Historic bookshops and libraries, from Lisbon's Bertrand to Vienna's Prunksaal.

What does this route cover?

This theme brings together twelve places in eleven of our cities where what you visit is books: three bookshops that still sell and nine libraries that are shown off like monuments. Separating them helps you choose. A bookshop is almost always free to enter and you buy; a historic library charges an entrance fee, sometimes with a time slot, and you look without touching. The rules change from one to another, especially those on photos, so for each one we tell you what you need to know before going.

It is done city by city, not in a single trip: the usual thing is to add one to the city plan. Two of them require booking well in advance (the Joanina in Coimbra and the Klementinum in Prague) and one has a queue every day (Shakespeare and Company).

Portugal: three places, three ways in

Livraria Bertrand, in Lisbon. Guinness World Records recognises it as the oldest operating bookshop in the world. Bertrand gives 1732 as its founding year and it has been on Rua Garrett, in Chiado, since 1773, after the 1755 earthquake. You go in without paying and it opens daily from 9:00 to 22:00 according to its website. There are guided tours with advance booking.

Livraria Lello, in Porto. The bookshop with the red staircase, from 1906, runs on an entry voucher: €15.95, with a time slot and redeemable against a book from its own editions. You cannot go in without a voucher, even to buy. The slot is 60 minutes and vouchers are not refunded. For good photos, the first hour of the morning is best.

Joanina Library, in Coimbra. Three rooms of gilded and lacquered 18th-century wood inside the university. You visit with the full €16.50 ticket and at a fixed time, in small groups. Photos are not allowed on the main floor. Allow three hours if you do the whole visit.

Spain: the Antigua Librería and Philip II's library

University of Salamanca. The Antigua Librería, the university's historic library, is on the upper floor of the Historic Building of the Escuelas Mayores and is viewed from the doorway. The €10 ticket covers the whole building, and on Mondays from 15:00 it is free.

Royal Monastery of El Escorial. The library with its painted ceilings is part of the monastery visit, which costs €14 and is closed on Mondays. You can take photos without flash for personal use, but no tripods or selfie sticks.

Paris: a bookshop with rules

Shakespeare and Company. An independent bookshop since 1951, on rue de la Bûcherie, with an antiquarian section and a café. Entry is free, but capacity is limited and there is a queue at peak times. Photos and video are not allowed inside, suitcases and large bags are not admitted and there is no left-luggage. It opens daily, with hours that vary by day.

Oxford and Dublin: two university libraries

Bodleian Library, in Oxford. The one-hour guided tour passes through the Divinity School and goes up to Duke Humfrey's Library: from £17.50, in English and for over-11s. Tickets go on sale on the 1st and 15th of each month at 9:00 English time, and weekend ones sell out fast. If you only want the Divinity School, there is a 15-minute self-guided visit for £3. It is also a location for Harry Potter.

Trinity College, in Dublin. The Long Room, the great wooden hall of the old library, is visited together with the Book of Kells. Entry is at a fixed time: from €19 for the short one, 45 minutes, and from €25 for the one that adds the digital exhibition. The hall is currently undergoing conservation work and only the first four sections keep their books: do not expect the picture in the photos. The website says nothing about photos; ask at the entrance.

Leuven, Vienna and Prague: three libraries in Central Europe

University Library, in Leuven. It was built after the First World War to replace the one burned in 1914. The tower with carillon and its exhibition cost €10, and the library with audioguide, €5.

Prunksaal, in Vienna. The 18th-century state hall of the Austrian National Library is almost 80 metres long and holds about 200,000 books. Entry €12, free up to age 18, with an audioguide in Spanish. It is closed on Mondays from October to May, although in December 2026 it opens. You may photograph without artificial light or a tripod and for private use; backpacks go in the cloakroom.

Strahov Library, in Prague. The Theological and Philosophical Halls, with painted ceilings, are seen from the doorway, without going in. It opens from 9:00 to 17:00.

Klementinum, in Prague. The former Jesuit college is visited only with a guide, in groups of 25, in English or Czech: 380 CZK, or half that on the first tour of the morning. The Baroque library is seen from the threshold and the tower has 172 steps, with no lift. Buy online; tickets are not guaranteed to be left at the ticket office.

How to combine them without repeating

If you are only going to three cities, choose one bookshop, one hall and one guided visit. A combination that works: Bertrand and Lello, to see two bookshops with different stories; the Joanina, for the Portuguese Baroque hall; and the Prunksaal, which takes an hour and needs no booking. Prague lets you see two libraries in one morning: the Klementinum on the first tour, at 8:00, and Strahov, which opens at 9:00.

One rule applies to all: buy ahead when there is a fixed time (Lello, Joanina, Bodleian, Trinity and Klementinum) and check the day's opening hours, because they close for academic events. And do not count on photos: at Shakespeare and Company and on the main floor of the Joanina they are forbidden.