Time to visit another bookshop! And not any bookshop, either. In fact, pretty much the mother of all bookshops, as far is London is concerned. Can you guess its name? Hint: it’s not Foyles.
At a glance...
Waterstones on Piccadilly: the biggest bookshop in Europe
It’s Waterstones on Piccadilly: 6 floors, 8 miles (just under 13 kilometres) of shelves, hundreds of thousands of titles. Sure, Foyles is probably the most famous bookshop in London, but Waterstones on Piccadilly is the biggest, certainly in London, and possibly in the whole of Europe.
Waterstones occupies the art deco building that was once the flagship men’s fashion store, Simpsons of Piccadilly, in its heyday the largest menswear store in Britain. And what a fine building that is! The ground floor display windows are especially striking, the books look close enough to touch. Reflections from the surroundings disappear in the curved glass panes, the windows become invisible, and the side mirror stretches the display to infinity.
Built in 1936, Simpson’s was designed by architect Joseph Emberton, who also designed the iconic HMV store at 363 Oxford Street. (Iconic it may be, but it’s not half as nice looking, IMHO. Maybe I’m a Philistine?) The interior fittings came courtesy of László Moholy-Nagy, Bauhaus instructor and seminal avant-garde artist.
A tasteful refurbishment
Waterstones bought the building in 1999 and the Grade I listed structure underwent a respectful refurbishment.
The magnificent marble staircase is still there, and the beautiful art deco light fitting in its stairwell hangs from the ceiling as it always did, all 27 meters (90 feet) of it. That’s the equivalent of 3 double-decker buses stacked on top of each other!
Check out the lifts, too, with their “Next car up” sign and 1930s typography.
The space has been opened up. It’s now full of light and flowers, and, of course, books. Here and there, armchairs and low tables give it the feel of a public living room. This is a space where you feel welcome to linger and browse to your heart content, a bit like a public library, albeit one where you have to be very, very careful with the books. It’s a wonderful place.
Besides the books, you’ll find a whole range of games and educational children toys (the children section is massive!), board games, stationery, calendars, and magazines – plus branded cotton bags to carry your haul home.
The reduced price section on the lower ground floor is worth a browse, too, it’s rather well stocked and there are bargains to be had.
Panels by the lifts tell you what’s on what floor, so that it’s easy to find your way around.
Waterstones: a bookshop with extras
And if that wasn’t enough of a draw, Waterstones works hard at bringing people together around books. They organize a regular programme of events: author talks, book launches, and book signings. They run book clubs. They even host a monthly games night!
Feeling peckish? You don’t even have to leave the building.
There’s a den-like coffee bar in the Lower Ground floor. Waterstones call it the Emberton café, although it’s actually a branch of Costa coffee.
On the mezzanine by the Jermyn Street side, you’ll find another café, the aptly named Jermyn Street Gallery café. This one is flooded with light, very much not den-like.
Make it all the way to the top of the building, and prepare for one of the best views in London, looking towards the Houses of Parliaments and beyond. The 5th View bar and food gets advertised as a cocktail bar, and their cocktail list is certainly extensive, but they also offer a decent menu of pub food, and even an afternoon tea. I have not tried any of it, and the reviews on Google are, to be honest, a bit mixed, but… the view! (Although why do they feature a panoramic view of The City of London, which is nowhere near, at the top of the page for their food menu? It’s a bit of a mystery.)
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Where to go from there?
Well, if Waterstones doesn’t have enough books, or not the books you’re looking for, a short stroll down Piccadilly will take you to Maison Assouline and its striking arts books and collections. Or you could head to Stanfords in Covent Garden, for all the travel books in the world (or close enough, probably). And, on the way, you can grab the best cinnamon bun in London.
Great books, but too expensive? Check out these second hand bookshops!
Waterstones, Piccadilly: useful information
Address: 203-206 Piccadilly, W1J 9HD
Website: https://www.waterstones.com/bookshops/piccadilly
Waterstone Piccadilly on Google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ccEVmKhgsX9SyRBv6
Nearest tube stop: Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly line, Bakerloo line), Green Park (Jubilee line, Victoria line, Piccadilly line)
Toilets: yes
Accessible: mostly. There are lifts to every floor. There is one accessible toilet, on the Lower Ground floor, which you need a radar key for. But the Jermyn Street Gallery café doesn’t seem accessible, the only way to visit it seems to be a spiral staircase (somebody let me know if I’m wrong, I didn’t see anything, but maybe I wasn’t eagle-eyed enough). Also, there are a couple of wheelchair lifts, such as the one that you can take to go to the Emberton café, which is down a few steps from the main floor, but on my last visit, that was out of service.
