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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First built in 1904, this renovated pint-shaped factory building homes a showcase of the history behind the internationally renowned Guinness brand.

During the visit you will know more about the beer's ingredients, the brewery process, the Guinness family, the original site's lease document, the brand and advertising (Pelican, etc...), the Guinness book of records and other curious facts like the barrel-making process or ancient Guinness ships for transportation.

And at the end of the tour, there's nothing better than downing a good old pint at their Gravity Bar! Located at the top of the building, the nearly 360 degrees view from it is awesome and definitely a highlight of the tour.

As you can imagine, it's a really popular site for tourists and is now more branding-led now it's not owned by the Guinness family any more. A bit pricey, yes, but slightly cheaper if you book online, and definitely worth going if you also consider Guinness to be one of the biggest Irish icons to date.

Also, if you're in the area for a while, why not pop into the old prison? It's at a stone's throw from the factory and was a hidden gem of my Dublin visit.

www.guinness-storehouse.com

Open 7 days a week from 9.30am – 5pm (last admission is at 5pm).

Late opening during July and August until 7pm (last admission is at 7pm).

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