London Folks

[PurpleHays]

We'll be doing a TA this fall. I prefer books over e-books, but they take up a lot of room in suitcases. Is there a bookstore near the Westminster area or on the bus line that would be easy for me to access?

 

Thanks!

[tony s]

Waterstones

[Globaliser]

9 hours ago, PurpleHays said:

Is there a bookstore near the Westminster area or on the bus line that would be easy for me to access?

 

The obvious big ones are:

• Foyles, 107 Charing Cross Road (nearest Tubes Tottenham Court Road or Leicester Square)
• Waterstones, 203-206 Piccadilly (nearest Tubes Piccadilly Circus or Green Park)

 

An honourable mention needs to go to Hatchards, 187 Piccadilly (nearest Tubes Piccadilly Circus or Green Park), which has kept its own branding although it is now owned by Waterstones.

 

There are lots of other smaller branches of Waterstones all over the place, including at Trafalgar Square, 9-13 Garrick Street and 88 Victoria Street.

[PurpleHays]

@Globalizer Thank you! this is exactly what I was looking for and Trafalger Square is on our list to visit.

 

[rsquare]

I prefer to get more bang for my (converted) buck by buying used books.  Charing Cross Road is the traditional center of the used book trade, say from Foyles south toward Trafalgar Square. Just north of the National Portrait Gallery is Cecil Court, a pedestrian passage cming off Charing Cross Road on the east side, which has a number of specialty bookshops for books on theatre and transport and probably other topics.

 

Foyles itself is a multistory department store of books, as is the Waterstones on Piccadilly; Foyle's French book department is larger than some book stores that I've seen in Paris.

Edited June 20, 2022 by rsquare

[PurpleHays]

@rsquare Dang, that's a bunch of bookstores on Cecil Court. I'd try Foyles, but it's further than we want to walk. Well, further than my husband would want to walk.

[Globaliser]

12 hours ago, PurpleHays said:

I'd try Foyles, but it's further than we want to walk. Well, further than my husband would want to walk.

 

London spends billions on public transport every year to cater for all of those occasions when it's further than you would want to walk!

[Post Captain]

Just to add two more bookshops the excellent suggestions already provided by previous posters:

 

Any Amount of Books, 56 Charing Cross Road -- the quintessential second-hand bookshop.   (Tube: Leicester Square)

 

Daunt Books, 83-84 Marylebone High Street -- specializing in, though not limited to, travel books.  Worth visiting for its unique internal architectural features, including oak galleries and skylights, as well as for the books.   (Tube: Baker Street or Regent's Park)

 

I am disappointed to see that the little second-hand bookshop on Great Russell Street, just across from the British Museum, seems to have vanished--replaced, I think, by an overpriced tourist cafe or tea shop.

Edited June 21, 2022 by Post Captain