OT Staff & Anuradha Sengupta
Hay-on-Wye in Wales is famed as the world’s first book town, home to over twenty independent bookshops, a landmark literary festival, and stores with character like the cinema-turned Hay Cinema Bookshop.
Jimbocho in Tokyo is a historic book town with over 170 specialist shops, selling rare texts, vintage prints, manga and art books, many displayed outdoors along lively scholarly streets.
Urueña is a walled medieval Spanish village transformed into a literary enclave, hosting twelve specialised bookshops, small museums, and workshops on calligraphy, publishing and traditional bookbinding practices in rural Castile.
Fjærland in Norway is a scenic book town beside the Sognefjord, featuring kilometres of bookshelves housed in barns, ferries and cafés, framed by dramatic glaciers and fjord landscapes and mountains.
As the world's first UNESCO City of Literature, Edinburgh is a premier destination for bibliophiles. It has the massive Edinburgh International Book Festival in August, and countless independent bookshops.
Saint-Pierre-de-Clages, located in the municipality of Chamoson in Switzerland, features several permanent second-hand bookshops, antique dealers, and a major annual book festival held during the last weekend of August.
Óbidos, a charming medieval walled town in Portugal, is a renowned "City of Literature" designated by UNESCO in 2015. It is a paradise for book lovers, featuring unique, themed bookstores in converted spaces like a 13th-century church and an old market. The town also hosts the annual FÓLIO—Óbidos International Literary Festival.
Wigtown is known as Scotland's National Book Town, a haven for book lovers with numerous independent bookshops and a renowned annual literary festival. The small town boasts around 16 bookshops, ranging from large second-hand stores to specialist and themed shops.
This small Catskills town of around 400 residents is home to several specialised bookstores. It is a walkable literary destination with bookstores where you can find rare books, antiques, science fiction, and ephemera.