Barcelona for Book Lovers: A Quiet Reading Route
- Hostal Girona
- Jan 10
- 5 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
Travel can take many forms. Sometimes it means slowing down enough to notice how a city lives from day to day: stepping into places shaped by routine rather than spectacle, sitting with a book, observing, letting time stretch.
Hostal Girona is designed for this way of travelling. For guests who value the quality of time over the number of sights. For those who want to experience everyday Barcelona, its quieter rhythms, familiar streets, and the spaces between moments.
Just a short walk from the hostal, you will find bookshops and libraries created for unhurried time. These are places where it feels natural to stay longer than planned: to read, to work, or simply to be present. Their calm pace and careful use of space reflect the character of the city with particular clarity.
Below is a small selection of places to read and linger, most within walking distance, a few just beyond.
Librery Arús, A Journey Through Time
4-minute walk | Passeig de Sant Joan, 26
Founded in 1895, Biblioteca Arús feels closer to a historical film set than to a conventional public library. A grand staircase, gas-style lamps, and a replica of the Statue of Liberty at the entrance create an atmosphere where the past remains vividly present.
The library holds one of Europe’s most important Sherlock Holmes collections. While it primarily serves researchers, guided visits offer a rare glimpse into this remarkable space.
Norma Comics, A Pop Culture Stop for Book Lovers in Barcelona
6-minute walk | Passeig de Sant Joan, 9
A few steps away, the mood shifts. Winner of the Eisner Award for the world’s best comic shop, Norma Comics unfolds across two lively floors filled with colour, imagination, and visual energy.
The atmosphere alone makes it worth visiting: life-size character statues, a carefully designed interior, and one of the city’s strongest science-fiction sections.
Ona Llibres, Contemporary Catalan Culture
6-minute walk | Carrer de Pau Claris, 94
One of Barcelona’s most visually striking bookshops, Ona Llibres is dedicated to Catalan language and culture. Suspended book installations, bold colour, and generous open space give the shop the feel of a cultural venue as much as a bookstore.
Its architecture and design offer a clear glimpse into the city’s contemporary cultural identity.
Altaïr, A Home for Travellers
8-minute walk | Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 616
Altaïr is the largest travel bookshop in Europe. Maps, globes, and guidebooks fill the space, creating the sense that the world has been carefully gathered into one place.
A small noticeboard where locals still look for travel companions adds a quiet, human touch, a reminder of travel before algorithms.
Llibreria Finestres, A Space for Silence
10-minute walk | Carrer de la Diputació, 249
Finestres is designed as much for reading as for browsing. With its refined interior and dedicated reading areas, it feels closer to a private library than a retail space.
The English-language selection is particularly strong. Choose a book, settle into an armchair, and let the city fade into the background.
Laie Llibreria Café, Coffee and Pages
6-minute walk | Carrer de Pau Claris, 85
A favourite among local writers and editors, Laie combines a well-curated bookshop with a hidden restaurant and terrace upstairs.
Its covered terrace is one of the most peaceful places in Eixample to enjoy a café con leche and write a few lines in a notebook.
Dipòsit de les Aigües, The Water Cathedral
15-minute walk | Carrer de Ramon Trias Fargas, 25
Originally built in the 1870s as a water reservoir for Ciutadella Park, this monumental space
was designed by architect Josep Fontserè, with structural calculations carried out by a young Antoni Gaudí.
Today it serves as the main library of Pompeu Fabra University. Beneath fourteen-metre-high brick arches, reading becomes a nearly meditative experience. Even a brief visit leaves a lasting impression.
Espai Quera, Where Books and Taste Meet
15-minute walk | Carrer de Petritxol, 2
On Carrer de Petritxol, a street long associated with chocolate and cafés, Espai Quera blends two Barcelona traditions: books and conversation. Founded in 1916 as a bookshop specialising in theatre and performance, it has been carefully reimagined as a cultural tasting space.
Here, shelves of books coexist with wine, cheese, and small plates. Browsing and sitting blend naturally, and reading becomes a shared, sensory experience — part literary, part social, entirely unhurried.
Llibreria Sant Jordi, A Bookshop with a Civic Spirit
Founded in the early 20th century, Llibreria Sant Jordi has long been associated with Barcelona’s intellectual and civic life. Located on Carrer de Ferran, one of the Old City’s historic arteries, it remains a place where books are treated as part of public conversation rather than private consumption.
The shop specialises in literature, history, and political thought, with a strong focus on Catalan culture. Its atmosphere is serious but welcoming — a space for attentive browsing, quiet discussion, and ideas meant to be carried beyond the page.
Biblioteca de Catalunya, Reading Beneath Stone Arches
20-minute walk / Metro Liceu | Carrer de l’Hospital, 56
Hidden within the former Hospital of the Holy Cross, a 15th-century Gothic complex, the Biblioteca de Catalunya is one of the most atmospheric reading spaces in the city. Its main reading rooms unfold beneath stone arches and vaulted ceilings, where daylight enters softly through high windows.
Beyond books and manuscripts, the library holds significant collections of graphic materials and photography, reflecting Barcelona’s cultural and visual history. Despite its scale and importance, the space remains calm and inward-looking. The surrounding courtyard garden offers a quiet pause from the nearby streets of El Raval, making it an ideal place to slow down and spend time with a text rather than simply pass through.
Gigamesh, A Landmark of Imagination
20-minute walk / Metro Universitat | Carrer de Bailèn, 8
Founded in 1974, Gigamesh is a reference point for science fiction and fantasy readers in Barcelona. More than a bookshop, it is a community space, a publisher, and a meeting place for readers and writers alike.
Tall shelves, narrow aisles, and deeply knowledgeable staff give the store the atmosphere of a true independent bookshop — shaped by passion rather than trends.
Mercat de Sant Antoni, A Sunday Ritual
20-minute metro / Metro Sant Antoni | Carrer del Comte d'Urgell, 1
On Sunday mornings, the perimeter of the historic Mercat de Sant Antoni fills with stalls selling second-hand books, vintage comics, magazines, and old prints. Locals arrive early, carrying lists or simply curiosity, and spend hours browsing and talking with sellers.
It is not a market designed for quick purchases. Time stretches here, shaped by conversation and discovery. For book lovers, it offers a glimpse into Barcelona’s quieter, habitual relationship with reading - unpolished, personal, and deeply rooted.
La Diada de Sant Jordi, When the City Becomes a Bookshop
If you happen to be in Barcelona on April 23rd, the city reveals a different rhythm. La Diada de Sant Jordi is one of its most cherished traditions: a day when books and roses are exchanged, and literature moves out into the streets.
Bookstalls line sidewalks and plazas, authors sign copies in the open air, and familiar routes become places to pause and browse. Even those who do not plan to buy a book find themselves lingering. It is a day when reading becomes part of the city’s everyday life, shared and visible.
Closing
After hours spent among books and quiet spaces, it is a pleasure to know that home is only a short walk away.
At Hostal Girona, we believe that Barcelona reveals itself best at an unhurried pace. If you are travelling for stories, ideas, and moments of stillness, this city, and this route, will meet you halfway.
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