This is a post about the best bookshops in Berlin.
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Why Berlin Has the Best Bookshops in Europe (In My Completely Unbiased Opinion)
Berlin is possibly the coolest city in Germany and one of my favourites in the world. It has been divided, reunified, bombed, rebuilt and reinvented so many times that it has developed a kind of permanent tolerance for contradiction and for the people who don’t quite fit anywhere else. Artists, immigrants, queers, intellectuals, dropouts and dreamers have been washing up here for decades and the city tends to absorb them all.
You feel this in the food, in the nightlife, in the neighbourhoods. And you feel it, perhaps most clearly of all, in the bookshops.
The best bookshops in Berlin are the kind that stock something very specific, very personal. There’s a bookshop for occultists and one for sci-fi nerds and feminist ones. A Brazilian bookshop with 40 types of cachaça. A bookshop organised not by genre but by theme, so a political essay might sit next to a 19th-century novel because someone decided they belonged together.
This also makes Berlin one of the best cities in Europe for English bookshops specifically. The large international community means there’s a genuine market for English-language books. Secondhand options keep prices far more reasonable than you’d find buying imported books new.
I’ve spent a lot of time in Berlin bookshops. Some I visited myself, some were recommended by friends and a few are on my list for next time. I’ve let you know about which is which. Either way, in this post I’ve brought them all together. Here are 25 of the best bookshops in Berlin, organised by neighbourhood so you can build your own literary crawl.
Whether you’re a visitor or a Berliner, there’s something here for you.
Quick Guide: Bookshops in Berlin
| Best English bookshops in Berlin | Saint George’s, Shakespeare & Sons, Another Country, Chapters |
| Best English secondhand | Saint George’s, Another Country, Berliner Büchertisch, Ivallan’s |
| Best with a café | Shakespeare & Sons, She Said, Die Gute Seite |
| Best niche/specialist | Zabriskie, Otherland, Mondlicht, Bildband, Motto Berlin |
| Best for feminist/queer lit | She Said, Die Buchkönigin, Hopscotch Reading Room |
| Biggest and most comprehensive | Dussmann (open until midnight) |
| Most uniquely Berlin | MOst Books, A Livraria/Mondolibro, Chapters |
| Tip | Many smaller Berlin bookshops are cash only (like many German businesses!) so always carry euros |
| Getting around | Berlin’s U-Bahn and S-Bahn connect all neighbourhoods easily; a day bookshop-hopping by public transport is very doable |
READ MORE: Essential Berlin City Guide for First Time Visitors: All You Need to Know
Bookshops in Berlin by Neighbourhood
Friedrichshain
Shakespeare & Sons ☕
This is possibly one of the most popular bookshops in Berlin! Shakespeare & Sons on Warschauerstrasse is half bookshop, half café, the kind of place where you arrive meaning to browse for twenty minutes and leave two hours later with three books and a very good bagel.
The English-language selection is one of the best in the city, spanning indie publishers, translated fiction and timeless classics. The Fine Bagel Bakery inside does proper water-boiled bagels, which you can eat at the wooden tables while you decide whether you actually need that fourth book (you probably do).
It’s especially good if you’re an expat or long-term visitor who has run out of reading material. The selection feels truly curated rather than just “books in English” and they also buy used books if you want to trade in what you’ve already read.
Address: Warschauer Str. 74, Friedrichshain Nearest transport: Warschauer Strasse (U1/U3/S-Bahn/M10)
MOst Books
MOst Books is tucked in Friedrichshain just by the Landsberger Allee tram stop and its bookish aesthetic is unmatched.
I went in on a solo wander and ended up having a full conversation in German because the owner didn’t speak English. That may not mean anything to you but to me… I’ve been trying to learn German for about 20 years! Lately, just with Duolingo and I was impressed with how many words I remembered because of the app! What was slightly less good was discovering at the till that they were cash only, which meant I had to leave empty-handed because I was carrying nothing but cards.
This is actually a very Berlin thing to encounter. A lot of smaller independent shops in the city still don’t take cards (in Germany in general! Big cities or not), so if you’re planning a proper bookshop day, carry cash.
It had books in various languages and a whole wall of the most beautiful Persian books and the gentleman who owns it was so lovely.
Worth checking whether they now take cards before you go though as it may well have changed.
