Manhattan bookshops
STOP 1 OF 11
Strand Book Store
Village & Downtown · Free to visit
“18 miles of books” and the dollar carts outside.
1 hour · Free to browse
EThe editors
Manhattan bookshops
Eleven independent and specialist shops, from the Strand to a basement of old cookbooks.
11 placesA full dayRead the guide ↓
- 1. Strand Book Store“18 miles of books” and the dollar carts outside.Village & DowntownFree to visit1 hourFree to browse
2. Forbidden PlanetComics and sci-fi across the street.Village & DowntownFree to visit30 minFree to browse
3. Bonnie Slotnick CookbooksRare cookbooks in an East Village basement.Village & DowntownFree to visit20 minFree to browse
4. Three Lives & CompanyA tiny corner shop with the best staff picks.Village & DowntownFree to visit20 minFree to browse
5. McNally Jackson, Prince StreetThe SoHo original, with author events.Village & DowntownFree to visit45 minFree to browse
6. Housing Works Bookstore CafeA used bookstore and café that funds a charity.Village & DowntownFree to visit45 minFree to browse
7. The Mysterious BookshopNothing but crime and mystery.Lower ManhattanFree to visit30 minFree to browse
8. Rizzoli BookstoreArt and design books in a grand room.MidtownFree to visit30 minFree to browse
9. Kinokuniya New YorkJapanese books, manga and stationery.MidtownFree to visit45 minFree to browse
10. Argosy Book StoreRare books, maps and prints since 1925.MidtownFree to visit30 minFree to browse
11. AlbertineFrench books under a painted ceiling.UptownFree to visit30 minFree to browse
The guide
How to do it: Manhattan bookshops
Manhattan still has independent and specialist bookshops on almost every neighbourhood walk, and a wet day is the time to visit them.
Start at the Strand, which could take all day on its own, and work uptown.
- The order to do it in
- The Strand and Forbidden Planet, Bonnie Slotnick, Three Lives in the West Village, McNally Jackson and Housing Works in SoHo, the Mysterious Bookshop in Tribeca, then Midtown (Rizzoli, Kinokuniya, Argosy) and Albertine on Fifth Avenue.
- When to go
- Weekday afternoons, or any rainy day.
- Getting there
- Subway between neighbourhoods; walk within them.
- What it costs
- Free to browse.
Worth knowing
- Check opening hours for the small shops; some open late morning.
Started from the pins on TripTins’ Manhattan bookstores map (the map). Places, notes and the guide checked and written by us; prices and opening times change, so check before you go.