Explore Canada’s ultimate bookworm destinations, including architectural gems like Toronto Reference Library and offbeat indies like Drawn & Quarterly.
Canada’s literary culture is one rooted in multiculturalism, with various book festivals across the country and literary awards shining light on the best and brightest in the writing world.
Toronto
Hotel X Toronto
This contemporary luxury lakefront hotel is about as close to the high life as it gets—and we’re not just saying that because it’s in a tall building. This place pretty much has it all, from a gym and rooftop pool to an on-site gallery. It also happens to be a very popular spot for wedding receptions, with loads of gorgeous views from various halls, rooms, and suites.
And yes, it has something for book lovers, too: namely, a swanky café with a marble fireplace, rows of comfy seating, and a curated selection of books that guests are welcome to peruse.
Address: 111 Princes’ Blvd, Toronto, ON M6K 3C3, Canada
Opening hours:
– Check-in time: 3PM
– Check-out time: 12PM
The Great Library at the Law Society of Ontario
Every country’s gotta have at least one massively majestic law library, and the Great Library at the Law Society of Ontario definitely fits that bill. Holding roughly 125,000 volumes, this qualifies as Canada’s largest private law library with about 125,000 volumes.
Built in the late 1800s, it features ornate plaster ceilings, high-flying mosaic skylights, indoor columns, and mantelpieces with detailing out of this world, and an indoor WWI memorial. Serving lawyers, paralegals, and the public, it offers legal resources both in print and digital format, plus research guides and historic collections.
Address: 130 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M5H 2N6, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Friday: 9AM – 5PM
– Saturday & Sunday: Closed
Ben McNally Books
Ben McNally Books is a family-run bookstore founded in 2007. The store has a simple, polished elegance in mosaic wooden floors and dark wooden shelves that make it appealing to the eye without distracting from the books on display.
Its curated collection keeps locals coming back, filling shelves and open counter spaces with high-quality finds for readers of all ages, with noted strengths in history, biography, and literary fiction. The owner and his kids care very deeply about books and pay special attention to making sure there’s always something worth any bibliophile’s attention!
Address: 108 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M5C 1S4, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Saturday: 10AM – 5PM
– Sunday: Closed
Queen Books
Opened in 2017, Queen Books is loud and proud about its status as a bookstore, with a detailed, engraved mural in its storefront with a row of people reading and bookshelves so realistic you’d think you’d be able to pluck one right off the storefront.
Inside, you can find a broad selection of titles for both adults and children, emphasizing diverse Canadian and international voices. And if you’re puzzled about which one to try, no fear: the storefront display regularly recommends a tantalizing array of great reads hand-picked by the staff.
Address: 914 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1J5, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Friday: 10AM – 8PM
– Saturday & Sunday: 10AM – 6PM
Toronto Public Library – Toronto Reference Library
Toronto Reference Library is the largest and most visited branch of the Toronto Public Library system, known for its striking modern design. Originally opened in 1909 in a Beaux-Arts building, it moved to its current location in 1977 after outgrowing the original space.
Inside, the library features a dramatic multi-level atrium, a range of event and exhibition spaces, dedicated areas for children and teens, and a collection of more than 1.6 million items.
Address: 5120 Yonge St, North York, ON M2N 5N9, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Friday: 9AM – 8:30PM
– Saturday: 9AM – 5PM
– Sunday: 12PM – 5PM
Ottawa
Library of Parliament
Canada’s Library of Parliament is an iconic Gothic Revival landmark on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Completed in 1876 and inspired by the British Museum Reading Room, its iron doors and fireproof design helped it survive the 1916 fire that destroyed the original Centre Block. The historic reading room is currently temporarily closed to visitors while Centre Block undergoes a major restoration project. However, visitors can still walk around the grounds of Parliament Hill and admire the building from the outside.
Even without that history lesson, the circular reading room is quite a stunner. It features a massive, domed ceiling, carved white pine panels with mythical motifs, and a central Queen Victoria statue.
