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A monthly market (held every first Sunday) which takes place either inside or outside the Milgi bar on City Road (an eclectric bar/bistro with video art, squashy sofas, chandeliers and a good line in cocktails and homemade pop).
It's a bit of a hotchpotch of jumble, young designers, live music, DJs, the odd random performance artist, maybe a BBQ, maybe some nice hot soup...
It's genuinely really great for hand printed tees and pumps, jewellery, second-hand books, vinyl, vintage-rummaging, people-watching, cake-eating, cocktail-drinking... And sometimes it happens at night too, which can be very, very good.
Milgi, 213 City Road, Cardiff, www.myspace.com/northcotelanemarket
Very pleasant cafe, bookshop, and CD store in the heart of Condesa. I spotted Carlos Monsivais sipping coffee on a table opposite and felt very much the intellectual about town. Good selection of fiction, history, art books (in Spanish).
Nuevo León 115, in Condesa.
A very Indian bookshop. I love this place and would visit most weekends. The staff are very helpful and the range of books is pretty amazing. You'll also get an idea what Indians like to read here. The books are cheap and the top floor does all kinds of stationery.
Mahatma Gandhi Road
Huge bookshop with a vast, if slightly populist, selection and decent discounts. Certainly one of the best in town for scale and economy, there's a decent if slightly overpriced second hand section as well.
Parnell Street, North of the river
Take a leisurely stroll along the left bank of the Seine, past Notre Dame and go into the Shakespeare and Company bookshop. Climb the narrow wooden stairs, pick out a dusty old tome, take a seat on a worn but comfy sofa in the corner next to the contented sleepy black cat and peruse it at your leisure.
You can get free maps, useful illustrated leaflets and small books at the GNTO offices in Athens at 26 Amalias Street. You can also download free maps of Greece from several interesting websites.
www.gnto.gr/pages.php?pageID=805&langID=2
www.in2greece.com/english/maps/maps.htm
Multiple shops and restaurants line brick-paved,
pedestrian-only Church Street. A couple of local
bookshops hold out against one larger chain bookshop.
A perfect place to spend the day. Enjoy eggs and chips or proper tea at one of the three beach cafes, walk up along the cliffs towards Seaton and beyond.
Take a boat trip, go mackerel fishing (on a mackerel pleasure trip as the sign used to have it) or buy fresh fish down on the beach. Get drowsy and happy in the cliff top garden of the Anchor Inn.
Go second hand book shopping in a hidden garage book shop (look for the sign on the pavement near the top of Fore Street), stock up on surf gear at Jimmy Green's or pick up some well-priced art at the Steam Gallery.
In the summer there's a regatta, but I've always preferred it a little out of high season, when you can enjoy the peace that fills this little town.
Jimmy Green's Surf 'n' Sail, Lower Fore Street, Beer, EX12 3JH
Tel: 01297 625125
Anchor Inn, Beer, Devon, EX12 3ET
Tel: 01297 20386
Steam Gallery At Beer, Fore St, Beer, Devon, EX12 3JH
Tel: 01297 625144
Manchester Central Library is not only architecturally impressive with its neoclassical style (shaped like a pantheon), it also houses a huge collection of publications on various media.
The shape of the building is circular so, when you are on one of the upper floors and you walk along, before you know it, you find yourself where you started without realising you're going round in a circle.
The building also houses the Library Theatre which regularly hosts high profile productions.
St Peter Square (tram stops there too) next to the town hall. www.manchester.gov.uk/libraries/central/index.htm
Melenio cafe is a great place in the centre of Oia. It is on a little terrace and has the best views over Santorini. Very different to the rest of the restaurants/cafes in the village, very relaxed with amazing cakes and fresh juices.
Oia hostel is a great, clean and cheap place to stay (and Santorini certainly isn't cheap). It's very un-hostel like in a positive way and in an excellent location.
Ammoudi port is the best place for a swim in Oia; however the climb back up to the village is pure torture. It is a rocky cove with the clearest water I have ever seen, but space is limited so get there early.
Visiting vineyards is a must, especially as most have small restaurants attached.
Also, Atlantis Books is a rare find of a bookshop anywhere in the world. It is in Oia centre and must be visited, international literature, and the shop is a delight.
A great find. This little second-hand bookshop stocks a huge range of titles from crime to nature. There is some excellent modern fiction and a very good Irish section.
The staff are really helpful and welcoming. A real treat.
3 Bridge Street, Kenmare
Tel: 06442464
noelholland@eircom.net
www.sneem.com/noelandholland.html
This is a magnificent book about the history of Wroclaw and Breslau.
Any good bookshop.
