Unarguably the
coolest bookstore on earth, conveniently located across the river from
Notre Dame, in
Paris' fifth
arrondissement. Founded in the 1910s by
Sylvia Beach, an American expatriate, this bookstore has three stories and no index. They do, however, have
couches and many small rooms with sofas to chill out and browse through the gigantic selection - virtually all wallspace is a
bookshelf. They have no problem with
food, as long as you're responsible, and are practically
open 24 hours. You can get a bed/sofa to
sleep on if you
volunteered for an hour the previous day.
Many famous people have spent the night here, and there are pictures of the proprietor and them in the office. Some of the authors are Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, George Antheil, Gertrude Stein, Sherwood Anderson, Scott Fitzgerald, etc.