Shakespeare and Company (bookstore) Area

Address: 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, 75005 Paris, France

Website: https://shakespeareandcompany.com

Hours: Daily 10:30am-6:30pm

Admission: Free (bookshop)

Shakespeare and Company is an English-language bookstore in Paris, located on the Left Bank close to Notre-Dame Cathedral. Founded in 1951 by George Whitman, it became an important meeting place for anglophone writers and readers in the postwar decades and retains a literary cultural role today.

The shop contains a retail section, a lending library of used books and spaces for readings, workshops and small literary events. It is also known for offering temporary lodging to young writers and travelers in past decades, a practice that contributed to its bohemian reputation.

The name and literary lineage link back to an earlier 20th century bookstore run by Sylvia Beach, but the present shop has its own history and collections dating from the mid 20th century. It sits in Paris’s Latin Quarter and is a frequent stop for literature-focused visitors.

• Location and function: The shop stands on the Left Bank near Notre-Dame and combines a retail bookstore with a small reading library and public events program.

Shakespeare and Company is at 37 rue de la Bûcherie on the Île de la Cité/Latin Quarter in central Paris. The nearest major stop is Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame (RER B and C) - about a 2-3 minute walk; Saint-Michel (Metro line 4) and Cluny-La Sorbonne (line 10) are also within a short stroll.

From Notre-Dame or the Seine embankment it’s a one- to five-minute walk; driving is not recommended in the city center - use metro/RER and walk.

• Arrive at opening on a weekday morning to avoid the line outside the narrow shop; the doorway on Rue de la Bûcherie is the primary entrance and the interior fills quickly.
• Take time to explore the upstairs reading rooms and the back-room nooks - many visitors focus only on photos at the door and miss the period interiors, author inscriptions and the shop's curated second‑hand and rare-book sections.
• Check the shop's hours on its official site before you go (special events and readings can change opening times) and plan any book purchases or browsing early, as the interior capacity is small and staff may limit the number of customers.