Paris for Book Lovers — To Make Much of Time

We were surprised to find a tiny library holding with the works of the authors enshrined within the crypt below the Pantheon.

UPDATED: 2/5/2023

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France has long produced a steady stream of talented writers, thinkers, and philosophers and has served as a beacon luring expats to its literary center.

From the romance of Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers to Victor Hugo’s woeful, colorful characters of Les Miserables to France-at-war tales like Sabastien Japrisot’s A Very Long Engagement or Romain Gary’s The Kites to more stylistically unique works like Albert Camus’ existentialist novels and Alain Robbe-Grillet’s noveau roman novels in the 1960s, Paris has played a substantial role in the literary world. I have read more books that either take place in France or were written by authors heavily influenced by the French literary scene than I can easily cover in this blog. If you are looking for a list of French works that I have read and you might enjoy, you can check the complete list out here.

So, what are some top sites to visit in Paris for the French book lovers out there? You have come to the right place! Of all the places we visited in our week in Paris, we found a nice variety of sites that have close ties to the literary world.

If you want to make a day out of this book lover itinerary, you could visit all of these spots. The furthest afield is Père Lachaise Cemetery (about 3 miles from the others), but the rest are all within an easy walking distance of each other. If you wanted to visit them all, we would recommend starting with the cemetery in the morning on the right bank and then heading over to the left bank for the other sites. You could visit them in the order we have outlined below, about a 4.4 mile walk in total. (Scroll to the bottom of the blog for a map of the route.)

Here are our literary Paris picks:

Père Lachaise Cemetery - Tucked away in a corner of the city, this cemetery is filled with some of Paris’ most famous authors (and other important figures). You can visit the gravesites of Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, Marcel Proust, Honore de Balzac, Richard Wright, and others. Use this map of the cemetery to locate the graves. Read our more detailed blog on the cemetery here.

Notre-Dame - While closed as of this writing due to the fire that tore through the cathedral in April 2019, Notre-Dame was made famous in the world of literature by Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Tour the bell tower to visit the hunchback’s favorite haunt. You can read more of our visit to Notre-Dame on our blog here. While we did not have time to visit it, you can also tour Victor Hugo’s home in the beautiful Place des Vosges square where he resided for 16 years.

Pantheon - There are two reasons the Pantheon makes the cut as a recommendation for book lovers in Paris. First, the architecturally fascinating crypt houses the remains of Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and Emile Zola. For philosopher lovers, add into the mix Jean-Jacques Rosseau and Voltaire. Second, in the massive main level of the Panethon sits an adorable tiny library replete with book-filled shelves and chairs. The library houses the works of those buried within. You can read more about our visit to the Pantheon on our blog here.

Shakespeare & Company bookstore - The original Shakespeare & Company bookstore opened in 1919. Before it closed during German occupation of Paris during World War II, never to re-open, it was a haven for many writers in Paris, including Hemingway. In 1951, another American opened a new English-language bookshop, which he renamed Shakespeare & Company as a homage to the original shop. In addition to being a bookshop, it is also hospitable to traveling writers and has a program where they can stay and work in the shop, which is a really cool idea.

The bookstore has two parts to it - to the left of the main entrance is a baby version of the store that houses antique books and is packed to the gills with books in a small, square room that you enter directly into. The main entrance to the rest of the shop is a portal into a magical place for anyone who loves books and book shops. The shop is a rabbit’s warren of spaces spread over two floors with books - new, used, common, and uncommon - anywhere and everywhere. Scattered throughout and adding to the fanciful nature of the space are specimens of a home - a sink in the middle of the store, a loft with an old desk perched in it. Throughout the shop were signs asking that visitors please respect other guests and not take any photos. We respected that, so if you want to see any images of what I’m describing, you can look on their website here.

Street vendor bookshops - Scattered throughout the core of the city, predominantly along the streets flanking the Seine are endless stalls of books being sold by different vendors. Most of the books looked to be old and used and a completely random variety. I have never seen a city that puts books so front and center. On one park bench, we even found a stack of books with a note that they were free for the taking.

Wander the streets in Saint-Germain-des-Prés - This left bank neighborhood was at the heart of the 20th century intellectual and literary scene in Paris - people such as Ernest Hemingway, Jean-Paul Sartre, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and James Joyce. There are three well-known cafes where many of those individuals wrote and socialized. While we did not make it to any of them ourselves, you can check out Les Deux Magots , Brasserie Lipp , and Cafe de Flore .

Dine at Le Procope - Located in the heart of charming Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the restaurant has the amazing belle epoque atmosphere for which Paris is known. Le Procope bills itself as the oldest restaurant in the city, dating to 1686. This is true if you exclude the 50 years or so it shuttered its doors before reopening in the 1920s. Le Procope isn’t only known for its age but for its famous diners throughout history. Known as a spot for intellectuals to gather, it was frequented by people such as Rousseau, Voltaire, visited by Americans in Paris such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. This was easily our best meal in Paris. Dustin and I both ordered the sole meunière. For dessert, we split a crêpe flambé with Grand Marnier.

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