My Favourite Bookshops in London! 🇬🇧 

this is the most beautiful thing I've seen today 😍 thank you so much for this video 💗

coffee shops inside book stores are my favorite thing in life

I thought I caught a remark of yours confessing that you're not into used books. I like them because besides the original content, each book has a story, a history, a karma. I like the marginal notes, the dedications, sometimes I find odd pieces between the pages, a slip of paper with a note, a little greeting card or postcard or photo. Old books have a personal vibe, energy, life. I wish books could speak to tell me their life stories.

That Waterstones' bookshop is in front of my former university (UCL) and it is indeed amazing. They also have secondhand books for £1 and £2 outside. Also, if there is somebody around here who likes to buy secondhand books, there is this old library near Wimbledon Station (District line) that is called Copperfield Books. There is not one spot without a book in that place. It may seem hard to find what you are looking for, but the guy there knows exactly where the book you want is. And they are open on Sundays too!

As a Waterstones employee, this makes my nerdy bookseller heart fill to the brim with happiness 💛 Thanks for spreading the joy of bookshops, Ariel

Ahh I really wanna visit these bookshops now! Also omg you look so professional walking around with this microphone 😂 I love it. Great video!

Love this!

Next time you visit London, check out the Wellcome Library/Reading room! The building itself (i.e. the exhibitions, bookshop and books you can generally read there) is more geared towards the medical field, but the Reading Room is free to visit and it's just an amazing place to sit, read and chill for a while.

Did you go to Waterstones in Piccadilly the huge one? It's amazing!!! You'll never want to leave. Selfridges basment floor has a book section with some really nice editions. Enjoy London!

Yes, the Waterstones at Gower street is awesome. I love how they put loads of old Penguin books in carts out front. It is vastly different from any other bookstore I've been to in the UK. There is a vinyl record store downstairs, as well as a stationary store.

I've been in London a week ago, and I fell in love with Foyles at the Tottenham Court road. Where I live, we only have small 1 floor bookshops and when I stepped into Foyles I was very amazed because it's so huge! And it has a café? THERE ARE BOOKSHOPS THAT HAVE CAFÉS? I just wanna live in that bookstore forever.

Ariel try also Standfords bookshop in Covent Garden! It's a largest travel bookshop in the world and it has been here for over 150 years :-)

Your enthusiasm is infectious. This was an exquisitely done book vlog!!! I enjoyed every place you visited. I hope to see more of these videos in the future. Gracias 🇨🇺

This is definitely going to be a video I come back every once in a while. You should do more of these exploring / traveling type of videos Ariel. Both in the UK and in Canada. Your energy is so bright and you make it fun.

Looks like these would be the most fun when rain is coming down in sheets and buckets.

Thank you for this wonderful tour!!

this gave me so much happiness and warmth. your joy is so contagious. thank you for sharing. lovely, as always.

absolutely loved this video! i'm going to london on thursday and now i'm even more pumped. definitely added foyles and hatchard's to my list of places to shop/explore.

I just love your videos so much. The joy and passion you have for all things books just inspires me. Keep being wonderful 💕

Even though my heart breaks a little that I might not be able to visit those shops, this video patches it up for sure. Thanks Ariel for taking us on a bookadventure!!! ❤

Didn't think there were such enormous bookshops somewhere. Love it. WANT IT!

Your enthusiasm in this video is so cute! Makes me really want to go to London and explore these shops!

So envious. London is right at the top of my bucket list destinations. Those shops look so great! Love bookstores.

There is nothing more amazing than watching someone walk round book shops...absolutely brilliant xx thank you

If you ever visit Buenos Aires you'll love "El Ateneo", it's this old theatre turned bookshop. It even has a café on the stage.

can you show us your favorite coffee shops, restaurants and cute places to go in london!! love this video!!

Those stairs in the last store.....that was my favorite store!!! What a great video!

