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Estonia
Rahva Raamat
In 2022 Estonia’s largest bookshop was named the best in the world by the London Book Fair. It occupies the entire fourth floor of the Viru shopping centre near Tallinn’s Old Town and is owned by the Estonian chain Rahva Raamat. The shop won the International Excellence Award for its overall atmosphere, style, approach to customers and product range.
There are 5 kilometres of shelves in total. For its size, the shop is very cosy – it’s easy to get lost for an hour in the deep armchairs and browse through one of the 48,000 books. In addition to trilingual editions, the shop also sells games, records and gifts.
Rüütel & Matilda English Bookshop
Situated in the heart of Tallinn’s Old Town, the shop is the brainchild of Estonians Ruta Nõmmela and Madis Mikkor, who wanted to open an independent shop with a good selection of fiction and non-fiction books.
Most of the books are in English and there are both second-hand and new editions. The owners also try to promote local writers: a separate stand is dedicated to Estonian writers whose works have been translated into English.
Address: Rüütli 4, 10130 Tallinn
The shop at the Museum of Banned Books
Not a shop, but a small collection of books at Keelatud Kirjandus – the Museum of Banned Books. It is one of the most unusual exhibitions in Tallinn’s Old Town: censored and burned books from all over the world.
The books on sale are mostly about censorship, freedom of speech and contemporary social issues. Books that interest you can and should be discussed with the caretakers, which is indicated by a special sign.
Address: Munga tn 2, 10123 Tallinn
Russow Galerii
A bookstore where old books, mostly Russian, are next to pictures and records. In the evenings, the shop hosts parties and concerts, including jazz and experimental music.
This place was founded by Denis Polyakov, a legendary bibliophile, archivist and underground poet from Tallinn. He is known to the local public ‘as a specialist in the attribution and sale of rare and unusual books from the past, as well as a virtuoso in the search for rare modern editions’.
Address: Väike Rannavärav 1, 10133 Tallinn
Literaat Resto
Elegant restaurant combined with a bookshop from the Rahva Raamat chain. The selection of literature is wide, but most of the books are in Estonian. The place itself is cosy and affordable enough to come here even without an occasion. It is located in Telliskivi, a creative area close to Tallinn’s Central Station and the Old Town.
Latvia
Jānis Roze
The name of the shop goes back to the bookseller Jānis Roze, who, having gained enough experience in publishing and sales, founded the company “J. Roze’ in Riga in 1914. Roze’. Immediately after the First World War, he managed to rent premises for a bookshop in Barona Street.
After the Soviet occupation, the shop was nationalised and renamed, and Roze was deported to Siberia, where he died of starvation in 1942. In 1988, to mark the centenary of the bookseller’s birth, the shop was restored to its historical name. The shop still exists today and has one of the best selections of art and craft books in the city, as well as a large children’s section on the ground floor.
Address: Krišjāņa Barona iela 5, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050
Robert’s Books
Another shop named after its founder. The owner is the journalist Robert Cottrell, former Moscow bureau chief for The Economist and the Financial Times. The bookshop has moved twice and is now located in a secluded courtyard on Dzirnavu Street.
As well as used and new English-language editions, it sells old magazines, including The New Yorker, and adult products, which are shelved in a room marked ’18+’. There is also a cafeteria serving coffee and wine.
Address: Dzirnavu iela 51, Riga, Latvia
Vilki Books
A shop with a huge selection of children’s books and cultural events: it includes regular meetings with Russian-language authors and a wreath-weaving workshop before Christmas.
On Wednesdays, the Vilki Library’s creative workshop for children aged 3-6 is open: they learn to make crafts from various materials, work in a group and develop their fine motor skills and imagination. There is also plenty of literature for adults, both fiction and books on psychology, science and art.
Lithuania
Pegasas (Centrinis knygynas)
Briefly: historical shop in the centre of Kaunas with a unique interior.
Languages: Lithuanian, English
On the main promenade in Kaunas, Laisves Alley, there is one of the branches of the Pegasas bookshop chain. In Soviet times the shop was called Centrinis knygynas. It was opened at the end of the 1950s, reconstructed in the 1980s and its interior has remained almost unchanged since then. Furniture, shop windows, wooden coffers on the ceiling and authentic tapestries by Lucija Banaitene have been preserved. The shop is included in the Lithuanian Cultural Heritage Register.
Raštinė
An iconic family-run shop founded in 2018 by a couple – Eva and Saulius. She is an architect and interior designer. He, in his own words, “had more jobs in various areas than can properly count.” The shop specialises in stationery from Japan and Korea. Next to the stationery you’ll find nice little things for the home, a thoughtful selection of magazines, postcards and books on art and self-development, and there’s also a café. In the summer, as well as coffee and scones, there is a speciality matcha with strawberries.
Keistoteka
Briefly: shop of second-hand books with a black cat
Languages: Lithuanian, English, Russian and other
Bookshop in the heart of the Vilnius bohemian district of Užupis. Until recently, the shop had a second location on Geles Street near the main train station, but it closed last year due to financial problems. The shop’s speciality was, and still is, cats – the Užupis shop is home to a black cat that can often be found sleeping among the piles of old books.
Address: Užupio g. 4
The Bookest World
Briefly: bookshop in the historical basement with events in Russian
Languages: English, Lithuanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
Another Užupis bookshop, this time in an atmospheric basement with thick stone vaults. The founder is Bogdan Kravtsov, a thinker and artist who moved to Vilnius after the outbreak of full-scale war in 2022. Most of the books are in Russian, but there are also editions in other languages, including Ukrainian.
Humanitas
The Vilnius Old Town branch of the Humanitas bookshop specialises in art publications. It has books by Taschen, Phaidon, Thames & Hudson and other major publishers. Books on architecture occupy a special place – they are displayed in the back hall to the left of the cash desk.
Librairie française
A shop specialising in French literature and culture: books in French, English books on French art and history, games and postcards.
