Inside 14 of the most unique bookstores around the world, from boats to bank vaults

The Xiadi village is over 800 years old and contains 60 dilapidated buildings. Structures, including the bookstore, have been restored by volunteers rather than torn down. All that remains of the original building is the outer rammed-earth walls.

Owned by the chain Librairie Avant-Garde, the shop has a wide selection with an emphasis on subjects such as ancient villages, rural education, and agricultural civilizations.

The Paddy Field Bookstore also holds art exhibitions, theater shows, and live music acts throughout the year.

The shop operates out of a 1920s Dutch barge on Regents Canal, according to Atlas Obscura.

Started by Paddy Screech, Jonathan Privett, and Stephane Chaudat, the shop originally alternated locations because of canal regulations, but after a vocal public campaign, the bookstore was given a permanent spot.

The bookstore has a range of books, from cult classics to modern bestsellers. 

Since its creation in 1919, the Grand Splendid has been a performing-arts theater, a cinema, and now a bookstore, per Condé Nast Traveler.

The building still maintains much of the architecture and decor from when it was first built, including a red curtain stage, theater boxes, and balconies.

Grupo Ilhsa, a popular book chain, swooped in and saved the building from destruction when they signed a lease in 2000. The bookstore’s musical roots aren’t completely lost: it often hosts live performances by pianists.

In 2019, Grand Splendid was named “the world’s most beautiful bookstore” by National Geographic.

The store is designed to be explored. Bookshelves have been randomly placed throughout the store. A selection of hardbacks have been arranged by color rather than author. Used and damaged books have been stacked in a variety of ways. 

Per Time Out, the shop is the most Instagrammed bookstore in the world.

Visitors will notice design touches such as marble pillars and a high ceiling. If customers look hard enough, they’ll stumble across the bank vault in the back … but it’s now stocked with books.

The bookstore, which opened more than 60 years ago, was founded by Nobel Prize-winning author Alice Munro and her husband. The building where the shop is located was designed to be the Royal Bank of Canada, according to the store.

Powell’s Books has multiple locations across Portland and the surrounding area, but its main location draws the most eyes with its movie-theater-style sign advertising upcoming events.

Opened in 1979, the flagship location was formerly a car dealership.

The store claims to be the largest independent bookstore in the world, and has been named one of the best in the world by USA Today and CNN.

According to the store, more than 500,000 books are housed at Powell’s Books’ main location, known as “The City of Books.”

It has over 3,500 sections, with color-coded rooms for different genres. It also offers tours to schools and other organizations.

The name of the store translates to “Book Store of High Water,” according to Atlas Obscura.

To protect its collection from the frequent flooding of Venice’s canals, the store has placed its books in waterproof basins and bathtubs.

The shop, regularly called one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world by outlets like National Geographic, mostly carries second-hand books. Old boats, from gondolas to kayaks, hold books throughout the store.

The station, which opened in 1887, was left empty after the train line closed in 1968. The entrance to Barter Books was once the station parcels room, and visitors can still see the window where passengers bought their tickets.

According to the store, the outdoor canopy was re-exposed, the fireplaces were restored, and the rooms were plastered and repainted, among other changes.

The store’s website says of the changes, “All of which, to our pleasure, has brought, after its closure in 1968, public life back to a building that was made for it.”

Located below Nanjing’s Wutaishan Stadium, Librairie Avant-Garde opened in 2004 after owner Qian Xiaohua spent years renovating the 41,000-square-foot space, per Atlas Obscura. The store has become a popular place for students and tourists. 

Parts of the bookstore are decorated in large crosses, but according to the owner, who is Christian, knowledge is the most sacred thing of all. Also in the store is a replica of Auguste Rodin’s statue “The Thinker.”

Originally a Catholic church, the building was deconsecrated in the 1790s by Napoleon Bonaparte, who used it to store equipment and personnel rather than as a place of worship, per Atlas Obscura. In 2005, the space was renovated into the bookstore it’s known for today.

The building, which was reimagined by Amsterdam-based architects Merkx+Girod, is now home to a three-story black steel bookshelf, as well as elevators and a large cross-shaped table. 

The building that houses Romanian book chain Cărturești’s quintessential location in Bucharest has taken on different forms since its inception. The building was constructed in 1860, per the Romanian outlet Wall-Street.

Under the ownership of the wealthy Greek-Romanian Chrissoveloni family, it served as a bank until the mid-20th century, when it was nationalized under totalitarian rule.

The building then housed a clothing store and later a location for La Familia, a clothing brand in the country. Finally, Cărturești began renting out the space in 2013, and the building is still owned by a member of the Chrissoveloni family.

The bookstore features a bistro and over 10,000 square feet of space.

When Faulkner was still an unknown writer, he rented an apartment in New Orleans’ French Quarter. It was in this apartment where he’d work on his first novel, “Soldiers’ Pay.” Though he lived there for less than six months, he’s commemorated today by a bookstore in its place.

The owners of what is now Faulkner House Books, Rosemary James and Joe DeSalvo, bought the building in 1990. They renovated it and turned the first floor, where Faulkner lived, into a bookstore.

Some visitors’ experiences have bordered on paranormal in the store. Per NOLA.com, when the author Joan Williams — who was once in a relationship with Faulkner — visited, she reported smelling pipe tobacco, a favorite of Faulkner’s. Only, nobody was smoking at the time.

Per Bonjour Paris, Paris’ “bouquinistes” are part of a UNESCO World Heritage site that lines the Seine River. These vendors sell used books, vintage stamps, newspapers, and other products. About 220 of these sellers sit on the river, and vendors must get approval from Paris’ town hall.

The tradition dates back to the Renaissance, when sellers used to conduct business on the Seine’s bridges. The iconic green boxes have been around since 1891.

The historic Shakespeare and Company is based off the original store of the same name, which existed from 1919 to 1941 and attracted writers like Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald

The current store, opened by George Whitman in 1951, was also visited by notable literary figures, such as Allen Ginsberg, Richard Wright, and James Baldwin.

Per the store’s website, “the bookshop has opened its doors to aspiring writers who’ve asked for a bed” since the store opened. In 2026, this takes the form of the store’s “Tumbleweed Program,” in which writers are provided living accommodations for up to a month in exchange for helping out with store events.

The store receives applications from thousands of individuals a year, but can only take about 20.