This is so nice to watch, especially during lockdown, when I simply miss going to my fav bookshops... I'll certainly do a London bookshop tour when this is all over

Love your Bookshop tour! I have to visit them all if/when I go to London!

This is so wonderful! I'm actually visiting London for the first time in about a week, so I'm really excited to make these bookstores a part of my trip.

I love the atmosphere in the Waterstones library, my favourite I think!

Two years later and here I am! We're based in South Africa and looking to move to London. Thanks for reviewing these places and adding some colour to the names. Now I know where to send my CV's....

I love the bookshops in London, they are so magical

My favourite Waterstones is the one in Piccadilly. There are also three little antiquarian bookshops down Charing Cross Road that I love.

Waterstones Gower Street is my favorite bookshop in London! I lived on that same road when I studied abroad there last year, so watching this video felt a lot like going home. Also I realized I have visited Hatchards, but I never knew the name of it! Such a quirky and wonderful building too.

wow!!! What an experience!

Beautiful bookshops!!! Your videos are always so amazing!

This video gives me heartache. I miss being in London so badly and you showed me the places I always was. I spent lots of time at that Waterstones and the one in Angel. As well as Foyles in Soho.

this is beautiful. absolutely beautiful.

You are so much fun to watch, you have such a great personality! Thank you for making this video :)

Thank you for the recommendations! I'm actually going to visit London for the first time in a week or so, and I just can't wait! I'd love to visit the Waterstones you mentionned and Hatchards!

I have been to the original Foyles, holding my 7 months old Marina, 47years ago. I'd checked everywhere and couldn't find a book devoted to Mary Cassatt. How thrilled when the clerk confidently said Yes, we have! hustling me holding baby to a Sales table- even better!- of Marquis de Sade. Yes, lost in American accent. Hatchards is beautiful, but all these decades, I remembered it as a small one-floor shop like Charlotte Newbeggin's in San Francisco. Time crunch, again. And of course, a Waterstones in Kensington High St, probably.

Loved this! Also, eat, sweat, play is such a great book, I'm glad you are enjoying it :)

Thank you so much for this beautiful bookish video! If I ever make it to London again these 4 bookstores are definitely on my destination list!

I'm moving back to London after spending a lovely year living in Oxford and I was feeling really sad about having to go back to London - but now you've reminded me about all the fab bookshops there I feel much happier about it!

I loved this video! I hope you do more videos like this.

Your enthusiasm is lovely to see shining through this video ! Hatchards seems very lovely to visit (and also to buy all the books from) - the others as well. Now craving to go to the bookshop ! thanks Ariel :)

This video just made my day - my weekend - my month! Thank you for sharing this with us, it's astonishing

Going to London with my friend in about a month and we were searching for bookshops to go to! So thank you so much for this video 😊

the choker, the flannel, the side part. very much early 2000s vibes

Already watched this video multiple times, I love the feeling of going on a tour of London bookshops! Thanks Ariel :)

I am going to London in March and I knew that I needed to find some good bookstores before going. When I searched it here on RU-vid, your video popped up and I knew that whatever you showed me would be great and that I would love. I am so excited to go and check out your suggestions in person. They all look so beautiful on camera but I know they will love even better in person.

All of the shops are so beautiful!

Love these take me along type vids

What an a amazing video, I love it! The last time I was in London I did the same and spent hours going to different book stores. I loved Foyles❤️ And I also love the small book stores in Nothing Hill

Foyles looks amazing!!

Thank you for making this!

This video gave me such pleasure. And Hatcherts, wow.. i literally stumbled into it when i visited London 18 years ago.

I love that Waterstones on Gower!! When I studied abroad at RADA I would frequently pop in there to take a peek - such a charming store.

Your laugh is amazing! Love this video so much!

I love this video!!! I live in Greater London and have never been to these stores. I adore books and hope to some day go there. I’m so happy!!!!

I find there are few things more delightful than British bookshops. When you come in, it's like a wave of love for reading hugs you, you just want to curl up right there on the floor and read or just browse endlessly. I want to go London so bad, oh my gods.

