This post was initially published on Urbansider Paris.
There’s no other brand that marries printed books and luxury quite like Assouline. I first came across the gorgeous Maison Assouline in Mayfair, London, and I immediately fell in love with their brand and their exquisite eye for design. Shortly after, I found out that their first and oldest retail location was actually in Paris, and I made it a priority to go visit.
Prosper Assouline and his wife, Martine, opened their first Paris bookstore in 2005, intending for it to be a destination for book lovers and luxury gift shoppers alike. The bookstore is perfectly situated at 35 Rue Bonaparte in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, just a few steps away from the illustrious Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots, both cultural and literary legends in their own right.
The signature red walls, warm and inviting, welcome you and draw you in as you walk into the store. The floor-to-ceiling, Mondrian-style shelves are heavy with books covering a variety of topics such as art, architecture, travel, gastronomy, luxury cars, and fashion. Various objets d’art punctuate the space, giving it an art gallery feeling. If you’re looking for a thoughtful gift for a special someone (or even yourself), you can pick up a fancy stationery set, a leather-scented candle, or maybe one of the elegant and modern A bookstands, designed by Alex Assouline, Prosper and Martine’s youngest son and vice-president of the company.
But, of course, the main attraction remains the books themselves. Assouline takes pride in delivering the most luxurious, highest-quality books, printed on the glossiest paper and carefully bound and finished by hand.
So next time you’re in Saint-Germain, sipping coffee and people-watching, take a few minutes to go visit this wonderful oasis of culture and style. Because, as they say at Assouline, “culture is the finest accessory”.
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