Address: 111 Wellington St, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A4, Canada
Opening hours:
– Currently closed for renovations.
Black Squirrel Books & Espresso Bar
This cozy bookstore and café spans two floors (a main floor and a basement level), carrying loads of titles in literature, graphic novels, and academics. The basement is especially nice, with a calm, chill vibe and vintage furniture for comfortable reading.
The espresso bar side serves coffee, tea, and various baked goods, mainly pastries and cookies. Seating fills up fast since it’s popular with the locals, but you can always order to-go if needed!
Address: 1073 R. Bank Street, Ottawa, ON K1S 0R4, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 9AM – 5PM
Montreal
Bibliothèque publique de Westmount (Westmount Public Library)
The Westmount Public Library opened in 1899 and is Quebec’s oldest municipal library. Designed in Richardsonian Romanesque style, it has distinctive red brick walls and a stout tower visible from the building’s facade. It even has its very own greenhouse with geometric tiling, brimming with plant life.
It’s had a couple of key additions over the years, both in 1911 and the 90’s, so its interior is a fascinating mix of both historical and contemporary styles.
Address: 4574 Sherbrooke St W, Westmount, Quebec H3Z 2L5, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Friday: 10AM – 9PM
– Saturday & Sunday: 10AM – 5PM
Argo Bookshop
If you want to visit Montreal’s oldest independent English-language bookstore, you’ve come to the right place. Argo Bookshop was founded in 1966, and while it may have moved from its original location, its dedication to literature remains unchanged.
This store specializes in speculative fiction, Japanese literature, poetry, and philosophy. It also hosts regular events, ranging from book launches and discussions to various book clubs.
Address: 1841-A Rue Sainte-Catherine O, Montréal, QC H3H 1M2, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Friday: 11AM – 7PM
– Saturday: 12PM – 5PM
– Sunday: Closed
Indigo
Welcome to Indigo, Canada’s largest bookstore chain, with branches everywhere from Toronto to Vancouver. We’ve talked about this particular location before because of its striking spiral staircase, and it’s definitely worth bringing up again. It’s a great way to pay homage to Canada’s most famous creative figures, from Margaret Atwood to Sarah McLachlan.
Of course, it’s got a lot else going for it, too, selling books, magazines, stationery, and plenty of gift items. It also has a café where you can sometimes enjoy live music.
Address: 1500 McGill College Ave, Montreal, Quebec H3B 1E2, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Saturday: 10AM – 9PM
– Sunday: 10AM – 7PM
The Word Bookstore
Founded in 1975, the Word Bookstore is an independent secondhand bookstore specializing in literature, philosophy, poetry, and academic textbooks in both French and English. It’s set in a small brick building with a timeless vibe, stocked with rare volumes that’ll have any bibliophile eagerly browsing the shelves.
The owners started off selling books out of the back of a van before creating The Word, which itself began as an apartment bookshop before making a true stamp in the field by evaluating libraries and even renting out books for movie sets.
Address: 469 Rue Milton, Montréal, QC H2X 1V8, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Wednesday: 10AM – 8PM
– Thursday & Friday: 10AM – 9PM
– Saturday: 11AM – 6PM
– Sunday: Closed
Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec
Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec translates to the Library and Archives of Quebec, but is often called BAnQ for short. As you might have guessed from the name, it is Quebec’s national library and archives, formed by merging two other important national libraries established in the 1900s.
BAnQ houses millions of items across multiple floors, housed in a distinctive but stylish building. It carries books, CDs, films, comics, and digitized heritage collections.
Address: 475 Boul. de Maisonneuve E, Montréal, QC H2L 5C4, Canada
Opening hours:
– Tuesday to Friday: 9AM – 9PM
– Saturday & Sunday: 9AM – 5PM
– Monday: Closed
La Livrerie
This is no simple bookshop, but a book café and worker co-op founded in 2020. Its collection carries literature, essays, comics, poetry, and works on theater, with sections dedicated to both children and adults. Most of the titles are in French, but there are a few English ones as well.
