Shakespeare & Co Bookshop

walking through this bookshop, spending all the time I could observing the details, perusing books, exploring its nooks and crannies, it felt so comfortable being there — like it ought to be a second home. If only it weren’t all the way in Paris, I would visit all the time!

Small, cosy, packed floor to ceiling with books and a cat asleep on top of the cash register. It’s not actually cheap though, despite being a second-hand bookshop.

Referring to Shakespeare and Company as a bookshop is a bit like refering to Notre Dame as an old church. “Ulysses” would’ve been unknown only for the bookshop – it was first publihsed in 1922 by the Shakespeare and Co, then owned by Sylvia Beach. ‘Her’ version of the shop – based at rue de l’Odéon – was closed in December 1941 by the occupying German forces and never reopened.

The ‘current’ version was opened in 1952 by George Whitman and is located on the Left Bank – nearly level with the front door of Notre Dame. It’s somewhere you might be able to find a bed for the night if you’re caught short, and it’s not entirely uncommon to hear people coming in and asking if there’s room. The books are all in English, and the staff – like the clientele – tend to be Anglophones and it seems to be a popular meeting point with backpackers in the summer. (So, it’d be a good place to pick up tips and pointers, as well as books). Each book you buy there comes with an official stamp (and there are always copies of Ulysses on sale, nudge, nudge).

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This place is amazing! I’ve been to France a few times but only ran into it on my last trip I wish I had known it was there earlyer! It was like being home again. I think that anyone who exsplores this shop will feel right at home there.