Most books on sale here have been either written by women or talk about women. It promotes feminist literature and was founded in 1978, when over 200 women, including famous women from the political and cultural Spanish arena, joined forces to create a cooperative to finance it.

Calle San Cristobal, 17, 28012 Madrid, Spain
www.unapalabraotra.org/libreriamujeres.html
Google map: bit.ly/ciriML

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Another classic spot for booksellers, located by the Retiro Park. Since 1925, around 30 wooden stalls buy and sell second-hand books here, along with new publications. In the old times, several fairs were located in this area, which became a meeting point for traders and clients. Eventually, intellectuals and bookshops asked the Town Hall to allow for a space for this daily literary fair, which still trades today. It even stayed open during the Civil War!

Cuesta de Moyano (Calle de Claudio Moyano). Madrid, Spain

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Like many other old town streets in Madrid (curtidores - tanners, cuchilleros - knifemakers, etc) , it's named after the tradesmen and craftsmen that worked in the city centre from the early 20th century. Calle Libreros is a tiny street off the central Gran Via, previously called Ceres Street. It is not so well-known these days, but not so long ago, university students still went there to sell their previous academic course's textbooks and sell the next ones. At the end of the 19th Century, Doña Pepita made this fashionable as the old main University was located in the nearby San Bernardo Street. The few bookshops that remain here are specialised in various technical and humanistic subjects, and many keep out of stock volumes. They've been hit hard by the recession and few survive now, so walking into one of them does feel like stepping back in time...

Calle Libreros, off Gran Via, Madrid, Spain
Google map: bit.ly/dp1oBy

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