It’s time to take you to another one of my favourite bookstores in Bucharest. Cărturești is a name you hear often on the lips of people interested in art and culture and beautiful living. The charming place I’m presenting today was one of the first concept stores in Bucharest. There are more Cărturești stores in Bucharest and all over the country today, but I think I will always prefer this very first one, located on a sidestreet downtown, Edgar Quinet. I like that it’s small and intimate and has such a beautiful design and every time you visit you feel like you’ve discovered a hidden gem.
Carrying a nice selection of books, from fiction to design, history, art and travel, as well as films, music, stationery, delicatessen, tea and teaware, it also used to have a tea-room in the back in the beginning. It was a completely new sight on the city’s landscape. Reading was fashionable again and books were presented in a new light and beautiful setting and Cărturești soon became and has since been one of the most sought for cultural spots in Bucharest.
The tea-room is no longer there now (I will soon share a newer location, café and tea-house included), but the atmosphere is still so cosy and welcoming and the wood, painted ceiling and lovely interior design (both by Bianca Predoi, architect, painter, prose writer, stage designer and playwright) and dim lights add and play on the warmth and ease of the place.
This is also where my then future-to-be husband and I bought our first film collection. It included three Hitchcock movies on VHS. We were in faculty then and were starting to discover our common passion for films. We would spend the afternoons in cinemas going to every film showing and the rest of our spare time discovering the classic cinema at home. So there is also a sentimental value attached to this wonderful little place: we can say that our hobby and now vast collection of classic films originates from there.
Address: 9, Edgar Quinet, Bucharest
Opening hours: Monday-Friday: 9-20 | Saturday: 11-18
photos by me
I am heading to Carturesti terrace, Ada, to take my lunch! Beautiful details! :*
Simply magnificent! To be visited one day:)
Perfect place, Ada! Looks wonderful!
Hope you will get a chance to catch on some sleep today – glad to hear you loved the book! I got mine out for a bedtime read – it’s a collection of novels and stories, so will last me a few days. 🙂
x
I’m afraid I won’t be able to catch some sleep before late tonight, but I’m hoping some chai latte I’m having will help me get through the day. 🙂 Staying up that late was worth it anyhow. I loved the book. 🙂
Is there no end to wonderful bookshops in Bucharest?!! This looks like a place worth visiting – I bet I could spend a few euros in there! That ceiling looks amazing, and probably is more so when one is standing on that floor looking up.
The photos are wonderful.
This is a beautiful store! I love the ceiling! Can see why you would love it 🙂
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