Inside Shakespeare & Co. Antiquarian Bookstore travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises, spa and resorts

Located just across the road from Notre Dame in Paris‘ left-bank, Shakespeare & Co is a unique antiquarian bookstore considered as one of the best English bookshops in the world. It is one of very few bookstores, which has gained a widely respected legendary status. It attracts both published and aspiring writers, as well as the general reading public. With piled books and floor to ceiling shelves in small rooms and twisting hallways, Shakespeare & Co is probably the most photographed bookstore of the world.

Shakespeare and Company is a quirky independent bookstore, which specializes in English-language literature. This is where Julie Delpy’s character reunited with Ethan Hawke’s during a book signing. It serves as both a bookstore and reading library. The emblematic Shakespeare & Company is always packed with tourist book-lovers. When you step through the store’s doorway you’ll sense that this is the sort of quaint, quirky place that should be in cinema and literature.

Visitors are welcome to browse the books and sit in the shop all day. There is a large second-hand section, antiquarian books next door, and just about anything you could ask for new. The Shakespeare and Company bookshop in Paris remains a time warp that works. As well as storing the histories and works of firmly established writers of the past, Shakespeare and Co. hosts events to inspire and develop new writers, artists and musicians.