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Find Your Next Read at one of Sydney’s Best Bookstores
Lose yourself in Sydney's best bookstores that have everything that literature lovers crave – including coffee and wine.
From Better Read Than Dead’s floor-to-ceiling shelves in Newtown to Ampersand Cafe & Bookstore’s terrace brunches in Paddington, Sydney’s bookstores offer far more than a place to buy your next read. Few things in life hit like a good old-fashioned wander in a bookstore, flipping pages and judging books by their covers, the only thing that trumps said mosey is taking your stash home in a brown paper bag and settling in for a cosy afternoon of reading. Now, that’s a pretty picture!
This guide rounds up the city’s best, from café-bookstore combos and secondhand treasure troves to Bookshop By Uro’s design-led new Chippendale outpost, with something for every kind of reader. So next time you’re stuck for weekend plans, consider popping into your local bookshop or exploring a nearby suburban gem for your next page turner, make a morning of it and hit up a market or cafe too. Not sure where to start? We’ve rounded up Sydney’s best bookstores to set you on your way.
In This Guide:
- The Best Bookstores in Sydney for a Café-and-Book Combo
- The Best Bookstores in Sydney for Art, Design and Coffee Table Books
- The Best Secondhand and Rare Bookstores in Sydney
- The Best Neighbourhood Bookstores in Sydney
- The Best Bookstores in Sydney for Romance Readers
- Frequently Asked Questions about Sydney’s Best Bookstores
The Best Bookstores in Sydney for a Café-and-Book Combo
Ampersand Cafe & Bookstore
No one is disappointed when brunch turns into a novel adventure and Ampersand is the place where this evolution regularly occurs. Housed inside a two-story cafe that sprawls onto an open terrace, Ampersand serves exceptional coffee and breakfast dishes with a side of books.
Suburb: Paddington
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Weekend plans, Solo treat
Need To Know: Spread across two storeys with an open terrace.
Gertrude & Alice
Moments from Bondi Beach, this gem is just a quick stroll from the water and a post-swim trip never grows old. Gertrude & Alice sells both second-hand and brand-new books. The store, which doubles as a café, lends itself to a relaxed peruse that can end with a coffee or wine (and a long read). They regularly host book launches, author events and other bookish events so keep an eye on their socials to keep in the loop.
Suburb: Bondi Beach
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Vintage, Solo treat
Need To Know: Also operates as a café; regularly hosts book launches and author events.
Bookoccino
Brews and best sellers are the order of the day at Avalon’s beloved, Bookoccino. With a bustling café corner, friendly service, and an all-around literary atmosphere, it offers the ideal spot for a coffee date, either with your paperback or fellow bookworm.
Suburb: Avalon Beach
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Weekend plans, Solo treat
Need To Know: Café corner on-site for coffee alongside your read.
Sappho Books, Café and Wine Bar
Fans of literature can’t get enough of this inner-city gem. Sappho Books has mastered the book/coffee and book/wine combo. A general second-hand bookstore on Glebe’s busy strip, you can pick up an out-of-print or hard-to-find book before heading through to the courtyard café that transforms into a bar come nightfall.
Suburb: Glebe
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Vintage, Weekend plans
Need To Know: Courtyard café transitions into a wine bar at night.
The Best Bookstores in Sydney for Art, Design and Coffee Table Books
Bookshop By Uro
One of Melbourne’s chicest bookstores has officially arrived in Sydney, opening a new outpost in Chippendale where all your favourite coffee table books are housed under one roof.
Swing by on weekends and browse Bookshop By Uro‘s thoughtfully curate selection of art, design, culture and architecture books, including some titles you can’t find anywhere else in Sydney.
Suburb: Chippendale
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Interiors, Gifting
Need To Know: Open Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm.
Title
Title is more than a bookstore, it’s a bona fide arts destination. Taking pride of place inside a sleek, glass-walled building in The Streets of Barangaroo, its encyclopaedic collection of classic, obscure, out-of-print and hard-to-find titles in the art space is all but unmatched. However, books are just the beginning with independent films and music in equal abundance.
Suburb: Barangaroo
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Gifting, Special occasion
Need To Know: Also stocks independent film and music alongside its book collection.
The Best Secondhand and Rare Bookstores in Sydney
Ariel Booksellers
For killer coffee table books, international magazines, and gorgeous gifts for the bookworm in your life, make a beeline for Ariel Booksellers. Poetry, fashion, film history, and cooking genres line the back shelves, while a huge new release section filled with the best in fiction and non-fiction greet you on the way in.
However, there’s one corner of this bookstore we linger in the most and it’s the two shelves on the bottom of a rack reserved for staff picks. Here, you’ll find a curated selection of interesting biographies, legendary classics, and stories that you might not pick up had you not had the recommendation of a trusted source. There’s also a bunch of cute knickknacks and stationery items scattered throughout.
Suburb: Paddington
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Gifting, Solo treat
Need To Know: Staff picks shelf offers curated recommendations beyond the new release table.
Elizabeth’s Bookshop
Behind the iconic forest green awning of Elizabeth’s awaits thousands of titles squeezed onto shelves and stacked high on top of tables. Don’t know what you’re looking for? Try a ‘blind date with a book’ and receive a hand-wrapped mystery title tagged with clues as to what’s inside.
Suburb: Newtown
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Vintage, Solo treat
Need To Know: Ask for a “blind date with a book” for a hand-wrapped mystery pick.