Address: Near Landsberger Allee tram stop, Friedrichshain Nearest transport: Landsberger Allee (tram M5/M6/M8)
Mitte
Dussmann das KulturKaufhaus
Dussmann is not a cosy independent, it’s more of a cultural department store, five floors of books, CDs, DVDs and sheet music, with a dedicated English bookshop on the ground floor, if I remember correctly, that’s actually quite well stocked. My friend recommended I go because it was massive. And she was right.
It doesn’t have the personality of the smaller shops on this list, but it has breadth. If you’re looking for a specific title and want to find it in Berlin today rather than ordering it, Dussmann is possibly your best bet. It’s also open until midnight, which makes it the only bookshop in the city where you can have a late-night reading crisis and actually do something about it. Closed on Sundays. It’s still Germany!
They also hold cultural events!
Address: Friedrichstraße 90, Mitte Nearest transport: Friedrichstraße (S-Bahn/U6) Hours: Mon–Sat until midnight
Do You Read Me?!
I love the name! Do You Read Me?! is primarily a magazine shop, carrying independent and international publications from across the world in a beautifully designed space in the heart of Mitte’s gallery district. If you’re into design, photography, culture or just the tactile pleasure of a well-made printed object, this is the place. The English-language selection is solid. I didn’t go in on my last visits but it’s one of those shopfronts that makes you stop and look through the window for longer than you planned.
Address: Auguststraße 28, Mitte Nearest transport: Rosenthaler Platz (U8)
about_bookshop
A quietly charming literary bookshop in Mitte with a beautiful oak-panelled interior; the antithesis of a big-box shop. Strong on contemporary fiction, philosophy and culture, with a decent English section and the kind of curation that tells you the people behind it actually read.
Address: Alte Schönhauser Str. 23/24, Mitte Nearest transport: Weinmeisterstraße (U8)
Prenzlauer Berg
Saint George’s English Bookshop
Saint George’s is the one every English-speaking Berliner mentions first. It’s been around since 2003, crammed with 30,000 mostly secondhand books in English and has the kind of slightly chaotic floor-to-ceiling organisation that makes browsing feel like actual treasure hunting (I must confess, I LOVE the look but feel too overwhelmed to browse). The selection is particularly strong on contemporary fiction, German literature in translation and Berlin-specific titles.
Prices are low because most stock is secondhand and if you bought a book here they’ll buy it back at half price. They also receive regular shipments from the UK, so the new arrivals are genuinely new.
I haven’t been yet, it’s firmly on my list for next time! But Saint George’s has a near-perfect reputation among Berlin’s expat community and I’ve never heard anything other than good things.
Address: Wörther Str. 27, Prenzlauer Berg Nearest transport: Senefelderplatz (U2)
Love Story of Berlin
A smaller English-language shop in Prenzlauer Berg, part of the local BUCHBOX! chain but with its own identity. Particularly good for current bestsellers and has a strong section on feminism and gender. Worth a stop if you’re already in Prenzlauer Berg visiting Saint George’s or Bildband.
Address: Kastanienallee 88, Prenzlauer Berg Nearest transport: Eberswalder Straße (U2)
A Livraria / Mondolibro ☕
My Brazilian friend who lives in Berlin told me about it and I’ve been planning a visit ever since but it earns its place on this list because it sounds like one of the most specific and wonderful bookshops in Europe.
A Livraria (Portuguese for “the bookshop”) is a Brazilian-Portuguese-Italian cultural space on Torstraße. It sells books in Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, German and English. It’s got a Brazilian market and over 40 types of cachaça! And on the first Friday of every month, there’s a live Roda de Choro, a traditional Brazilian music session.
As a Brazilian living abroad, finding a place like this is a bit like a warm hug (especially when homesick!). Even if you’re not Brazilian, it’s the kind of shop that only exists in a city where many worlds overlap like the wonderful Berlin. Go on a first Friday if you can.
Address: Torstraße 159, Mitte/Prenzlauer Berg border Nearest transport: Rosenthaler Platz (U8)
Bildband
For photography lovers: Bildband is a small, dedicated photography bookshop in Prenzlauer Berg that has been building a reputation since 2015. The team of four stocks everything from major publishing houses to self-published work by local Berlin photographers, and they host regular talks, launches and exhibitions.
It’s not quite a browsing-for-the-sake-of-it shop (although no one would stop you!), it’s for people who care about photography books specifically. If that’s you, you’ll be very happy here.