Thank you, I loved this!

I love this video and can't wait for the haul!💕

i love this so much.

Foyles looks AMAZING !!!

Love this video! The last shop looks amazing.

I'm going to Foyles, hatchards and Waterstones next Saturday!!!! I'm so excited!

Loved this video!! Bookshops are just such a wonderful place ❤

I much preferred the old Foyles building (although the present building is an outstanding bookshop). It stank of mold, the lifts never worked and everything was stacked on top of each other to the point were you daren't move but it had great sense sanctuary.

I’ll be going to London for the first time in February 2019. Had to come back and rewatch this for shops to add to my list. Woo!

Just Amazing.

I loved this! I was just in Barnes and Nobles the other day taking pictures. But these places are amazing!

Such a great video!! 💗 The bookstores are so cool! The filming was great 👍

I had been to several Waterstones while I was studying in the UK and I loved that they were each a bit different, as you mentioned. If I get the chance to go to London again, I would definitely want to visit Foyles - it's like a book mall! Love this video, Ariel!

This was lovely.

I adore this video! Your enthusiasm is so infectious. I was lucky enough to visit London last year, and while I didn't have a ton of time, I was still able to stop by Hatchard's and Waterstones at Picadilly. I fell in love! Even with the major retailers in the states (like Barnes & Noble, etc), I don't think I've been in a multi-story bookshop. Also, I absolutely loved how the bookshops in London are organized! The flow feels so natural, and everything is cozy. I really like the way the displays seemed to have unique topics, in addition to the more structured "Fiction/Non-Fiction/etc" sections. Also, I completely understand the fear of used books/things. When I was really young, I felt the same way. It was like an overwhelming sense of dread, even though I understood the historical value and importance. I don't know what changed (hence the irrational part of fears), but it doesn't bother me anymore. Still, I totally get where you're coming from and I appreciate that you still promote used books as better for the environment, etc.

Loved it.

omg Ariel, this video was so beautiful! I loved the mic, the themes, the shops ❤️ , the tips. Please, make more videos like this! Thanks for the video. Next time I go to London I'll def try to go to some (or all) of these.

The Foyles at Tottenham Court is so great. I love it so much. Purely because of the ENTIRE FLOOR DEDICATED TO FOREIGN BOOKS. I spend like an hour on that floor every time I get the chance to go just breathing in all the languages.

Thank you for sharing your bookstore experience in London. I've worked in book shops in New York off and on for 25 years. I would love to go to London and just spend a week going to different book shops. I love books.

So so happy you shared this!! I'm going to London this summer and I'm definitely going to visit all of these bookshops, I'm excited just at the idea XD I'm gonna have to show some serious restraint and not buy more than a couple of books to avoid going over the luggage limit!

I can't believe you went to Gower street Waterstones, it's not even a minute walk for my uni and I go there all the time, 100% my favourite place in London. I'm so glad you love it as much as I do💜

Of course

This was such an informative well done video. I hope you do more like it!

I love these videos! The bookshops are one of the most important reasons I want to visit London someday!

Thanks for sharing.

this is such a nice video. definitely adding those bookshops to my bucket list

thanks for sharing. the last one I would vote for to go

I've been to Foyles. Beautiful!

Thanks for this video!

I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH!! This was such a great video!!! Do more of these bookshop tours, please?

Perfect timing! I'm going to London at the end of June and I plan to get all the books!

THANK YOU

Those bookshops are amazing! I would love to visit all of them.

Hatchards is so beautiful! I love that I live in London, definitely going during the summer after exams to read!

Great. Love this

Fantastic video! Whenever I visit London bookstores are always my destination! This was done so artistically! You have expanded my list of must-visit places in London!

I went to Hatchards this afternoon! It's definitely my favorite bookshop in London!

This was such a wondrous idea! Hopefully one day I get to discover all the magic of London bookshops.