Recommended Bookshops
It's all very well us reviewing all these travel books, but where are you supposed to find them? Of course all the well-known online stores are at your disposal such as Amazon (.com & .co.uk), but actual shops still exist. Real ones, with people working in them who often know what they're talking about. More remarkable than this is that some of these 'real shops' specialise in travel writing, travel guides, maps etc. and it's our aim at Travel Literature to compile a directory of these. To do this we need your help.
If you would like to recommend a bookshop that has a travel bent, then please tell us about it. We're not so interested in large chain stores or even independents that happen to sell some travel-related books; we want specialists. They might even be second-hand bookshops that consistently have a good travel section. And they don't have to be in English-speaking countries.
Europe>>Italy>>Rome
Libreria del Viaggiatore
Via del Pellegrino 78, 00186 Roma, Italy
T: +39 06 68 80 10 48
Tucked away in a small side street behind the Piazza Campo dei Fiori in the centre of Rome, the tiny Libreria del Viaggiatore offers all the usual travel fare and more besides. Most of the stock is in Italian, including Italian versions of Lonely Planet etc., but there is a selection of books in English. There's also, inevitably, a wide range of books on Italy. The books -- tightly packed from floor to ceiling -- are vaguely ordered by region but, if you can't find something, the staff are happy to help.
Europe>>UK>>London>>
Daunt Books
83/84 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 4QW, UK
T: +44 20 7224 2295
W: www.marylebonevillage.com
Daunt Books was the UK's independent bookshop of the year in 1996, and you can quickly see why. The front of the shop is fairly standard, but the back is a large three-storey travel oriented store. Daunt stocks its shelves purely by location, so under any given country you can find guidebooks, literature, cookbooks and architectural commentaries. This is a stimulating mix, and appeals to the media types and literati that frequent Marylebone High St. There's another branch on Haverstock Hill near Belsize Park tube.
Stanfords
12-14 Long Acre, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9LP, UK
T: +44 20 7836 1321
E: customer.services@stanfords.co.uk
W: www.stanfords.co.uk
Stanfords' flagship store (the other two branches are Bristol and Manchester), is even better since the 2003/04 redevelopment. This is the definitive map and travel bookshop (it dates back to 1853), with well-trained staff who will pluck whatever map you want from their substantial collection. The website is excellent, with informed commentaries and recommendations from staff.
The Travel Bookshop
13-15 Blenheim Crescent, London W11 2EE, UK
T: +44 20 7229 5260
E: post@thetravelbookshop.co.uk
W: www.thetravelbookshop.co.uk
This Ladbroke Grove institution is densely packed with books and visitors alike. It was made famous by the film Notting Hill as the basis for Hugh Grant's bookshop (the actual shop used is round the corner and is now a furniture shop) but has been operating since 1979. There is a logic to its layout and, like Daunt Books, it tries to offer an eclectic mix of books for each country; however it simply lacks the space to do this effectively and on a Saturday afternoon is very crowded. When asked what the ratio of tourists to actual bookbuyers was, the shop assistant smiled tactfully and said, "I really couldn't say." Enough said. For true bibliophiles, note that there are two other specialist bookshops within spitting distance: Books for Cooks, & Blenheim Books (gardening and architecture).