The café offers comfortable seating and regularly hosts various events, most notably live music, book launches, and story time readings. Visitors often praise the coffee and the friendly staff, enjoying the laidback, artsy vibe while picking out a new favorite book.
Address: 1289 Ontario St E, Montreal, Quebec H2L 1R7, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Friday: 10AM – 7PM
– Saturday & Sunday: 10AM – 5PM
– Note: opening hours may vary if there is an event that day.
Librairie Drawn & Quarterly
Reminiscent of an Old West saloon, the Librairie Drawn & Quarterly is a clever play on words and a delight for anyone hoping for a solid bookshop in the heart of Montreal.
Opened in 2007 in a former dress shop, it specializes in graphic novels alongside fiction and nonfiction with titles in both English and French, with special attention paid to local and indie creators. The store hosts book launches and unique book clubs, such as for graphic novels and cookbooks, making it a cornerstone of the city’s literary community.
Address: 176 Rue Bernard O, Montréal, QC H2T 2K2, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 11AM – 6PM
Québec, Saint John, & Halifax
Morrin Centre
Morrin Centre is an English-language cultural center and National Historic Site seated in Old Quebec. The Centre has a long history, originally built in the 1800s as a prison and later becoming Morrin College.
While you can tour the former prison cells, the Centre’s library is the true highlight here, featuring an open space with two levels of bookcases and a beautifully intricate bannister. It’s not huge or extravagantly fancy, but welcoming and intimate, like someone’s private study made public. Just know that there is an entry fee, 5 CAD for individuals and 10 CAD for families.
Address: 44 Chau. des Écossais, Québec, QC G1R 4H3, Canada
Opening hours:
– Wednesday to Friday & Sunday: 12PM – 4PM
– Saturday: 10AM – 4PM
– Monday & Tuesday: Closed
The Write Cup Bookstore Cafe
This bookstore and coffee shop is a true community hub, prominently featuring local authors in its collection and offering support to budding writers through bookshops and workshops. That’s not all, though; it holds a slew of other regular events, such as author meets and book launches as well, making it feel not only like a bookstore but a true “writing club.”
The menu, meanwhile, holds a fairly wide variety of both beverages—from coffee and tea to alcohol—and foods, from sweet treats like cookies to light meals like salads and sandwiches.
Address: 1 Market Square #132, Saint John, NB E2L 4Z6, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Wednesday: 8:30AM – 9PM
– Thursday & Friday: 8:30AM – 10PM
– Saturday: 10AM – 10PM
– Sunday: 10AM – 8PM
Open Book Coffee
Don’t worry, the book cafés don’t end there. Further east, over in Halifax, you can find Open Book Coffee. This bookshop and café focuses its collection on Atlantic Canadian books from independent local publishers, making it a great place to go to support Nova Scotia writers.
With wooden flooring and a somewhat eclectic gathering of furniture, its atmosphere is both friendly and laidback, offering ethically sourced, locally roasted coffee, sandwiches, and sweet treats. The decor also has some really nice touches, with large paintings high on the ceiling and miniature sailboats and globes atop bookcases.
Address: 3660 Strawberry Hill St, Halifax, NS B3K 5A9, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Saturday: 8AM – 6PM
– Sunday: 9AM – 3PM
Halifax Central Library
Halifax Central Library embodies peak modernism, with five stories, a glass-facing exterior, and asymmetrically stacked upper floors. It makes for a very striking sight, particularly the rectangular “Living Room” set on top with panoramic harbor views.
As the city’s library, it plays host to a range of programs and events, plus a café and plenty of reading areas for residents to visit and enjoy. The interior is just as sleek and modern as the outside, with white bookcases in both traditional and circular shapes that contrast with the brightly colored armchairs and sofas.
