Thursday, November 04, 2010

Daunt's one of the greatest, says Lonely Planet

03.11.10 - Victoria Gallagher - The Bookseller
Daunt's Bookshop in London has been named as one of the world's greatest bookshops in a new title by Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2011 is an annual guide to the "hottest journeys, destinations and experiences". I
n the book the travel publisher described London as an "armchair explorer's dream" and singled out Stanford's and The Travel Bookshop, as well as Daunt's, which made its top ten.

Lonely Planet said of Daunt's: "The mini chain stocks a lot more than guides and maps, and everything from biographies to fiction - is handily arranged by country. The green Daunt Books sign is found in five well-heeled enclaves of London, but the Marylebone branch is the original and the best. Occupying an Edwardian bookshop, its long oak galleries with polished floors and shelves, graceful skylights and William Morris prints create a peaceful atmosphere. The perfect place for some serious browsing."

The London bookseller made the top ten alongside City Lights Books in San Francisco, USA: Argentinean bookshop Liberia el Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires: Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal: Parisian bookseller Shakespeare and Company: Another Country in Berlin, Germany: The Bookworm, Beijing, China: Selexyz Dominicanen in Masstricht, The Netherlands: Italian bookshop Bookabar in Rome: and Atlantis Books in Santorini, Greece.

Footnote:
The Bookman agrees with the comments about Daunts. I don't get to London very often these days but whenevr I do I always wander down Marylebone High Street to visit Daunts followed by a coffee at Providores nearby.
And I am pleased to say I have visited five of the top ten bookshops on the Lonely Planet list.

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