If you enjoy reading books, there are high chances that you also enjoy visiting bookstores. I am personally very keen on discovering bookstores when I visit a city, as I feel it gets me closer to the culture and spirit of that place.
During the two years spent in the Netherlands, I’ve discovered three very nice and cosy bookstores. Two of them are situated in Amsterdam, and the other one in Maastricht:
- American Book Center Amsterdam
- Waterstone’s Amsterdam
- Boekhandel Dominicanen Maastricht
§ American Book Center Amsterdam
This is a bookstore I discovered when I first visited Amsterdam four years ago. Its cosy atmosphere and wooden details impressed me, along with the main staircase that has bookshelves on its side.
They also have a store in The Hague, but in my opinion, it’s not as nice as the one in Amsterdam.
§ Waterstone’s Amsterdam
Waterstone’s bookstores are usually very cosy, and the one in Amsterdam makes no exception. What I like the most is that they have a reading corner, situated on the third floor, where you can rest and maybe read a book or a magazine.
They also have different decorations depending on the latest books published. For example, when I visited the last time they were celebrating the new Harry Potter book, and there were Hogwarts letters hanging from the ceiling.
§ Boekhandel Dominicanen Maastricht
This is one of the most spectacular bookstores I’ve ever seen … because it is an ancient Dominican church transformed into a bookstore. If you want to find out more about its history and architecture, this article is a good starting point.
I also liked that at the entrance they have the word “books” written in many languages – including Romanian 🙂
Now it’s your turn! Where have you discovered amazing bookshops? I’d love to hear from you which ones are worth visiting 🙂
If you enjoy reading about beautiful bookstores, check out also bookstores from Cambridge, Bucharest, and Oslo.
‘Till next time … happy reading!
Georgiana
PS: pictures are from my personal archive unless mentioned otherwise. Cover image from Paintingandframe.com, Amsterdam postcard from TravelPoster.co
Readers' High Tea 
The Dominican church transformed into the bookshop is really impressive. I love old churches and bookshops – never even imagined there is a place that combines the two! (And I did spot in that photo of the entrance the Russian (my language) word for “books” but written with Latin letters – “knigi”!). So cool!
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That bookstore reminded me of Hogwarts 🙂 I could imagine Hermione wandering around, looking for her next books to study!
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It definitely does have this Hogwarts feel and must be really spooky at night. I imagine some Hogwarts ghost hiding among the shelves too!
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