. There are special events like Feminist Book Fortnight, a...
Gosh! Comics
1 Berwick St, London W1F 0DR, UK
If you haven’t read a comic since a childhood brush with the Beano, wise up at Soho’s Gosh!. Its wow-worthy selection proves that there’s a graphic...
Hatchards
187 Piccadilly, St. James's, London W1J 9LE, UK
On Piccadilly, in a prestigious spot next to posh grocer’s Fortnum & Mason, is the UK’s oldest bookshop. First opening its doors in 1797, Hatchards...
Heywood Hill Ltd
10 Curzon St, London W1J 5HH, UK
Heywood Hill is a store fit for the most regal of bookworms. It was awarded a royal warrant in 2011. Based in Mayfair in a beautiful Georgian...
John Sandoe (Books) Ltd
10 Blacklands Terrace, London SW3 2SR, UK
Stumbling across this beautiful bookshop in a Chelsea backstreet, you might feel like you’ve entered a Dickens novel. The shop, founded in 1957,...
Kirkdale Bookshop
272 Kirkdale, London SE26 4RS, UK
Kirkdale Bookshop has been a Sydenham fixture for 57 years. It doubles as a local cultural hub, with a tiny gallery, regular music events and a...
Libreria Bookshop
65 Hanbury St, London E1 5JL, UK
There’s a strict no-mobiles policy at this design-led temple to the printed word in: but the lure of the little flashing screen is weak compared to...
Lloyds of Kew Bookshop
9 Mortlake Terrace, Richmond TW9 3DT, UK
This blooming beautiful bookshop is just around the corner from Kew Gardens, so it’s little surprise that its wares often take their inspiration from...
London Review Bookshop
14-16 Bury Pl, London WC1A 2JL, UK
Rub shoulders with London’s literary elite at this chic bookshop, named after the magazine that owns it. It has an enticing collection of all that’s...
Lutyens & Rubinstein
21 Kensington Park Rd, London W11 2EU, UK
It’s hard to walk past Lutyens & Rubinstein’s elegant striped awning, and not be intrigued to find out what’s past the smart exterior. Set up by the...
New Beacon Books
76 Stroud Green Rd, Finsbury Park, London N4 3EN, UK
Recently, a crowdfunder raised more than £80,000 to save this shop. London’s first Black bookshop has played a crucial role in Black literary life...
Newham Bookshop
743-745 Barking Rd, London E13 9ER, UK
Originally founded to provide educational materials as part of Newham Parents’ Centre, this community-focused bookshop has grown into an important...
Nomad Books
781 Fulham Rd., London SW6 5HA, UK
Bright and airy, with wooden floors and comfy sofas, Nomad is a lively and popular shop and café on Fulham Road. We love the sound of its ‘reading...
Owl Bookshop
207-209 Kentish Town Rd, London NW5 2JU, UK
As its playful name suggests, this bookshop on Kentish Town Road does a great line in children’s books. It also hosts a range of kids’ events, from...
Primrose Hill Books
134 Regent's Park Rd, London NW1 8XL, UK
On what might be the prettiest (and poshest) high street in London, is this small family-run bookshop. Owners Jessica and Marek, who’ve been here for...
Stanfords
7 Mercer Walk, London WC2H 9FA, UK
So iconic is this travel bookshop it even gets a mention in Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’. Set up by Edward Stanford in 1853, the...
Tales on Moon Lane
25 Half Moon Ln, London SE24 9JU, UK
The windows of this much-loved kids’ bookshop are gorgeous: paper cutouts create scenes that look like they’re from a pop-up book. Step inside and...
The Broadway Bookshop
6 Broadway Market, London E8 4QJ, UK
Broadway Market is a prime spot for browsing and no wander around these parts is complete without popping into this cosy bookshop. It’s larger than it...
The Notting Hill Bookshop
13 Blenheim Cres, London W11 2EE, UK
If the name of this bookshop is giving you flashbacks to a certain Hugh Grant and Julia Robert film, then you’re spot on. This is the space which...
Word On The Water - The London Bookbarge
Regent's Canal Towpath, London N1C 4LW, UK
Books and water don’t usually mix, but this floating shop is an exception. An 100-year-old dutch barge in King’s Cross is filled to the gunwales with...
Walden Books
Walden Books, 38 Harmood St, London NW1 8DP, UK
This little book shop near Camden High Street is perfectly hidden away from the hustle and bustle. In springtime, expect this bookshop to be adorned...
Books For Cooks
4 Blenheim Cres, London W11 1NN, UK
Staying in notoriously foodie Notting Hill, you’ll find a bookshop and intimate eatery all in one. As the name suggests, Books for Cooks focuses on...
John Sandoe (Books) Ltd
10 Blacklands Terrace, London SW3 2SR, UK
An endlessly charming, Dickensian-looking spot just off the Kings Road, John Sandoe Books has been fiercely independent for over sixty years. With...
Hurlingham Books
Ranelagh Gardens, 91 Fulham High St, London SW6 3JS, UK
Owner Ray Cole opened Hurlingham Books back in 1968, and is still running things a half-century later. It isn’t the kind of place for window-shopping,...
Alice Through The Looking Glass
14 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4HE, UK
Tucked away in charming literary haven Cecil Court, this is the most specialist of specialist bookshops. Alice Through The Looking Glass is...
Any Amount of Books
56 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0QA, UK
The name gives it away: buy as much or as little as you’d like from this bookshop. From their perch on Charing Cross Road, they’ve sold secondhand...
Artwords Bookshop
20-22 Broadway Market, London E8 4QJ, UK
Tucked into a little corner of Broadway Market, this east London bookshop is a palace of pleasure for all sorts of alternative titles that you might...