What Daunt Books is known for
The 1912 Edwardian bookshop with oak galleries and skylights — travel books shelved by country, arguably the most beautiful bookshop in the world.
James Daunt opened his Marylebone bookshop in 1990 in an Edwardian premises built for booksellers: long oak galleries, skylit stained glass, and the travel-forward arrangement that became the shop's signature — books shelved by country, with guidebooks, novels, history, and cookery of each place standing together, so that reading for a journey becomes browsing a nation. The formula made Daunt's the most beloved independent bookshop in London and launched its founder toward the stewardship of Waterstones and Barnes & Noble, where the Daunt philosophy — booksellers choosing books — was applied at scale. The Marylebone original remains the essential visit: the galleried back room is one of the finest bookshop spaces anywhere. The canvas book bag became a quiet London status object. Buy for a destination — the shop's organizing idea works exactly as promised.
Ask the booksellers for a destination and let them build the stack; the shop's country shelving exists precisely for that conversation, and it works.
In the press
- The Times 2025
How ORBIS reads this city
Best for — Travel literature under the skylight
N/A (bookshop).
More in London
- Alexander McQueen — London
- Augustinus Bader — London
- Budd Shirtmakers — London
- Burberry — London
- Cad & The Dandy — London
- Charles Tyrwhitt — London
- Drake's — London
- Emma Willis — London
Where next
- Xao — Czechia
- Womencrafts — United States
- Art Island Center — Japan
In the Journal
Hand-curated for ORBIS · no paid placement