In a digital age where screens dominate attention spans, bookstores in Bucharest continue to hold their ground. They are no longer merely points of sale, but curated spaces that reflect clear editorial visions and the reading habits of a diverse urban audience. Some aim for scale and variety, while others focus on depth, community, and distinction. Below is a portrait of several relevant bookstores in the city—not romanticized, but presented as real examples of cultural positioning and editorial intent.

Cărturești Carusel (55 Lipscani Street) - Arguably the most photographed bookstore in Romania, Carusel is housed in a restored 19th-century building in Bucharest’s Old Town. Visually impressive, it spans several levels, with open balconies and natural light flooding the interior. The selection is broad: fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, art, music, stationery, and lifestyle objects. It's a space designed for general audiences and tourists, focused on accessibility and experience over literary specialization.

Cărturești Verona (13–15 Arthur Verona Street) - The flagship store of the Cărturești chain, Verona caters to a more culturally engaged audience—students, academics, creatives. The book selection is more balanced, featuring philosophy, psychology, contemporary art, and poetry alongside mainstream titles. The space includes a café and courtyard and often hosts book launches or cultural events. Compared to Carusel, Verona functions as both a bookstore and a social hub for those with a long-standing relationship to books.

Humanitas Cișmigiu (38 Regina Elisabeta Boulevard) - A mid-sized bookstore with a strong editorial backbone. Owned by the Humanitas publishing house, the store focuses heavily on its own catalog—philosophy, history, essays, contemporary Romanian literature. The clientele is mostly mature and discerning. This is not a place for random browsing; people come here with purpose. The atmosphere is minimalist and the staff is well-informed and comfortable discussing titles in detail.

Kyralina – French Bookstore (10 Biserica Amzei Street) - One of the few specialized bookstores in Bucharest, Kyralina is dedicated entirely to French-language literature. Its audience is niche—expats, academics, translators, Francophone readers. Away from mainstream traffic, the bookstore is well-organized and focused: literature, philosophy, children’s books, comics, and critical theory. It also serves as an active cultural partner for French-speaking institutions and regularly hosts events in French.

Seneca Anticafe (1 Ion Mincu Street) - A hybrid space—bookstore, café, and workspace—with a strong focus on ecology, ethics, and critical thinking. Most of the selection is nonfiction: philosophy, education, personal development, and sustainability. The model is different—you pay for the time spent, not the items consumed. The audience includes freelancers, humanities students, and those interested in meaningful conversation and reflective reading. The space functions more like a cultural laboratory than a retail venue.

Anthony Frost – Cărturești & Friends (9 Edgar Quinet Street) - Directly across from the University of Bucharest, Anthony Frost is a well-established English-language bookstore that recently reopened under the Cărturești umbrella. Despite the rebranding, it retains its identity: English-language literature, poetry, theatre, criticism, and humanities. It appeals to translators, professors, international students, and tourists. The store is compact but highly curated—this is a place for intentional readers, not casual shoppers.

Bookstores in Bucharest no longer compete only with each other, but with broader shifts in reading habits. Those that survive do so through clarity—of purpose, audience, and content. Whether they focus on immersive retail experiences or rigorous curation, these spaces are not relics of the past. They are evolving models of cultural interaction, and as long as they stay grounded in that mission, they will remain relevant—even as the city continues to change around them.