Beautiful Bucharest: Cărtureşti Verona

 
Do you have a feel-good store? Somewhere you could spend hours because just being there makes you feel good? Cărtureşti Verona is one of my happy places. A while ago I was telling you about the first Cărtureşti bookstore in town, now it’s time to take you to a second location, much more spacious, but just as inviting. It’s a place I stop by at least once a week, sometimes to buy books and films, tea or stationery, sometimes to work from there, either from the tea-room or from the garden café during the summer, and sometimes just for the pleasure of being there and browsing through the wide and good selection of English titles.
 

In the set of photos above you have a view of the basement, where you can find a delicatessen room, a wine room, along with a vast variety of books categorized on specialities, from travel and photography, to fashion, film, interior design, cooking and gardening, etc. When I have a few minutes I just love sitting at the table in the middle, covered with books, leafing though whatever triggers my interest.
 

 
The concept store is located in a beautiful and old house (once the home of Dimitrie Sturdza, Romanian statesman and Prime Minister in the late 19th-early 20th century), and this alone makes you hang out for hours, surrounded by the old-world atmosphere, by the elegant architecture with ornate walls, high ceilings, French doors and large windows. Books usually give personality to a home, but here it seems that it goes the other way around too: a house with character seems to be the perfect space for a book shop. But more than a bookstore, Cărtureşti Verona is more like a cultural hub: it gathers exhibitions, various events and educational happenings. It inspires to an active cultural life and it invites you to read more. It sells a lifestyle.
 

The ground floor houses the art books and the literature section, along with an impressive selection of music, from rock and jazz to classic music, and a nice collection of international cinema films, the Romanian Designers corner and the tea-room, where they serve the best chai latte – it’s what I usually have. These are only the main areas on this floor. You should know that every nook and niche in the store hides little treasures, unique gift ideas, and the space on my blog doesn’t allow me to reveal everything. But I wouldn’t want that either. This really is the kind of place you have to and would want to discover by yourself.
 

The attic is divided in two: part is carrying specialized books and English literature, tea, tea-ware and decorative items, and the upper part is dedicated to a children’s play-area and a sea of toys and games – it’s lovely up there, it invites you to story telling.
 

Below there’s a glimpse of the tea-room. The best part is that you can only serve tea in there (for coffee, you can go to the garden café during the summer and to the downstairs café during the cold months). There is always good music in the background and there is always an art exhibition happening there too, making it an inspiring working space.
 

 
Address: 13, Arthur Verona Street
Opening hours: Monday-Sunday: 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

photos: by me