The Best Neighbourhood Bookstores in Sydney
Better Read Than Dead
It is too easy to linger way longer than you should in this bookstore. Better Read Than Dead is a Newtown institution with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined with a curated collection.
The staff are well-versed and encourage a good chat about your latest read which almost always ends in a list of recommendations to follow. Plus, they even host regular author talks throughout the year. The best part is, they are open late every night of the week – so browse to your heart’s content.
Suburb: Newtown
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Weekend plans, Groups
Need To Know: Open late every night of the week; hosts regular author talks.
Woollahra Bookshop
On top of handing out thoughtful recommendations, Woollahra Bookshop is dog-friendly, so bringing your pooch along for a browse is no problem. The team also offer free local home delivery for anyone who can’t make it in-store.
Suburb: Woollahra
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Dog-friendly, Locals
Need To Know: Free local delivery available for Woollahra residents.
The Best Little Bookshop in Town
It’s all right there in the name. An unpretentious, local favourite bookstore with a solid range of fiction, non-fiction and children’s books, The Best Little Bookshop in Town has something for everyone. Be sure to visit their Instagram page to check out what the crew are currently loving before picking up a read and heading to the beach. Their recommendations never miss!
Suburb: Cronulla
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Kids, Weekend plans
Need To Know: Follow their Instagram for staff recommendations before you visit.
The Burns Bay Bookery
If you happen to find yourself cruising around the leafy streets of Lane Cove anytime soon, be sure to pop by this gem of a store. You’ll be greeted by the always friendly staff who are more than happy to swing a few recommendations your way or let you browse. The Burns Bay Bookery packs a whole lot onto the shelves with artisan and Australian-made homewares and gifts dotted throughout.
Suburb: Lane Cove
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Gifting, Interiors
Need To Know: Also stocks artisan and Australian-made homewares and gifts.
Potts Point Bookshop
This award-winning independent bookstore is owned and staffed by book lovers (with over fifty years of experience between them), so when you pop in to find your next read you know you’ll be in the right hands.
Suburb: Elizabeth Bay
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Gifting, Solo treat
Need To Know: Independent store, staffed by booksellers with over fifty years’ combined experience.
Berkelouw Books
Sitting beside the Verona Cinemas, Berkelouw Books’ flagship store in Paddington is the perfect Sunday afternoon stop off before catching an evening movie. The three-storey building showcases a wide selection of fiction and non-fiction literature as well as trinkets and an array of coffee table books.
Suburb: Paddington
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Weekend plans, Gifting
Need To Know: Three-storey flagship store located beside Verona Cinemas.
The Best Bookstores in Sydney for Romance Readers
Romancing The Novel
Romance novels are having a resurgence and to be frank, we’re 100% on board with it. Aside from stocking the sauciest reads in Sydney, Romancing The Novel also boasts a schmick reading lounge where lovers of steamy literature are welcome to spend a few hours as well as pretty pink interiors to set the scene.
Suburb: Paddington
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Girls’ day, Solo treat
Need To Know: In-store reading lounge available for browsing on-site.
Books Ever After
South Eveleigh’s dedicated romance haven sits tucked upstairs at The Grounds Coffee Factory, and it’s built entirely for readers who know exactly what they want. Books Ever After houses collectible special editions and a wide spread of subgenres, from dark romance to romantasy, sports romance and LGBTQIA+ titles. The fandom-themed merch is half the fun too, think Fourth Wing, Heated Rivalry and Gilmore Girls accessories for anyone wanting to rep their favourite fictional world beyond the page.
Suburb: South Eveleigh
Price Guide: Prices vary, see website
Best For: Books, Gifting, Special occasion
Need To Know: Located upstairs at The Grounds Coffee Factory.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sydney’s Best Bookstores
Ampersand Cafe & Bookstore in Paddington is one of the best pairings of the two in Sydney, with a full breakfast and coffee menu served alongside its book selection across a two-storey space with an open terrace. Sappho Books in Glebe and Bookoccino in Avalon Beach are also strong options, both combining a genuine bookshop browse with a café or wine bar attached, making them well suited to a slow weekend morning or afternoon read.
Elizabeth’s Bookshop in Newtown is one of the city’s best-known secondhand stores, with thousands of titles stacked across shelves and tables, and a “blind date with a book” feature for readers who want a surprise pick. Sappho Books in Glebe also specialises in secondhand and out-of-print titles, with a courtyard café attached for browsing at a slower pace.
Woollahra Bookshop welcomes dogs, making it an easy stop for a browse if you’re out and about with your pet. It’s worth calling ahead if you’re visiting during a busy period, as space inside independent bookstores can be limited.
Bookshop By Uro in Chippendale and Title in Barangaroo are the strongest picks for art, design, and culture books in Sydney. Bookshop By Uro is open Thursday to Saturday and stocks titles not widely available elsewhere in the city, while Title combines its book collection with independent film and music.
Hours vary by store. Better Read Than Dead in Newtown is open late every night of the week, making it one of the more flexible options for an evening browse, while Bookshop By Uro in Chippendale operates Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. It’s best to check individual store hours before visiting, particularly for smaller independent shops.
Loved this edit of Sydney’s best bookstores and looking for a quiet corner to read? The city is filled with great spots to bury your head in a good book. From picnics in the park, cafes, and cosy bars – you name it, we’ve got it.
