10 Best Places to Shop in France

The best design bookstore in France carries tomes on everything from architecture to tattoo art: there are sections dedicated to photography, fashion, graphic art, typography, illustration, package design, color, and more.

Relax with a book, a coffee, and a slice of cake at this Anglophone bookstore (the only one in Bordeaux), where you'll find an eclectic selection of fiction and nonfiction titles. There's also bargain-priced vintage hardcovers and paperbacks along with free listings guides about what's going on in and around Bordeaux.

If you're looking for a good book to read and love independent bookshops, stop by this Left Bank institution, with its enormous inventory of English (and French) -language books for adults and children. It's the perfect place to get some reading recommendations and discuss literature, poetry, art, cooking, and politics. Across the street from the Luxembourg Gardens, it also happens to be in an ideal location.

Paris's Canadian bookstore has books on Canadian history as well as new and secondhand Québécois and English-language novels. The Canadian Club of Paris also organizes regular poetry readings and literary conferences here.

Forgot to pack a holiday read? Fear not. This charming bookshop has an English section toward the back (you'll know it by the bookcase masquerading as a red London phone box). A little café springs into life for regular author events.

This cozy bookshop near Cours Mirabeau is not only a great place to buy and read English-language books, but also to meet other English speakers.

Smelling of old leather and ancient paper, this shop sells rare and antique books.

To experience the French fascination for comic books, take a peek in this bookstore, where you'll find Tintin alive and well. The café in back is a nice place to get a feel for the bande dessinée (graphic novel) scene, known as the "Ninth Art" in France.

Dating to 1520s Venice, this venerable bookstore opened in Paris in 1801 and was the first to specialize in English-language books. Its present location, across from the Tuileries Garden on Rue de Rivoli, opened in 1856, and the wooden bookshelves, creaking floors, and hushed interior provide the perfect atmosphere for perusing Paris's best collection of contemporary and classic greats in English and French, plus a huge selection of gorgeous art books.

This bookseller formerly associated with chain WHSmith has stepped out on its own with this newer, independent shop that remains a must-visit for Anglophone bibliophiles. You won't just find a multitude of travel and language guides, cookbooks, and fiction for adults and children—it also has the best selection of foreign magazines and newspapers in Paris. Upstairs, enjoy a delightful afternoon tea in George Washington's former Paris apartment.