Address: 5440 Spring Garden Rd, Halifax, NS B3J 1E9, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Thursday: 9AM – 9PM
– Friday & Saturday: 9AM – 6PM
– Sunday: 12PM – 6PM
British Columbia
Bacchus Cafe
All the way on the other side of Canada, you’ll find a little book café in the city of Golden. Formerly known as Bacchus Books & Cafe, it carries a collection of primarily English-language titles, mainly classics and romances, painting a cozy environment while guests partake of a light meal ranging from tomato soup and bagels to a vegan bowl.
While the cafe used to be on the second floor above Four Point Books, not too far away, they recently moved to a new location just a bit further down the road.
Address: 504 9 Ave N, Golden, BC V0A 1H0, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Friday: 8AM – 5PM
– Saturday & Sunday: 9AM – 5PM
Paper Hound Bookstore
This Vancouver bookstore is housed in a historic Victorian-era building, selling new, used, and rare books across various genres and subjects, notably classical literature and poetry, plus cookbooks and zines. Of special note is its poetry vending machine, custom-made from an old cigarette dispenser. For two quarters, you can get a slip of a poem and a fun experience.
The space is relatively small but tidy and filled with interesting and creative decor. It has an almost magical vibe where you feel like you could fall into a different world as easily as cracking open a book.
Address: 344 W Pender St, Vancouver, BC V6B 1T1, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 10AM – 6PM
MacLeod’s Books
This antiquarian bookstore has a history stretching back over 80 years, famous for its chaotic, towering stacks of over 100,000 volumes. Here, you can find titles on literature, history, and Canada in general, alongside maps and rare ephemera. There are plenty of bargain secondhand finds for the budget reader seated alongside collectibles worth hundreds.
It is a great place to go for discovery, filled to the brim with thousands of fantastic reads.
Address: 455 W Pender St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2Z3, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 11AM – 5:30PM
Vancouver Public Library
Vancouver Public Library’s Central Library opened in 1995 as a striking nine-story elliptical structure resembling a Roman coliseum. It has a truly fascinating design, with a glass square-facing building within the stone elliptical wall and a skylight overhead, making you feel like you’re still outside even in an enclosed space.
The library houses 1.5 million items, including books, digital media, and even musical instruments, available for residents to borrow and use.
Address: 350 W Georgia St, Vancouver, BC V6B 6B1, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Thursday: 9:30AM – 8:30PM
– Friday: 9:30AM – 6PM
– Saturday: 10AM – 6PM
– Sunday: 11AM – 6PM
Russell Books
Seated in downtown Victoria, Russell Books is known for its vast selection of new, used, and antiquarian titles spread over two floors. Founded in the early 1960s and expanded to Victoria in 1991, it is now operated by the original owner’s daughter and grandchildren, making this a family-run business on top of everything else.
This used bookstore is huge, and some describe it as one of the biggest ones in Canada. It certainly has an enormous number of titles, plus a laundry list of topics stocked, including games, gardening, sci-fi, and literary criticism.
Address: 747 Fort St #100, Victoria, BC V8W 1G9, Canada
Opening hours:
– Monday to Sunday: 9:30AM – 6PM
Munro’s Books
Munro’s Books is a landmark independent bookstore set inside a grand early 1900s neoclassical former bank. Its architecture definitely makes a statement, with its massive stone columns out front, high coffered ceilings with intricate plaster detailing, and atmospheric paintings set above the dark wooden bookcases lining the walls.
This is a genuinely beautiful bookstore and worth visiting at least once for a gander, but it’s no slouch in the book department, either, featuring extensive fiction, poetry, children’s books, and more.
Address: 1108 Government St, Victoria, BC V8W 1Y2, Canada
Opening hours:
– Saturday to Wednesday: 9:30AM – 6PM
– Thursday & Friday: 9:30AM – 7:30PM
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K Lou
K. Lou is a writer born in the U.S. who found her way to Japan through a spiritual calling—or, more precisely, better access to tea. She writes about travel, culture, and the occasional creative piece, inspired by her enduring love of books. This love began in high school when K. Lou carried books around to avoid seeming odd while lost in thought. Once she started reading, she never stopped. With zero regrets, she continues to explore the written word and invites others to join her in celebrating its varied forms.
