Bookshops are amazing places in which to let your imagination run wild. The charm and magic of European cities and their dwellers are hidden in nooks brimming with books. Premium Traveller suggests three outstanding European bookshops and libraries:

1. BRUSSELS: Cook & Book. A Fiat 500 parked in the middle of this 500 m2 plus space devoted to culture, design and gastronomy welcomes you to Book & Cook. The bookshop has 9 theme-based spaces where nothing is what it seems. The travel section is a bar, food and beverage counters jostle each other in the Cucina area, and the “Anglais” domain invites you to have a cup of tea while you read a Sherlock Holmes novel.

2. PRAGUE: Klementinum. Housed in a former Jesuit library, legend has it that Klementinum had just one book when construction began in 1622; by the time it was finished, it already comprised more than 20,000. The bookshop’s entrance hall is a breathtaking Baroque jewel decorated with golden arches and decorated with frescoes on science and literature. In addition to purchasing books and souvenirs, you can also take one of the daily tours of this historic complex.

3. BIRMINGHAM: Library of Birmingham. The ultramodern building that hosts the Library of Birmingham consists of four concrete blocks encased in metal rings, but that is just the first thing that meets the eye. It contains one of the crown jewels of English literature, the Shakespeare Memorial Room, which is lined with nineteenth-century carved wood panels housing more than 44,000 books on Shakespeare’s life and works. Furthermore, the premises were opened in 2013 by the Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai. A real privilege!

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