Bookstores, those modern temples. Whether they are small neighborhood hermitages where you go for books like someone who takes refuge from the cold, or whether they are great bibliophile cathedrals where you can find anything you can imagine. Barcelona is a city of bookstores (there are more than 300!) and that is why finding the one we like is not so much an effort of research, but a work of careful selection to choose the one that offers the books that best suit our reading palate.
We know that, like those who have a favorite bar and a favorite color, everyone has their own bookstore. There are those who prefer a small neighborhood bookstore, others will go for the big chains, others will seek to accompany the book with a coffee, and still others will go in search of second-hand books. But in this city of books there are pages for everyone, so we invite you to dive into this list and today, more than ever, to read these lines until you find the entrance that will lead you to your favorite bookshelf in Barcelona.
On the road, recovering the bookstore spirit
The bookstore On the road, in the Born, is much more than a place to buy books. It is undoubtedly one of our favorite bookstores in the city. Come by, meet Angel, its owner, and soak up literature and life.
On the road has a vocation as a meeting point with literature as a vehicle and they organize spectacular book clubs. Although most of the clubs are held in the bookstore itself, the last ones, on The Old Man and the Sea and Walden , were held on a sailboat and in a remote cabin in a forest two hours from Barcelona, respectively.
📍 Carrer de Verdaguer i Callís, 14
Lata Peinada, the South American branch in Raval
An essential stop in the Raval. Lata Peinada has become a reference in the city and has already organized the first edition of the Latin American Literature Festival of Barcelona, to which its shelves are focused. There you can find classics of literature from the other side of the pond, novelties, old out-of-print editions, publishers hard to find in Spain, as well as literary workshops, book presentations and other activities.
📍 Carrer de la Verge, 10
Fahrenheit 451
The adventure of these two booksellers, Azra Ibrahimovic and Sergio Lledó, began in Sitges, where, with a horse cart converted into a traveling bookstore, they provided literature to a city without bookstores. And from that adventure they jumped to a store at number 5, Calle Sal, in Barceloneta.
This new temple of culture, which takes its name from Ray Bradbury’s masterpiece, was born with the desire to be a space for independent publishers who find it so difficult to gain a place in the windows of the big bookstores. A space that is not only a book store but a cultural trench, where to hold workshops and talk about anything with books as an excuse.
📍 Carrer de la Sal, 5
Calders
It is a “Llibreria especialitzada en llibres” (as they define themselves in their Twitter description) because it used to be an old button factory specialized in buttons. With special emphasis, attention or dedication to books in Catalan and a rustic bar with a stage, piano and tables, a visit to Calders is always a good plan. Oh, dogs are also welcome here.
📍 Passatge de Pere Calders, 9
Altaïr Bookshop
It would be very easy to start talking about the Altaïr bookstore by saying that literature is a journey. So let’s do it, because there’s no need to complicate things. Literature is a journey and Altaïr is the leading bookstore specializing in travel in Catalonia.
Two floors, 60,000 titles and an eponymous cultural magazine make the Altaïr bookstore a must-visit for anyone with the slightest intention of specializing in travel culture.
📍 Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 616
Nocturama
There are bookstores that are born from millionaire investments, such as Finestres or La Central, and others, just as respectable, that are born from the romantic will of their owners to pursue a dream: to be booksellers. This is the case of Marina, who after years of working as a bookseller in these large bookstore houses, decided to open her own small book business in her neighborhood, the Raval, and live from what she loves the most.
A “lunatic and ravalera” bookstore, Nocturama does not specialize in any genre, but it does pay special attention to the side offerings that bookstores live on today: book clubs, workshops, meetings… so keep an eye on the program to visit this neighborhood bookstore and let yourself be recommended by one of those booksellers with a vocation in Barcelona.
📍C/ Peu de la Creu, 19 bis (Raval, Barcelona)
Documenta
It was on the verge of closing (you know, the book crisis, as if books had known another condition, and the damn rent) and was saved by raising 80,000 euros thanks to crowdfunding. With a change of premises included, it has been struggling for almost 45 years now .
What used to be a reference point in the Gothic Quarter and Las Ramblas has been comfortably installed in the Eixample for years, in larger premises where all kinds of events and presentations are held.
📍 Pau Claris, 144
Nollegiu
Nollegiu, more than just a bookshop (which it also is), is a project that organizes contests, conferences, meetings, talks and all kinds of events aimed at writers. Poets, novelists and essayists have turned this bookstore into a sort of Café Gijón. Nollegiu works so well, in part, because it is located in one of the neighborhoods with the most vibrant cultural activity: Poblenou.
In fact, it works so well that the bookstore expanded with a new location in El Clot that worked so well that when it had to close to move to another location nearby, it organized a human chain to which the bookstore was invited,organized a human chain that was joined by dozens of neighbors who hand-passed who passed the books hand by hand to their new location.
📍 Carrer Pons i Subirà, 3
Crisi
Located in the Sant Antoni neighborhood, Crisi defines itself as a “space for critical thinking”. In addition to its magnificent collection of books, specializing in essays, feminism and poetry, they offer a wide range of workshops, courses and book clubs that they update on a recurring basis and that you can -and should- follow closely on their Instagram profile.
📍 Carrer de Floridablanca, 90
Taifa
Opened some twenty years ago, Taifa has been an instant classic since the first book occupied one of its shelves. Founded by the editor, critic and poet José Batlló, Taifa is divided into two clearly differentiated parts: second-hand books and books of the first eye. One of the best bookstores in Barcelona.
