We’ve got a rather impressive bookshop offering here in the capital, don’t you think? From old bookshops and new bookshops to floating bookshops and I-could-quite-literally-spend-all-my-time-and-money-here bookshops; London really has got them all. And although, we’ve always known that London reigns supreme in the bookshop department; we now have it in writing, courtesy of Preply.
The language experts decided to put over 100 bookshops from across the globe under the microscope to find out which of them is the most popular in the world. And – as I’m sure you’ve already guessed based on the smug tone in which I am writing – a bookshop in London nabbed the number one spot.
Preply analysed both Tripadvisor and Google reviews to give each bookshop its overall score. And coming out on top, with a wildly impressive score of 96.58, is Daunt Books. Beloved by Londoners and beyond – so much so that you can barely leave the house in London without seeing someone sporting one of their tote bags – it’s not particularly surprising that Daunt was handed the crown.
Located in Marylebone (although there are now several other branches), the original Daunt Books set up shop back in 1990 as a specialist travel bookshop. Despite now being filled to the brim with an expert book selection from across a huge variety of genres; Daunt still arranges its books by country, paying homage to its roots, offering an immersive reading experienceand sparking a severe case of wanderlust in pretty much anyone who steps foot inside.
Housed in a former Edwardian bookshop, Daunt Books boasts beautiful architecture, wooden balconies, and an impressive glass roof that drenches the store with natural light. Oozing old-school charm and offering an atmosphere that greets you like a warm hug, Daunt Books is one of those bookshops that you truly could get lost in for hours. It certainly comes as no surprise to us that it’s now officially the most popular bookshop in the world.
The most popular bookshops in the world, according to Preply
- Daunt Books, London
- The Grand Splendid Athenaeum, Buenos Aires
- State Library Victoria, Melbourne
- Bookstore Dominicans, Maastricht
- The Last Bookstore, Los Angeles
- Starfield Library, Seoul
- Shakespeare and Company, Paris
- Powell’s Books, Portland
- Trinity College Library, Dublin
- High water bookcase, Venice
- Clementinum, Prague
- LELLO Bookstore, Porto
You can peruse Preply’s full research here.
