5 Literary Gems To Discover in Cruise Ports Around the World

If you’re a bookworm, most likely you have a compulsive desire to pop into at least one local bookstore wherever your travels take you.

While onboard a cruise with Atlas Ocean Voyages, there are five unique bookstore stops you can take located in accessible cruise ports across the globe.

From a historic theater-turned-bookshop in Buenos Aires to an aptly named Venice bookshop that uses inventive methods to prevent its books from flooding, these are some of the world’s most beautiful, unique and delightful bookstores you simply shouldn’t miss during your travels.

Located in the Barrio Norte region of Buenos Aires, Argentina, El Ateneo Grand Splendid makes every list of the best or most beautiful or unique bookstores in the world. Built as a grand theater in 1919, today it’s a sprawling bookshop that retains plenty of its grandness, complete with its original gold touches, elaborate frescoes and plenty of character.

England is known for being the home of plentiful bookshops for both new and used books, but one London bookshop has been meeting grand expectations and famous patrons since 1853: Stanfords. Located in Covent Garden, it’s a delight to explore, featuring global touches like maps, destination guides and more. Famous patrons include Ernest Shackleton, Florence Nightingale and many more.

Travel into a world of imagination, expression and free thinking with Distopia, a bookstore that takes inspiration from the worlds of 1984, Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451. Located in Lisbon, this hole-in-the-wall bookstore offers a carefully selected array of both new and used books from the likes of inventive authors such as Kazuo Ishiguro, alongside vintage records, locally made art and more.

This charming boutique bookstore in Paris is a book lover's dream. Shakespeare & Company offers plenty of books that infuse the store with the smell of paper and ink, but it’s most beloved for the Tumbleweeds program, which offers travelers the opportunity to help out around the shop, read a book a day and leave their mark by writing a one-page autobiography for the bookstore’s collection.

Lastly, take a few minutes during your stroll along the canals of Venice to visit Libreria Acqua Alta, which has devised a few inventive ways to protect its books from the city’s flooding. Travelers can find vintage books housed in bathtubs, gondolas or set in high stacks on top of tables, making it a truly unique bookshop atmosphere to explore.

Check out these bookstores on some of Atlas Ocean Voyages’ luxurious itineraries.