From a 700-year-old church to a floating gondola in Venice, these are some of the most offbeat bookstores we've seen. In the second of our two-part series, we take you around the world through the most unconventional spaces selling books.

1200 Bookshop, Guangzhou

 

 

 

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Shop by the day and stay overnight to hang with your friends or attend a seminar, all in the company of books at Guangzhou’s 1200 Bookshop. With a bar, a kitchen and plenty couches to read on, this one stays open 24 hours, and free is entirely free if you just leave a mail in advance!

Selexyz Dominicanen, Maastricht

 

 

 

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A post shared by ❤ï¸ÂBy Evelyne (@evelyneverpaalen) on Jun 25, 2020 at 9:57am PDT

Save your Sunday service attendance for your nearest church, but visit this 700-year-old church in Maastricht, Netherlands - to buy books! What was once a church that was later shut down by Napoleon Bonaparte, has now become a bookshop. Its vaulted arches and beautiful frescos make it a grandiose setting to browse, read, and buy books.

Libreria Alta Acqua ("Library of High Water"), Venice

 

 

 

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A post shared by Racconto il mio Veneto (@raccontoilmioveneto) on Jun 27, 2020 at 10:25pm PDT

When in Venice do it like the Venetians and buy books from Libreria Alta Aqua, which sells books on tubs, canoes, gondolas and tanks. True to the adage, ‘necessity is the father of invention’, this store’s books lie in a quirky jumble on floating vessels to withstand the frequent flooding of the city.

Honesty Bookshop, Hay-on-Wye

 

 

 

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As the name suggests, it’s all about honesty here because this bookstore neither has a till nor a bookkeeper. Tucked in the quaint Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye, this charming space only asks a pound for hardcovers and 50p for paperbacks.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Beunos Aires

 

 

 

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What was meant to be a grand theatre is now an opulent space selling books. Often dubbed as ‘the world’s most beautiful bookstore’, El Ateneo Grand Splendid, located in the fashionable Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, is a palatial temple of books housed inside a majestic theatre which is more than a century old.

Walking Bookfairs, India

 

 

 

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A post shared by Walking BookFairs (@walkingbookfairs) on Dec 27, 2019 at 3:03am PST

This bookshop is our desi favourite! It travels around the country on a van, hosting storytelling and poetry sessions and spreading the love for books. They also have a standing bookshop in Bhubaneswar.

 12 Quirky Bookstores Around The World Part 1