Shakespeare and Company bookshop

In the Latin Quarter, an area that has always been popular among Parisian students, you’ll find the most iconic English bookshop in the City of Lights.

This establishment, with its windows overlooking Notre-Dame Cathedral, is the ideal place for anyone with a passion for books and historical décor to while away the hours. With its wooden interior, enormous beams, and shelves stacked with books right up to the ceiling, this former house located a stone's throw from the Seine has retained its old-fashioned charm.

For more than 60 years, Shakespeare and Company has welcomed the greatest English-speaking writers, starting with the authors of the Beat Generation such as Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs. Jim Morrison, the iconic lead singer of the band The Doors, was a regular visitor to the shop before he died and was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Eliot, Pound, Djuna Barnes, Gertrude Stein, Janet Flanner, Kay Boyle, Mina Loy,… the history of the bookshop was shaped by its regulars, until it became a magnet for intellectuals passing through Paris. Some even take advantage of their visit to offer readings or meetings that are open to the public. An unusual fact: the benches on the first floor occasionally serve as beds, providing a few nights' stay to guests, known as "tumbleweeds", in exchange for helping out in the bookshop. Over the years, a special connection has been established with visitors, which makes the motto written on the shop’s walls: “Be not inhospitable to strangers, lest they be angels in disguise”, all the more true.

After you’ve finished shopping, why not peruse a few lines at the Shakespeare & Company Café next door to the bookshop? With a delicious pastry and a hot drink, it’s the perfect spot to soak up the literary ambience, surrounded by your favourite authors.