Address: Immanuelkirchstraße 33, Prenzlauer Berg Nearest transport: Prenzlauer Allee (tram M2/M4)
Minoa ☕
A recommendation from a fellow bookstagrammer that went straight onto my list: Minoa is a café and bookshop on Rykestraße in Prenzlauer Berg that opened in 2024 as the first international outpost of an Istanbul-based bookshop with three locations in Turkey. The concept is a cultural bridge: books in English, Turkish and German, with a collection built around global perspectives and literature that travels across borders.
The café serves a seasonal bistro menu (think Mediterranean-leaning, proper food rather than just coffee and cake) and it’s open every day until 10pm, which makes it one of the later-opening bookshop cafés in the city. One thing worth knowing: it goes laptop-free at weekends, which keeps the vibe bookshop rather than co-working space.
For readers interested in Turkish literature, this is the place to look.
Address: Rykestraße 52, Prenzlauer Berg Nearest transport: Senefelderplatz (U2) Hours: Mon–Sun 9am–10pm (laptop-free at weekends)
READ MORE: 30+ Best Travel Books: Inspiring Reads by Women and World Travellers
Kreuzberg
Zabriskie
Zabriskie is in the cool neighbourhood of Kreuzberg. The name comes from the spot in Death Valley where Michel Foucault once dropped acid, which is a fairly accurate signal of what you’ll find inside.
The selection covers counterculture, occult, magic and folklore, speculative and surreal fiction, ecology and nature writing, psychogeography, utopian ideas, underground music and what they describe as “drugs and higher states of consciousness.” Both German and English. It reads like a private library built by two very well-read people who wanted to share what they found, because that’s pretty much what it is.
There’s also a travel section with books about walking, wandering and place which felt appropriate for where I found it. If you love the witchy London shops or Mondlicht below, Zabriskie is the more literary counterpart: less crystal healing, more Borges and Solnit and the collected writings of people who went slightly feral in interesting ways.
Address: Reichenberger Str. 150, Kreuzberg Nearest transport: Görlitzer Bahnhof (U1)
Another Country
Another Country is a Kreuzberg institution! A secondhand English bookshop that is, by all accounts, borderline chaotic in the best possible way. The original owner was a British expat called Sophie Raphaeline who is much missed by the Berlin literary community and the shop has kept her spirit: events, quiz nights, film screenings and writing workshops happen regularly.
The secondhand stock is large, the prices are low and there’s a generous returns policy: any book can be brought back for a refund, minus €1.50. For budget book shoppers in a city where English-language books are not cheap, this is a very significant fact.
Address: Riemannstr. 7, Kreuzberg Nearest transport: Südstern (U7)
The Curious Fox
The Curious Fox moved from Neukölln to Kreuzberg and built a following in both neighbourhoods. Run by friendly Irish owners with a philosophy that’s hard to argue with (“if you can spell it, we can order it”), it covers fiction, poetry, new and secondhand, graphic novels, a strong LGBTQ+ section and a kids’ corner. Regular quiz nights and readings make it as much a community space as a bookshop.
Address: Kreuzberg (check current address on their website before visiting) Nearest transport: Kottbusser Tor (U1/U8)
Berliner Büchertisch
Berliner Büchertisch barely appears on most bookshop lists, so I’m including it. It’s a secondhand shop in Kreuzberg carrying used books in English, French and Spanish alongside German and the prices are among the lowest you’ll find anywhere in Berlin, with English titles reportedly going for €2–5.
For travellers who read fast or expats who’ve burned through their reading material, this is the kind of place you want to know about. Books are expensive in Europe, and English books are especially expensive in Germany because they’re imported. A shop where you can actually browse without wincing is worth noting.
Address: Gneisenaustraße 7a, Kreuzberg Nearest transport: Mehringdamm (U6/U7)
Ivallan’s Second-Hand & Exceptional Books
Ivallan’s is English secondhand with a twist: the owner organises the shelves by personalised themes rather than author or genre and positions himself as a literary matchmaker; someone who helps you find what you didn’t know you were looking for.
It may sound like a gimmick to some until you’re actually in the shop and realise you’ve been standing in one spot for twenty minutes because the thematic arrangement has pulled you into three unexpected rabbit holes. Open Tuesday to Saturday.
Address: Schönleinstraße 32, Kreuzberg Nearest transport: Schönleinstraße (U8)
Mondlicht ☕
Mondlicht is Kreuzberg’s witchy bookshop; spiritual, esoteric, tarot-stocked and staffed by people who actually know what they’re talking about. They’re also super friendly! A lady helped me pick my gorgeous malachite pendant.
