Happy Places: Shakespeare and Co in Paris

Sometimes I get asked to recommend my favourite sites and places in Paris to friends who are visiting this city. I can just repeat myself when I say that it was one of the most beautiful cities I ever lived in and I had many favourite places. When family and friends came to visit I had an own route guiding them through the whole town showing the the places I loved and that showed MY Paris. I got them walking through Paris without ever seeing the Eiffel tower and right after some hours when they would start asking when to see it we entered a tiny little street directing directly to the big square of the tower. They were always surprised and a little shocked standing right in front of the tower without expecting it. I loved that surprise moment. With all my „tourist tour“ I would never miss one very special place in Paris. This small book store next to Notre Dame was my happy place for every rainy Saturday. It gave me a cosy place to read through already read books and to get inspired by the spirit of Hemingway and other poets and authors from another time. Shakespeare & Co is an English second hand book store. The old rooms with the old beds of a former hostel for young poets and the overcrowded shelves full of books just offer the most wonderful place on a rainy day – you will even believe Quasimodo looks onto this store from the big Notre Dame next to it. A magic place you should not miss on any trip to Paris.