📍 Carrer de Verdi, 12
Suspicious Animal
If you love poetry you must visit this bookstore-publisher. Animal sospechoso specializes in poetry and has a large (and wonderful) catalog of authors and independent publishers that you’ll be hard pressed to find elsewhere. Whether your thing is to discover new voices and proposals, or if you are more of a classic, this site is made for you.
📍 Carrer de Ventalló, 9
Aida Books&More
Aida Books & More is one of the best for two reasons: there is enough quality in the catalog (I’ve even bought two Ishiguro books -Anagrama editions- for 3€ each) and it works as an NGO. The booksellers are volunteers and the proceeds go to fight poverty.
📍 Carrer d’Astúries, 78.
Laie
Laie could be the jewel in the crown. A couple of floors, an infinite variety of books and a restaurant area worthy of over 4 stars on Tripadvisor. Quiet, calm or serene are three of the adjectives that accompany any noun you want to put before it: quiet bookstore, calm cafe or serene atmosphere.
📍 Carrer de Pau Claris, 85.
La Central del Raval
There is little to say at this point about one of the largest and most mythical bookstores in the city. Its infinite shelves, its three locations and its spectacular agenda (training included) are part of its charm.
And as if to add to its advantages, a few years ago the Raval branch opened a bar that is definitely one of the best terraces in Barcelona and that, together with the bar that already existed at the Mallorca branch, turns the place into a bookseller’s paradise.
📍 Various locations
La Memòria
La Memòria was on the verge of closing last year. Unable to cope with the drop in sales, the bookshop’s managers knew that the only solution was to close the shop, but the news reached the ears of two neighbors in the neighborhood, in Gràcia, who decided to take over 50 percent of the bookshop. Thanks to them, this little gem specializing in 20th and 21st century narrative and history remains open.
📍 Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia, 19
Finestres
One of the latest additions to the list of bookstores in the city. To enter Finestres is to enter a sort of palace where the book is its most revered treasure. Far from the sobriety of other previous bookstores, here the lamps and sofas, its high shelves (perhaps too high) and even some carpet give the place an air of strange luxury, somewhat bizarre but warm. Reading a book on one of the sofas is a pleasure.
The landing of Finestres has been so overwhelming that right in front of their main store they have another bookstore, dedicated to art books and comics, which is as worthwhile as the previous one.
📍 Carrer de la Diputació, 249
Byron
Like the previous one, Byron also has a certain air of pomposity. Its premises, huge and deep, house at the end a cafeteria and an area to enjoy a quiet reading. A fireplace and a few armchairs invite shoppers to devour their books before heading out the door.
📍 Casanova Street, 32
Sendak Bookshop
Children’s and young adult literature is for all ages, and Sendak Bookshop wants to prove it. There you will find a wide variety of books of different genres and themes, because the LIJ is diverse and plural, there is something for all tastes and colors, and they are not just the books you read at school.
📍 C/ Còrsega, 461
La Llama Store
The world’s first bookstore specializing in humor can only be a good idea. La Llama is almost more of a movement than a bookstore, a space where you can not only find books and funny objects, but it has become the real axis around which the most avant-garde trends of humor in the city revolve.
In its back room, space for events, presentations or podcasts was forged, for example, the first edition of the Ruina Show. And if you go and don’t find any interesting event you can always buy a mini plastic hand to fit on your finger, which is also quite funny.
📍 C/ Villarroel, 34
La Pila de Llibres, the neighborhood bookstore
Sant Jordi is not only superilla and books are not only in the big bookstores in the center. In Nou Barris, specifically in the unknown neighborhood of Congrés, hides La Pila de Llibres, a second-hand bookstore like those of yesteryear, with stacks of books that go from the ceiling to the floor and whose sale seeks to promote the circular economy.
Now, moreover, they are in danger because of some works that prevent the passage through their street, and that will hinder for several months the access to the bookstore, so a help from Sant Jordi will be great for them.
COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS
It goes without saying that we love drawings as much as letters, and that’s why we also leave you with some of the main comic and graphic novel bookstores in Barcelona.
Norma Comics
The literary man does not live by the letter alone… and Norma Comics is the confirmation of this phrase. Founded in 1983, in its more than 700m² you will find manga, European comics, American comics and all kinds of merchandising. Norma is the perfect store both for those who are experts in this discipline and for those who want to learn about it.
📍 Passeig de Sant Joan, 9
ECC Comics
A new macro-bookstore dedicated solely to comics has appeared like a superhero in the city, ready to save any fan (or not) of the genre from any shortage of comic books they may suffer.
ECC , a comic giant that publishes, among others, the DC universe, has opened in Gracia the largest comic store in the city, a 400 m2 beast where any craving for comics and graphic novels will be perfectly satisfied.
📍Carrer de Bonavista, 30
SECOND HAND BOOKS
Although here we will only talk about the bookstore El Siglo, the largest second-hand bookstore in the country, on other occasions we have pointed out some of our favorite second-hand bookstores in the city so you can find all the old books you need.
El Siglo
Although located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, El Siglo deserves a special mention. This second-hand bookstore has a collection of more than 150,000 books, magazines and documents. It is located in the Mercantic, where they also hold poetry and cinema cycles or concerts, among other activities. You are sure to find more than one jewel among its 800 square meters.
📍 Carrer Ermita, 1 (Sant Cugat del Vallès)