You can find Buddhist introductions, yoga equipment and tarot cards alongside books on every flavour of spirituality and they host readings and consultations in a small separate room.
If you’re visiting Berlin as part of a wider interest in Europe’s witchy spots (and if you’ve read my posts on witchy places in the UK and witchy shops in London you might well be!), Mondlicht fits naturally into that trail. It’s warmer and more accessible than the counterculture occult of Zabriskie; think less Foucault-dropping-acid and more candlelit spiritual sanctuary.
Address: Oranienstr. 14, Kreuzberg Nearest transport: Moritzplatz (U8)
Otherland
Otherland is Berlin’s home for science fiction, fantasy and horror (in German and English!) and reportedly has the best and biggest modern horror section of any bookshop in the EU or UK, which is a bold claim that people seem to repeat with confidence.
The English section takes up the entire back wall, roughly 40% of the total stock. Staff are knowledgeable and will make recommendations based on your interests. There’s also an RPG section, which sealed the deal for a certain kind of reader. Saturdays are livelier if that’s your vibe.
Address: Bergmannstraße 25, Kreuzberg Nearest transport: Mehringdamm (U6/U7)
Motto Berlin
Motto started as a distribution company supplying over 100 stores worldwide with independent publications and the Berlin shop is an extension of that world. Photography books, artists’ publications and art titles in small editions that you probably won’t find elsewhere.
It’s the kind of place where you can spend 40€ on a book you didn’t know existed an hour ago and feel entirely at peace with that decision. Good for a browse at the end of a Kreuzberg afternoon.
Address: Skalitzer Str. 68, Kreuzberg Nearest transport: Görlitzer Bahnhof (U1)
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Neukölln
She Said ☕
She Said is a feminist and queer bookshop and café on Kottbusser Damm that opened in 2020 and immediately had queues out the door. The founder, Emilia von Senger, describes it as a “Frauenbuchhandlung 2.0”: a reimagining of the feminist bookshops of the 1970s and 80s, more inclusive, more international and more intersectional.
Every book in the shop is by a female, queer or non-binary author, covering novels, non-fiction, children’s books, coffee table books and zines. The café serves homemade food and is a great reason to linger. It is, by multiple accounts, exactly the kind of bookshop that was missing from Berlin.
Address: Kottbusser Damm 79, Neukölln Nearest transport: Kottbusser Tor (U1/U8)
Die Buchkönigin
Around the corner from She Said in Reuterkiez, Die Buchkönigin has been running since 2010 and was taken over in 2023 by two women who didn’t want to see it close. The focus is on independent, left-wing, queer feminist, intersectional and postcolonial literature. A slightly different angle to She Said, worth visiting as a pair if this kind of curation speaks to you.
Address: Near Weserstraße, Neukölln Nearest transport: Rathaus Neukölln (U7)
Berlin Book Nook
A small English-language secondhand shop in Neukölln with around 4,000 titles: fiction, non-fiction, travel, history, the works. Well-curated and reasonably priced. A good stop for any English reader spending an afternoon in Neukölln.
Address: Pflügerstr. 63, Neukölln Nearest transport: Boddinstraße (U8)
Die Gute Seite ☕
Die Gute Seite is primarily a German-language bookshop but it has a café called Miss Poppins, it’s on the lovely Richardplatz in Rixdorf (one of the nicest corners of Neukölln) and it’s the kind of neighbourhood bookshop that makes you want to live nearby.
If you read German or you’re learning, this is a great place to browse. If you don’t, go for the café and the bookish vibe. Rixdorf is worth a wander anyway and Die Gute Seite is a lovely reason to stop.
Address: Richardplatz 16, Rixdorf, Neukölln Nearest transport: Karl-Marx-Straße (U7)
Moabit
Chapters
Chapters is one of the newer entries on this list. It opened in Moabit a couple of years ago and has quickly become beloved. It’s entirely English-language, curated by former publisher and literary agent Sharmaine Lovegrove and organised not by genre but by theme: sections with names like “Lives & Times” or “Power & Resistance” put books in conversation with each other rather than filing them alphabetically.
The result is that browsing takes longer than in a normal bookshop, because you keep making unexpected connections. It hosts regular events such as quiet communal reading hours, book clubs, author conversations and feels like a community-shaped space rather than a retail shop that also holds events.
