A local’s unique coffee and books itinerary in London, including coffee shops and bakeries, secret bookshop cafes, second hand markets and charity shops!
Coffee and books are two things I love very much – apparently, that is the case for many Londoners, who love visiting instagrammable, vintage, or themed cafes.
Since I have already crafted several quirky itineraries in London for you, I thought I would complete it today with an entire coffee and books itinerary.
If you want to complete this itinerary or add other secret spots to your bucket list, you will also find many hidden gem guides on The Working Line.
For example, you can follow a fashion itinerary, a chocolate itinerary, discover Shakespeare, Paddington or Harry Potter locations, or even follow an itinerary of the historic City of London.
The Ultimate Coffee and Books Itinerary in London
Today, we will focus on a London coffee and books itinerary, entirely crafted to include some bookish locations like the Romeo and Juliet mural, as well as charity bookshops and a few places to buy or drink excellent coffee in London.
We will start our itinerary at Redchurch Street, in Shoreditch in East London, to move toward Southbank and the Thames river, and finish at Piccadilly, near Oxford Street and Regent Street.
There is a lot to see in London, and these few places entirely dedicated to coffee and books should please you if you love books and little cafes as much as I do!
Coffee and Books Itinerary in London: Jolene, Redchurch Street
We’re starting our coffee and books itinerary in the heart of Shoreditch at Jolene on Redchurch Street.
It’s a gorgeous little spot with a vintage storefront where the menu is still handwritten on a chalkboard every morning.
You can kick things off with an excellent coffee ground on-site daily, before heading over to our next stop, Paper & Cup, which is just a few minutes’ walk away.
If you want to add a few different stops to your route, you could head toward Chance Street to see even more street art than what you’ll find on Redchurch Street.
There’s also Boxpark Shoreditch with its unique shops, or Aida Shoreditch, a rustic concept store that serves up some really interesting drinks, including beautiful colorful lattes.
Address: 67 Redchurch St, London E2 7DJ
Website: Jolene Bakery
Coffee and Books Itinerary in London: Paper & Cup, Shoreditch
After Jolene, we can head over to Calvert Avenue, also in the heart of Shoreditch, to a bookshop cafe and charity shop operated by the Spitalfields Crypt Trust, which has another charity shop in Bethnal Green about a 15-minute walk away.
Paper & Cup is a place where you truly feel good, with its vintage sky-blue storefront, and it supports people recovering from addiction and homelessness.
It is a wonderful spot where, once you’ve finished enjoying a croissant or browsing the clothes, you can treat yourself to affordable second-hand books while doing a good deed.
Address: 18 Calvert Ave, London E2 7JP
Website: SCT
Coffee and Books Itinerary in London: Close-Up Cinema, Sclater Street
After visiting Paper & Cup, I suggest another very interesting spot that you could also add to a movie itinerary; Close Up Cinema on Sclater Street, right near Brick Lane.
You could also go there before Paper & Cup, since it is very close to Jolene as well.
Close Up Cinema is an independent film center that offers 35mm screenings of cinema classics, featuring a library of over 20,000 titles and a small cafe inside.
Almost right across from the cinema, you’ll also find one of London’s most secret street art spots.
Head inside the Sclater Street Car Park, and you’ll find a wall covered in photos, dolls, and all sorts of objects glued there for no apparent reason.
Address: 97 Sclater St, London E1 6HR
Website: Close Up Film Centre
Coffee and Books Itinerary in London: Romeo and Juliet Mural, Shoreditch
After Sclater Street and its secret bookshop cafe cinema, let’s head toward the Romeo and Juliet mural, which is also in Shoreditch, specifically on New Inn Broadway.
I’ve already told you all about this secret mural – it’s one of London’s key Shakespeare spots, as this site was once “The Theatre,” where Shakespeare acted and his plays were staged before the Globe was built.
In addition to the Romeo and Juliet mural, which features excerpts from the play, you’ll find a statue of Shakespeare, and New Inn Yard right behind it also offers some magnificent, colorful street art.
Address: New Inn Broadway, London EC2A 3EA
Review: How to Visit London’s Romeo and Juliet Mural in Shoreditch
Coffee and Books Itinerary in London: Book Market, Southbank
We are now leaving East London to head toward the Southbank, specifically to the second-hand book market under Waterloo Bridge.
This iconic London market is one of the only outdoor markets that runs every single day, whether it is sunny or raining in London.
You can find pretty much anything there, from children’s books to 1950s Penguin books – I have even found some Roald Dahl and Harry Potter books there!
In addition, this area offers many landmarks; the BFI Southbank (a free cinema-themed library), as well as the London Eye further up, London Bridge further down, and a beautiful view of London.
Address: Waterloo Brg, London SE1 8TX
Website: Southbank Centre
Coffee and Books Itinerary in London: Alice Through the Looking Glass, Cecil Court
Once you have finished at Southbank, you can take a leisurely stroll to Trafalgar Square, crossing from Southbank over to The Strand.
By the way, there are a few interesting things to see along The Strand, like the sculpted busts of women on Milford Lane or the massive Superdrug makeup store.
Next, we will head toward Leicester Square, where you will find the secret alley Cecil Court tucked between Leicester Square and Covent Garden.
There, you will find Alice Through the Looking Glass, a shop and bookstore dedicated to Alice in Wonderland that reveals a small secret museum at the back.
Cecil Court is a dream for bow-fronted shopfronts and rare books – so why not pair literature and fantasy by stopping by this little bookshop?
Address: 14 Cecil Ct, London WC2N 4HE
Website: Alice Looking
Coffee and Books Itinerary in London: Algerian Coffee Stores, Soho
Near Cecil Court is the Soho neighborhood, where you can find plenty of shops, food and dessert spots, and beautiful little streets.
On Old Compton Street, one of the liveliest streets in Soho, you will find Algerian Coffee Stores, a historic indie shop specializing in coffee.
It is a true Soho landmark, and even though you cannot sit down there, people visit to treat themselves to one of the 80 types of coffee or 120 types of tea.
It is a genuine vintage shop with intense aromas, just a stone’s throw from Chinatown in one of London’s historic districts, which offers all sorts of incredible stores, from streetwear to old record shops.
Address: 52 Old Compton St, London W1D 4QE
Website: Algerian Coffee Stores
Coffee and Books Itinerary in London: Maison Assouline, Piccadilly
Maison Assouline in Piccadilly… I have told you so much about it!
It is one of the most beautiful bookshops in London, along with Daunt Books in Marylebone and Stanfords in Covent Garden which I also love, and Hatchards right next door to Maison Assouline.
As soon as you walk through the doors of Maison Assouline, which also has two flagships called Assouline in Paris in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, you can feel the luxury radiating from the pages of their coffee table books.
It is located near the Fortnum & Mason department store in a magnificent Grade II listed building from 1922, inside a former bank where you can buy bespoke library furniture and $1,000+ “Ultimate Collection” books.
Address: 196A Piccadilly, London W1J 9EY
Website: Assouline
The Ultimate Coffee and Books Itinerary in London
As I mentioned at the start of this unique itinerary we’ve just followed through the heart of London, coffee and books can take you through historic neighborhoods and storefronts that feel like a film set.
London, like Paris, is definitely a literary city, and there are so many beautiful bookshops that even a lifetime wouldn’t be enough to truly enjoy the beauty of their collections.
From historical indie shops to secret cafes in London, I hope this guide will be your perfectly caffeinated literary escape in one of the most interesting cities in the world!