The best areas for books are the narrow streets of the quartier Latin and along the Seine, where rows of stalls are perched against the river parapet. Here we've listed a few specialists and favourites. For books in English, head for Abbey Bookshop, Shakespeare & Co or W H Smith.

Abbey Bookshop/La Librairie Canadienne 29 rue de la Parcheminerie, 5e. Mº St-Michel. Mon-Sat 10am-7pm.
A Canadian bookshop round the corner from Shakespeare & Co, with lots of secondhand British and North American fiction, good social science sections, plus knowledgeable and helpful staff - and free coffee.

Artcurial 9 av Matignon, 8e. Mº Franklin-D-Roosevelt. Tues-Sun 10am-7.15pm; closed two weeks in Aug.
The best art bookshop in Paris.

FNAC Forum des Halles, niveau 2, Porte Pierre-Lescot, 1er. Mº/RER Châtelet-Les Halles. Mon-Sat 10am-7.30pm.
Not the most congenial of bookshops, but it's the biggest and covers everything; there are numerous other branches throughout the city.

Galerie Maeght 42 rue du Bac, 7e. Mº Rue-du-Bac. Tues-Sat 9.30am-7pm.
Famous art gallery which makes its own beautifully printed art books.

Présence Africaine 25bis rue des Écoles, 5e. Mº Maubert-Mutualité. Mon-Sat 10am-7pm.
Specialist black African bookshop, with titles ranging from literature to economics and philosophy by Caribbean and North American, as well as African writers.

Parallèles 47 rue St-Honoré, 1er. Mº Châtelet-Les Halles. Mon-Sat 10am-7pm.
An alternative bookshop, with everything from anarchism to New Age. Good for info on current events and gigs.

Shakespeare & Co 37 rue de la Bûcherie, 5e. Mº Maubert-Mutualité. Daily noon-midnight.
A cosy, famous literary haunt, American-run, with the biggest selection of secondhand English books intown. Also poetry readings and the like.

W H Smith 248 rue de Rivoli, 1er. Mº Concorde. Mon-Sat 9.30am-7pm.
Paris outlet of the British chain. Wide range of books and newspapers.