5+ Budapest Bookstores English Readers Will Love

Fellow bookworms traveling to Budapest, Hungary are in for a treat when it comes to book shopping.

There are lots of unique Budapest bookstores, includin places where you can find books in English. From bookstore cafés to a “book island,” from secondhand books to brand new bestsellers, it’s possible to fully load up your suitcase with books during your time here.

As a literary travel writer and a book nut, I always make a point to hunt down the very best bookstores every place I visit. I’ve helped tons of readers find great bookstores to explore across the US and Europe, and my recent travels in Budapest have prepared me to do the same for fellow travelers to this great city. 

Read on to find my top picks.

And don’t forget to pin this post for later and check out my Youtube channel for ereader reviews, interesting author facts, and tours of literary destinations.

Whenever possible, I recommend buying books at local bookshops or through Bookshop.org, because shopping there puts the profits right into the hands of indie bookstores all over the country.

---

Atlantisz Könyvsziget (The Book Island)

Atlantisz in Budapest Hungary is one part publishing house, one part bookstore. The publishing house has a fascinating history that you can read about on their website, dating back to their underground publishing efforts during communism in the 1980s. 

As far as their publishing house goes, they still actively print books with the express purpose of printing titles previously unavailable in Hungary, making international works accessible for Hungarian readers. They also seek out lesser known Hungarian writers to publish. 

As a bookstore, Atlantisz Könyvsziget translates to “book island,” though literal island it is not. The name references both the lost island of Atlantis (rather like Atlantis Books in Greece on the island of Santorini) as well as Sir Francis Bacon’s utopian New Atlantis, “where generosity, enlightenment, and public spirit were the commonly held qualities of the inhabitants.”

For book shoppers in Budapest, this is one of my top picks for Budapest bookshops. It’s an inviting and intellectually stimulating places selling all new books in Hungarian and English. 

You can find lots of popular titles in English, but the real draw is that of all the bookstores I visited in the city, this had the best selection of Hungarian writers translated into English of any of them. 

Indeed, there were books here well beyond those I’d see regularly in these sections at other shops. I walked away with a good stack of books by Hungarian authors and a list of more to check out later. 
In addition to checking out their shop in Budapest, you can shop their books online.

Location: Király u. 2, 1061

---

Massolit Bookstore and Café

Massolit Bookstore is another of my favorite bookstores in Budapest. It’s a combined bookstore and café, so while you browse for books in English or Hungarian, you can stop to enjoy your finds with a piece of cake or a cup of coffee or tea. 

This is one of those quirky, crowded bookstores where you might need to maneuver through lots of tables, chairs, and people using their free wi-fi in order to properly peruse the shelves, but it all adds to the intimate charm of the bookshop. 

There’s a fantastic selection of books in English here, including a very good representation of Hungarian authors in translation. You’ll also find lots of history books and some books in German, Italian, and other languages. 

The book prices are great, and I came away with several books I was excited about. All in all, this is one of the very best bookstores in Budapest for English readers or anyone looking for a cool vibe and a hot beverage. 

Location: Nagy Diófa u. 30, 1072

---

---

Írók Boltja (The Writers’ Bookstore)

Írók Boltja translates to “The Writers’ Bookstore,” which makes sense when you understand their mission – to “present and disseminate contemporary and classical Hungarian literature in a comprehensive manner.”

They are proud to have been often visited by writers and poets during their years operating in Budapest, adding to the overall feel of this bookshop being a creative, collaborative space for writers (rather like the famous City Lights Bookshop in San Francisco, where the Beat generation writers used to hang out). 

The second floor of this sizable bookshop is dedicated to books in languages other than Hungarian, including a not insignificant selection of books in English, especially Hungarian writers translated into English. 

You can also take a seat in different chairs around the shop, as they encourage you to sit and stay awhile while you enjoy your book finds. 

Location: 1061 Budapest, Andrássy út 45.

---

Related: If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you might enjoy checking out The Magic, Budapest’s Harry Potter-inspired restaurant.

---

Bestsellers Books 

Bestsellers Books in Budapest is a fun bookstore where you can find the latest releases as well as older, popular titles in English. They sell all new books at pretty standard new book prices, in a delightful bookstore atmosphere. 

This business has been around since 1992, when they took over an old grocery store location in Budapest. It started as an academic bookstore, but over the years they grew to offer a balanced selection of books for learning and books for pleasure. 

That balance is reflected in the Bestsellers Books motto –“Through books to knowledge and dreams.”

Any book lover will enjoy browsing their curated selection of books, but if you’re looking for something harder to find, try asking one of their workers about their Out-of-Print book search service. 

Location: 1051 Budapest, Október 6. u. 11. 

---

---

Libra Bookstore

Libra Bookstore in Budapest will probably feel the most familiar to those who frequent bookstore chains like Barnes & Noble in the US and Waterstones in the UK. It’s a large bookstore selling all new books, and there’s tons of them here – over 38,000 of them according to their website. 

You’ll be able to find an impressive selection of books in English as well as German and French and smaller sections of books in other languages as well. 

This is the place to shop if you want to find any language learning materials, because their selection can’t be beat of anywhere I saw in Budapest. 

This is also a good choice for students, who can get a 15% discount on top of their already fair prices. You can also shop their selection online as well as their recommended Hungarian authors in translation.

Location: 1085 Budapest, Kölcsey utca 2.

---

---

Related: One of Budapest’s best-kept secrets is the Metropolitan Ervin Szabó Library, a former palace that has been converted into a city library. You’d never guess it from the generic main floor of the library, but this is a one-of-a-kind library, and the ticket is very affordable.

---

Honorable Mention: Di-Plant foreign language bookstore

I couldn’t leave one more bookstore off my list of Budapest bookshops – Di-Plant Foreign Language Bookstore. 

This is a tiny shop without the charm or the selection to rival any of the others on this list, but it’s still worth mentioning as a potential stop-in if you’re in the area (I wouldn’t necessarily go out of your way to make it, though). 

Di-Plant has lots of academic texts in various languages and a small shelf or two of fiction books in English, including a handful of books by Hungarian writers. They’re on the higher end price-wise and the lower-end selection wise, but you never know what you might find on their shelves on any given day. 

Location: 1085 Budapest, Gyulai Pál u. 16

---

---

---

Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss out on any travel destinations for book lovers.