This is a fabulous secondhand bookshop.
Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop can be found in the Cornstore Mall, on Middle Street in Galway, near Shop Street and the Augustinian Church.
www.charliebyrne.com
Walk into Lehnert and Landrock, a little book shop close to the Greek Club, and in the back you will find a small room filled with late 19th century, early 20th century era black-and-white pictures of scenes in Egypt and across North Africa taken by a couple Europeans of the name of the book shop. Great place for souvenirs.
Lehnert and Landrock is on the western side of Sherif Street close to the intersection with July 26 street.
An independent bookstore in the heart of Florence. They sell new and secondhand books in Italian, English, German etc. Check out their bargain baskets which have well-loved books available at maximum 1 euro or even free!
Via Delle Oche, 4r
Tel: 055 293460
www.papex.it
Second-hand bookshop, very well-stocked and well-ordered; books are in good condition and very reasonbly priced. And they actually know what they stock so can ask for a title and they will know if they have it and where it is located. Or you may just browse.
Plus point, you can then go out and peruse your finds over a great (cheap!!) cup of coffee at the nearby Indian Cofee House.
M. G. Road (in a turn-off near the Indian Coffee House) on the main road.
The finest Craftsman house in Pasadena, built in 1908 by architects Greene and Greene. The style is Charles Rennie Macintosh with a Pacific Rim twist; everything, down to the light switches, was specifically designed for this house. It also has a great bookshop, with a huge selection of books on design, architecture and art.
Orange Boulevard, Pasadena
www.gamblehouse.org
Just outside this market in the south Delhi area of the same name are a number of second-hand bookshops. You can pick up real bargains here, and they have the books organised according to collections. They even have a buy-back policy if you are aorund for longer, so you get 75% of what you paid when you return for more! All sorts of standard ficiton but you can find some lesser known authors and genres too.
Tip: If you are travelling from abroad and are being tempted by all the cheap books available which you cannot pack into your 20kg weight limit, just buy all that you want. Stack them into packs of about 5 kgs (about 20 or so paperbacks). Go a stationary shop, get some bubble wrap, some clear wide tape and some brown paper. Make packages- Ist bubble, then brown paper. Leave a large window on one side when wrapping the brown paper. Address it to your home, write Books, Printed matter only in large letters, go to a Post office and send it by seamail. It will cost about 170 Rs (hardly 3 euros) for a 5 kilo packet. In about 6-8 weeks you will get your packet at home.
Vasant Vihar Market
South Delhi
Most people won't ever be in Ludhiana except on business, but if you do land up here don't miss this bookshop. It must be one of the largest and most diversely stocked bookshops in India, and also the most eccentric!
It has been there for as long as anyone can remember and it looks it. The opening is pretty normal, in the middle of the bazaar, and then it just gets longer and longer and some terribly rickety stairs lead you to the upper floor stocking more books: if you trust the wood to hold you up that is.
They never throw any stock away, so if you dig around hard enough, you may come across "rarities" that have been unsold, lets say, since the 1950s and the owner will carefully convert the shillings and pence at the back to charge you (I picked up a cookery book for 2 Rs).
And if you are academically minded or just a university student, there is not a bookshop that I have seen that staggers under such a wide variety of books on any subject you may be pursuing, be it organic chemistry, engineering geology or vast amounts of English literature.
Staff are knowledgeable about their own section, and helpful (they go around switching fans on and off according to the section you are in) and no one cares if you spend hours browsing.
Warning: bring a duster, as they never seem to have got around to cleaning any but the most popular sections, and that is ususally limited to the top layer!
Lyall Book Depot
Chaura Bazaar
Ludhiana
Punjab
The Seven Stories is an ongoing project that preserves original manuscripts and artwork from renowned childrens' authors such as Allan and Janet Alberg, JK Rowling, Tony Ross, Michael Bond. This is a fun, interactive environment for children and adults that subtley encourages reading and learning through play.
Also there are regular events where authors and illustrators will visit, give a reading of their work and sign books for visitors too. The ground floor is also host to an excellent bookstore dedicated to the very best in children's literature.
Workshops are regularly available throughout the summer and the cafe is well worth a visit for a quick refuelling and a nice view of the river! Or if a big lunch is required pop along to the Cluny, where they do a mean handmade beef burger, with handcut chips and salad.
See www.sevenstories.org.uk for information about events, and detailed directions.
Seven Stories 30 Lime Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2PQ.
Close to Byker Metro Station, but if you are feeling energetic take a good walk along the Quayside or get off at the very last stop on the Q2 bus (Runs Haymarket-Quayside) and ask your driver for further directions.
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