Shakespeare & Company, Paris — Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Shakespeare & Company is an English-language bookshop on the Left Bank of the Seine, across from Notre-Dame Cathedral. It has been a gathering place for writers, readers, and wanderers since 1951. The shop was opened by George Whitman, an American who had come to Paris after the war. He named it after the famous original Shakespeare and Company, the bookshop run by Sylvia Beach that published the first edition of James Joyce's "Ulysses" in 1922. Beach's shop closed during the German occupation of Paris, and Whitman carried the name forward with her blessing. Whitman created a tradition he called the "Tumbleweeds": aspiring writers could stay in the shop for free, sleeping among the bookshelves, in exchange for working a shift and reading a book a day. Over the decades, more than 30,000 people have taken him up on the offer. The shop's guest list reads like a literary hall of fame. Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Anais Nin, and Henry Miller all passed through. Ethan Hawke slept here before he was famous. Today, the shop is run by George's daughter, Sylvia Whitman. It hosts readings, literary festivals, and a small cafe next door. The cramped, book-stacked rooms feel like stepping into another era. If you're on a Questo quest along the Left Bank, Shakespeare & Company is a stop where the spirit of literary Paris is alive and well, tucked between the spines of 30,000 books.