Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1546381
C O U R T E S Y O F B O O K S A R E M AG I C ome plan their journeys around food, others fashion (think vintage troves and by-appointment ateliers) or book behind-the-scenes tours at museums. Culture hounds driven by curiosity and whimsy, however, know a shortcut into the literary heart of a city: the independent bookshop. Curated, opinionated, and communal, the best indies are places where travelers transform from visitor into local, if only for a few hours of browsing. And for the reading globetrotter, the selection is better than ever: According to the American Booksellers Association, more than 400 new stores opened in the US alone last year, a 31-percent increase from 2024. The OG heavy-hitters still inspire pilgrimages—Powell's Books, in Portland, Paris's Shakespeare and Company, and Daunt Books in London, whose founder, not so incidentally, was brought in to save Barnes & Noble with an indie approach in 2019. Then there are the beauty queens toeing the line between lit hub and Instagram backdrop (think Buenos Aires's El Ateneo Grand Splendid and Maastricht's Boekhandel Dominicanen). Overall, the scene has grown up and become more inclusive and personal, with shops focusing on LGBTQIA+ literature, collections on antiracism, intersectional feminism, and climate action, as well as political, as seen in the recently opened Manifesto Library, a collaboration between Porto's Livraria Lello and Dua Lipa's Service95 Book Club, that raises awareness around banned books. In short, it's a great time to be an independent—reader, seller, traveler. Here are 12 favorites across the US and Europe (excluding London and Paris, whose robust indie scenes would make for their own articles). Happy reading! From Brooklyn to Berlin, these independent bookshops offer a window into the soul of a city—and deserve a place on every cultured traveler's itinerary. BY SIMONE GIRNER destinations novel S Books Are Magic owners author Emma Straub and Michael Fusco-Straub at the bookshop's Brooklyn Heights location bookshelf 210 210 BALHAR B O U RSH O P S .CO M