Shakespeare & Co.

Where: Paris 5th arrondisment 

Type of place: Caffe & Bookshop

Good for getting coffee, pastries and srtiking up a good conversation  ;)

Read More...

​"I created this bookstore like a man would write a novel, building each room like a chapter, and I like people to open the door the way they open a book, a book that leads into a magic world in their imaginations. —George Whitman"

​Shakespeare and Company is no secret. Very popular among Pinterest and Instagram users, I decided to go myself and see what the fuss was all about. And I'm glad to say that this caffe/bookshop lived up to it's fame.

Just a couple of streets away from Notre Dame, this place catches the eye inmediately. The bookshop is small but its stacked walls make you loose track of time just gazing at the many titles and covers they have (Making you wish you had enough time to read them all!) 

Personally I really enjoy getting coffe on my own and making that my "me time", but in this place I do find it intriguing to go with company (Very ad hoc with the name). If you order something that comes in a tray, you will probably get a piece of paper with conversation starters that will set the pace for a very interesting talk. Whether you are acquaintances or old friends, it's something you should definitely try. 

Overall, this turistic hotspot gets a thumbs up and it should definitely be on your list of places to visit un Paris!

A bit of history...
Shakespeare and Co. is an English-language bookshop, founded by American George Whitman in 1951. A curious fact is that this bookshop has been a shelter for an estimated 30,000 young artists and writters that are struggling to get by.

Whitman knows this feeling because before opening the bookshop, he hitchhicked the US, Mexico and Central America. During his trip he found himself gravely ill, but a tribe of Mayan people nursed him back to health in Yucatán, México. This act of kindness inspred his filosofy, “Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise”, which made him want to make his bookshop a sanctuary for writers, artists and intellectuals who were welcome to sleep on its benches and piles of books.  ​

​Address: 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, 75005 Paris

Open 7 days a week from 10am to 10pm