Brentano’s, The American Bookstore in Paris Filled With Wonders

A local’s guide to visiting Brentano’s on Avenue de l’Opéra; one of the most beautiful bookstores in Paris with a huge collection of trinkets and stationery!

As I roam the magnificent streets of Paris, I realize there are far more beautiful bookstores than I ever imagined.

Recently, I shared with you some of the city’s most famous names, like Assouline on Rue Bonaparte and Taschen on Rue de Buci.

Today, we leave the 6th Arrondissement and Saint-Germain-des-Prés behind to head toward Opéra and talk about Brentano’s.

Brentano’s, The American Bookstore in Paris Filled With Gifts

I had wanted to visit this American bookstore for a long time. It is one of the oldest in Paris, as the Parisian branch opened in 1895.

This marked the beginning of the Art Nouveau era in Paris, which lasted several decades until around the First World War.

And yet, if Brentano’s is a beautiful bookstore, it isn’t because it contains the curves and colors of Art Nouveau.

It is because of its history and its gargantuan collection of English books (like at Shakespeare and Company), of course, but also its gifts and stationery of all kinds.

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You can find Brentano’s easily in Paris; it is located on Avenue de l’Opéra, not far from the Cédric Grolet pastry shop with its famous trompe-l’œil cakes.

From the outside, it looks like a somewhat ordinary souvenir and book shop, far from the charm of old bookstores like Shakespeare and Company or Couleur du Temps in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

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Yet, Brentano’s is absolutely immense and feels like a New York bookstore that has been transported to the heart of Paris.

In fact, if Brentano’s focuses so much today on souvenirs and gifts to bring back from Paris, it is because the bookstore almost closed in 2009.

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It is a historic address, however, and in the 1920s, it was a vital hub for writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald or Ernest Hemingway, who would go there to check the sales of their books and buy American newspapers.

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That is no longer the case today, and now we find all sorts of books there, whether they are books about Paris – like Forever Paris by Marin Montagut, who has a boutique on Rue Madame in the 6th Arrondissement – or fiction and a lovely collection of children’s books.

I hope the images can show you much more than my words can describe; after all, they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

What I can tell you is that you will find an immense collection of frames, sculptures, American-style calendars, and hanging ornaments shaped like little fairies.

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There are also globes, small colorful hot-air balloons in the same style as those found at Stanfords in London, and all sorts of small trinkets you can use to decorate your home.

I particularly liked the collection of world maps and infographics.

If you are looking for souvenirs in Paris that aren’t too heavy or bulky to carry, there is also a large selection of postcards at Brentano’s.

All in all, it is one of the most beautiful shops in Paris – one of those curious stores where you don’t know what you’re going to find, but you know you’ll find it, and once it calls your name, you want it forever.

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Brentano’s Avenue de l’Opéra Paris Photo Gallery

Brentano’s, The American Bookstore in Paris Filled With Gifts

Once you have finished visiting or shopping at Brentano’s, you will find plenty of things to do in the vicinity.

For example, its location between the Opéra Garnier and the Comédie-Française means you can see nearby Place Vendôme.

There’s also the Japanese quarter on Rue Sainte-Anne, the Palais-Royal gardens with the Buren Columns, and of course, the Cédric Grolet bakery and Cédric et la Chocolaterie shop, where you can see a queue of people waiting to taste the best pastries in Paris at the moment.