Address: Wilsnacker Str. 60, Moabit Nearest transport: Turmstraße (U9)
Charlottenburg
Bücherbogen am Savignyplatz
Bücherbogen is built into the S-Bahn railway arches at Savignyplatz (already a remarkable location) and has been there since 1980. It specialises in art, architecture, photography, design and film, with nearly a third of its stock in English.
The setting alone is worth the trip: brick vaulted ceilings, the distant rumble of trains overhead and very good books on visual culture. A particular favourite of Berlin’s creative community and it shows in who you find browsing on a Saturday afternoon.
Address: Stadtbahnbogen 593, Charlottenburg Nearest transport: Savignyplatz (S-Bahn)
Schöneberg
Hopscotch Reading Room
Hopscotch is temporarily closed as a permanent space but they started doing pop-up events around the city. Follow them on Instagram to find out when and where the next one is.
When open, it’s a truly important space: focused on non-western and diasporic perspectives, with shelves of novels, poetry, theory and history with a particular emphasis on anti-colonial literature. Not always easy reading, but consistently interesting and consistently underrepresented in most bookshops.
Instagram: @hopscotchreadingroom When open: Kurfürstenstr. 14/Haus B, Schöneberg
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Practical Tips for Bookshop-Hopping in Berlin
Carry cash. A number of smaller independent bookshops in Berlin are still cash only. MOst Books was when I visited, and it’s common enough that it’s worth having euros on you. Don’t get caught out the way I did. (or at other establishments tbh!)
English books are more expensive in Germany than in the UK or US because they’re imported. Secondhand shops are your friends if you’re on a budget. Saint George’s, Another Country, Berliner Büchertisch, Ivallan’s and the Berlin Book Nook all have affordable secondhand English stock. Berliner Büchertisch in particular has some of the lowest prices in the city.
Plan by neighbourhood, not by list. Berlin is a big city and the bookshops are spread across it. Rather than crisscrossing town, pick a neighbourhood for the morning and one for the afternoon. Kreuzberg alone has seven or eight excellent shops within walking distance of each other.
Check opening hours before you go. Many independent Berlin bookshops keep shorter hours than you might expect. Some don’t open until noon, many close by 7pm and a few are closed Sundays. Worth a quick check before you trek across the city.
If you can’t find a shop, especially smaller ones like MOst Books or The Curious Fox, double-check the address on Google Maps before you leave. Small independent bookshops do sometimes move.
FAQ: Bookshops in Berlin
Yes! Berlin has a surprisingly strong English-language bookshop scene, largely because of the city’s large international community. Saint George’s, Shakespeare & Sons, Another Country, Chapters, The Curious Fox and Berlin Book Nook all stock primarily or entirely English books. Dussmann has a large dedicated English section and is open until midnight.
For English secondhand, Saint George’s and Another Country are the most beloved. Berliner Büchertisch has the lowest prices. Ivallan’s has the most interesting browsing experience thanks to its thematic organisation. Pequod Books in Neukölln stocks secondhand books in 25+ languages including Portuguese, if you’re after something other than English.
New books in English tend to be pricier in Germany than in the UK or US because they’re imported. Secondhand shops are much more affordable; expect to pay €2–8 for a used English title at most of the shops on this list.
Shakespeare & Sons has the Fine Bagel Bakery inside, She Said has a café with homemade food, Die Gute Seite has the Miss Poppins café and A Livraria/Mondolibro has a Brazilian café and market space. Always worth checking ahead if you’re planning a sit-down session.
Shakespeare & Sons for the bagels and English selection. Saint George’s if you want to lose yourself in secondhand shelves for hours. Chapters for a quieter, more curated experience.
Yes! She Said in Neukölln stocks only books by female, queer and non-binary authors and has a café. Die Buchkönigin, also in Neukölln, focuses on queer feminist, intersectional and postcolonial literature. Hopscotch Reading Room (currently doing pop-ups) centres non-western and diasporic voices.
Yes. Otherland in Kreuzberg specialises in science fiction, fantasy and horror in German and English, and reportedly has one of the best horror sections of any bookshop in Europe.
Two, actually. Mondlicht in Kreuzberg is a warm, spiritual bookshop covering esotericism, tarot and healing. Zabriskie, also in Kreuzberg, is the more counterculture option with occult and folklore alongside nature writing, surreal fiction and underground culture.
You might also like:
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How to Move to Germany on a Budget
This was a post about the best bookshops in Berlin.
