“I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her….”
Aww, few of us could forget this iconic scene set in Hugh Grant’s quirky Notting Hill bookshop…
Book loving daters wishing to turn a new page when it comes to date ideas, will warmly welcome Best LDN Walks to the blog. Aimed at young travellers and locals, daters and hopefuls, the walks enable you to enjoy the sights, smells and even tastes that make London an awesome place to visit. You’re also sure to pick up a few odd and silly facts to throw out on your next date…
There are little things more pleasurable than spending a few indulgent hours inside your favorite bookstore. The smell of the old pages, the rows of undiscovered titles, the solitude and peace away from the noisy London streets…
Here, let’s link arms and take a stroll as Best London Walks takes us on a romantic tour of the top 5 most beautiful bookshops in London. Who knows what you’ll find in the ‘romance section…’
Hatchards
Nestled amongst the coffee shops and tourist gift shops of Piccadilly is Hatchards. This is no ordinary bookshop. Opened in 1797 it has collected three royal warrants meaning that the likes of the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and Prince of Wales have been purchasing their books here for over 5 years, which does pose the question, what do they read? Can’t you just imagine The Queen tucking into Harry Potter or the latest John Grisham novel! Here you will find a beautiful selection of gardening, food and drink, art and royal history titles over 5 floors. Anyone planning a day shopping in London would be silly not to visit. For those who love older shops and like to add a vintage into your day make sure you give Best LDN Walks a little call, we can point you in the right direct for a brilliant handful 16th century stores in the same area as Hatchards.
Daunt Books
For true Londoners, Daunt is the only London bookshop to visit. This independent book haven is more cosy than large, but it has a splendid selection of travel books and is absolutely, completely, page tinglingly beautiful. It is home to wooden floors, bright lofty ceilings and beautiful Edwardian style oak galleries. There are several Daunt locations dotted around the city but the Marylebone is the one to aim for. Aside from a massive collection of travel related items you will find some gorgeous photo coffee table books. It is hard not to visit here without tucking half the store under your arm, “just one more will be ok won’t it? Oh I surely need one of those cute notebooks and matching pens, right?”
Foyles
Once the world record holder of the largest bookshop in the world, Foyles on Charing Cross Road is HUGE. There isn’t a book they don’t stock or if they don’t stock it they can order it for you. Foyles used to be pretty well known for their infuriating pre-WW2 business practices back when after browsing the store, a customer would write down the product they wanted to buy, take it to the checkout till where the staff would go and find the book, bring it to you for verification then a customer would finally be able to pay for it! Slightly long winded and thank goodness this isn’t the norm anymore. From foreign language books, to fashion, to history, to a charming children’s selection to their very own coffee shop and stationary department, Foyles has it all.
Word of the Water – The London Book barge
If you can find Word of the Water then you will be rewarded with one of the most unusual London bookshops. This Dutch canal barge is stuffed to the point of sinking with second hand books from classics to children’s to cult to strange quirky titles. As is the nature of barges, their location will change from time to time but normally you can find this floating library haven within the winding and calming canals of Little Venice but make sure you check their Facebook page to see where the boat is bobbing for that day/week.
Goldsboro
Welcome to the UK’s leading specialist in signed first editions. You can find this utter gem on Cecil Court near Covent Garden and Leicester Square. The court/street is home to beautiful vintage maps, the costume jewelry stores to Downtown Abbey and other esoteric shops and of course, Goldsboro. What they don’t sell isn’t worth owning, the whole of Cecil Court comes with that motto to be honest and can be visited on many Covent Garden London Walking Tours not only will you find Goldsboro Books here but also around 4 other rare books, all with their own quirky owners and interiors so make sure you stop by.
Do you know of any other beautiful bookshops tucked away in London? Did you find romance in a bookshop? Share your tale @lovestruck
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