On my first trip to Paris in 2010 I had the pleasure of staying at The Hotel Esmerelda on the Left Bank across from the Notre Dame. Little did I know that it would literally be sleeping atop the famed Shakespeare & Company bookstore. I fell in love with this bookstore and couldn’t wait to take my friend Manuela there. She has been going to Paris for many years and had never visited so I knew she was in for a treat. I was initially reluctant only because I had heard that the bookstore, which reeks of charm and age, had opened an adjoining coffee shop. I hoped that S&Co. had not sold out in order to go all Starbuksy on us. My heart couldn’t take that. If it was that BAD I figured Parisians would have revolted and stormed the bookstore so I had high hopes. It would be a great respite from the rain so, I had to see the change for myself.
Well, people I am happy to report that the bookstore’s footprint has changed very little if any at all. And the ridiculously tiny coffee shop is equally as charming and full of lovely young staff brewing up the best cup of coffee I had in Paris. (And I drank a fair amount of Joe while I was there so I consider myself an authoritay.)
Please go there. Please buy a book as a souvenir and a cup of coffee while you overlook the Notre Dame and the bustling city. You will surely leave smarter than you came merely by immersing yourself in history and looking at all of the covers. Need a break because you have put too many miles on your feet? Relax in any number of small comfortable nooks and crack a book like Hemmingway in the same place people have done so on the Left Bank for almost 100 years! (Never mind a few location changes due to the war…)
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Bulldog Travels / Photos By Jenny 
When I retire at the end of 2018 Paris is on my Travel List and I will be sure to visit this wonderful bookstore. When I was attending Marymount Manhattan College in New York there was and still is a Shakespeare & Co. bookstore in Manhattan. Our professors used to send us there to purchase textbooks. Students from nearby Hunter College would also stop by. Brings back fond college memories.
http://www.shakeandco.com/shake_trade/home_page.php
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That’s great. I am very excited for you to visit soon. It’s a city no one should miss. And I do hope while you are there you will spend some time in the countryside. It is so beautiful.
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Sighhh… this was on my Paris wishlist but sadly we couldn’t make it. O well, all the more reason to go back someday 🙂
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Always need to leave something to go and visit on the next trip! 😉
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Used bookstores always have a certain charm (and smell) but this one looks special. Your photos capture the character. Love the quote on the steps.
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Yah, this one is special indeed. And it most definitely has that used book store smell.
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This is a bookworm’s paradise. A lovely place to visit!
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It sure is. And there is something wonderful about visiting a place so many famous authors frequented. Makes me feel smarter. lol.
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🙂
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Oh wow, I’d almost forgotten about this place! When I FINALLY make it back to Paris, I’ll have to pay them a visit. Do they still let people work there in exchange for food and somewhere to sleep?
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Gosh, not that I saw or heard of but I really don’t know.That would be a neat idea if they did.
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They certainly used to… But it was more than 10 years ago that I heard that, so perhaps times have changed!
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Great photos, I love the ones of the steps and the mosaics. I think I said on one of your posts about Giverny that my mum had bought be a storybook about Monet’s garden when I was little. It was called Linnea in Monet’s Garden and I’m pretty sure she stays in the main character stays in the same hotel above the bookshop! We’re moving house at the moment so the book’s in storage and I can’t check but I have a strong memory of it.
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That’s super awesome. It’s a great hotel. Vintage and old school Paris for sure. Thanks for the comment.
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Good call! That’s a great Parisian spot. Did you hear the story behind the closure of the first one? Supposedly an SS officer wanted to buy the last copy of Ulysses, and the original owner refused to sell it to a Nazi, so they closed her down. But she respected the current owner so much she let him open a new version, which has stayed entirely true to the spirit of supporting upcoming authors. So glad you enjoyed it too!
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I had heard it was closed and moved due to the war but not that detail. That’s great!
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I do rather love the image of a scrappy bookseller telling some SS officer what he could do with his money. 🙂
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Me too…
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Most excellent! I don’t remember going there when briefly in Paris, but I remember the one in Vienna.
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I will have to check that one out some day!
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Shakespeare and co is unique. Its story ion particular. I do see more new books than before though but it’s all right.
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It seems they have a decent selection of new but still have a majority of used all over the rest of the building. I realized to late that I wasn’t supposed to be taking photos so I probably didn’t get enough photos of the used books.
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Oh. I didn’t know you couldn’t take photos. How strange. I don’t see how stacks of books can be… a matter of copyright? Weird.
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Well the worker politely asked me not to take photos so I stopped. Not sure why.
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Who knows.
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Parce que c’est interdit dans les magasins de toutes sortes. Pas une question de copyright ou quoi. Simplement interdit. (même dans les galeries commerciales, par ex. ^^).J’ai souvent été obligée de le faire en douce…..
Question de droit à l’image dans un établissement privé (on apprend vite en faisant de la photo…)
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That certainly makes sense. It isn’t as strict here in the US. Some small shop owners will ask you not to take photos but most shops do not prohibit it at all.
Cela fait certainement un sens. Il est pas aussi stricte ici aux États-Unis. Certains petits commerçants vont vous demander de ne pas prendre des photos, mais la plupart des magasins ne l’interdisent pas du tout.
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It’s not as strict as it seems actually but I try to ask before taking photos in some places like these.
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Oh. Re-oh. Parfois, vu de très loin, (12,000 kms et des poussières) je trouve que les français devraient faire un peu le ménage, envoyer valdinguer 90% des régles qui les étouffent à petit feu… merci de tes précisions. Bon week-end. 🙂
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Je ne sais pas. Cela n’a rien d’étouffant…..^^
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C’est l’essentiel. 🙂
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I loved your blog about Paris and the Shakespeare café. The photos is so beautiful. I always wanted to go to Paris now looking forward to your blog about Paris makes me feel a little closer to being there. Thanks!
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Thank you! I hope you checked out some of my other Paris posts. I have more to come as soon as I have time to sit down and write them. You are very welcome anytime!
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Your welcome! I will be reading more of your posts!
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I’ve been to Paris a few times, but have yet to visit this famed establishment. You have reminded me to remind myself next time. 🙂
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It’s great. Definitely put on the list for next time.
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I was in Paris last summer and ran out of time before getting to visit Shakespeare & Co. I am reading Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast now and regret not getting to that bookstore. Next time! Thanks for your post and the great photographs.
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Thanks for the comment! I bought that book while I was there and I haven’t had time to read it yet unfortunately. If you ever go back you should very much go. It was one of my favorite places to visit. I can also recommend the hotel directly above it. Thanks for your comment. You are very welcome to visit my site any old time. Cheers!
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