Book shops in Girona
New books[edit]
Abacus[edit]
Abacus is the largest bookstore in Girona, located in the Eixample neighbourhood, near the Mercat del Lleó. It’s part of the Abacus chain, which has 47 stores and is the biggest bookseller in Catalonia.[1] The ground floor is dedicated to books — mainly in Catalan and Spanish, with a small foreign-language section — while the upper floor offers toys and stationery.
In general, Abacus is not recommended for books. All books are full price, even for books were published fifty years ago, and their selection is extremely limited compared to massive selection of Amazon. Save yourself time and effort and just buy books on Amazon instead. In fact, we only recommend Abacus for buying stationary. The Wifi password is abacusgirona. Rda. Sant Antoni Maria Claret, 39-41, 17002 Girona
An Abacus soci (membership) card costs €10 and gives you a 10% discount on most things in the shop, so is worth getting if you go to Abacus often.
There used to be a second entrance at the back of the shop but it seems to be permanently closed.
Lliberia 22[edit]
Llibreria 22 was founded in 1978 by Guillem Terribas and a group of partners. The name is from the street number: Carrer de les Hortes, 22.[2] Over time, the business expanded to include a comic book shop, now also specializing in paperbacks, and a bookshop-kiosk on Carrer Emili Grahit. More recently, it opened Espai 22, a cultural venue that hosts exhibitions and book presentations.
The bookshop has received several awards, including recognition from the Spanish government for its contribution to cultural promotion (1986) and from the Catalan government as Best Bookshop (1990 and 1997). It also received the Liberpress Literature Award in 2014.
Its main sections include humanities, poetry, fiction, comics, and cinema.
Carrer de les Hortes, 22, Entresòl B2, 17001 Girona.
Linguae[edit]
Linguae is Girona's only foreign-language bookstore. Sells books in English, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese. They can also import books in any language, sometimes (though often not) at prices cheaper than Amazon.
The bookstore opened in 2015 by Mar Ferrer.[3] She lived for several years in Belgium, and when she returned to Girona, she noticed there were no foreign-language bookshops in Girona and that she had to travel to Barcelona to find books in French or English.[3] She decided to open a bookshop specializing in languages.[3]
Linguae also offers conversation classes for adults at all levels and in different languages, as well as cooking classes for children and storytelling sessions.[3]
You can order books through their WhatsApp at +34 622 37 11 94.
972 483 640 | Carrer Migdia, 77, Girona
Somia Vins i Llibres[edit]
Somia Vins i Llibres is a combined restaurant, bar, and bookshop in the Barri Vell. It has books in several languages, mainly Catalan and Spanish, with about 30–40 titles in English and 20–30 in French. The shop includes a large LGTBIQ+ section (around 150 books) and a feminist section (around 200 books). Books can be browsed but not taken to the tables.
If you have Tarjeta Cultura, you receive a 5% discount on purchases.
Carrer del Pou Rodó, 21, 17004 Girona
Other book shops[edit]
- Comics 22. Carrer de les Hortes, 24, 17001 Girona.
- Les Voltes. Plaça del Vi, 2, 17004 Girona.
- Ulyssus is a travel bookshop in the Barri Vell
Second-hand book shops in Girona[edit]
Re-Read[edit]
Re-Read is a small used book shop in the Barri Vell. Opened at some point during 2013 and 2015.[4] Has mostly Catalan and Spanish books, also a few shelves of English, French, and German books. One book costs 4€, two books cost 6€, and five books cost 12€.[5] You can also buy a prepaid card for 12€; when you use this card, the price of books is reduced to €2.40. Since the shop is small, the selection of books is small, so if you want a specific book, it’s better to look on Amazon, eBay or Wallapop instead. Instagram: @rereadgirona | Carrer de les Ballesteries 4
Sweet Books[edit]
Sweet Books is a used book shop in the Barri Vell. The shop sells sweets and books, hence the name Sweet Books. (However, inside, there are no sweets, only books, so where are the sweets??) The shelves are crammed with thousands of second-hand books (the owners estimate there are 10,000 books[6], sometimes the estimate is 20,000??[7]). None of the books have prices, so you have to ask at the till.
Sweet Books opened in 2013 by Olga Vila and Ernest Riera i Arbussà, two lifelong booksellers.[8] Ernest was born in Girona in 1966. He is a professional translator and also worked as a film critic for Diari de Girona. In 1990 he published his first translation, Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Since then, he has translated into Catalan more than fifty works of English fiction, including books by Mark Twain, J. D. Salinger, and Margaret Atwood.[9][10] Olga was a librarian at the University of Girona.[7]
The shop started as a stall at the second-hand markets in Girona.[11] The shop was partly inspired by the used bookshop Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and it was almost named Shakespeare i Companyia.[7]
In 2023, Olga and Ernest decided to sell the business, but could not find a seller.[8]
@sweetbooksgirona | sweet.books.info@gmail.com[12] | Carrer de les Ferreries Velles, 14, 17004
Other[edit]
- Girona's flea markets sell books, often as cheap as €1.
Book clubs in Girona[edit]
- Escola de filosofia is a group created by philosophy graduate Àlex Agustí-Polis.[13]. Instagram: @filoescola. They have two meetups:
- 1) Club de lectura de filosofia (Philosophy Book Club). Meets monthly at the Carles Rahola Public Library. Around 20 people gather to discuss a philosophy book they’ve read beforehand.
- 2) Cafè filosòfic de Girona (Girona Philosophy Café). Started in summer 2024 by Narcís Nonó and Àlex Agustí-Polis, held at El Foment tavern. About 12 people meet every three weeks to debate topics they choose on the spot.[14]
- L'illa de les escriptores is a monthly book club at Somia vins i llibres. They meet every first Wednesday of the month at 7:30 PM. https://www.instagram.com/somia_girona/p/DOY7o2cCHgJ
- The Linguae English book club meets once a month at Girona's foreign language book shop, Linguae. The club is run by Abby Jones. The club is free but you have to buy the book from Linguae. See https://linguae.cat/portfolio-items/adult-book-group-24-25-2-2
- Girona Book Club is a small and informal English-speaking book group that is organised in a small WhatsApp group (26 members as of December 2025). Run by a woman called Sarah. The WhatsApp group was created on 16th September 2022. One of their meetups was at 6:30 PM at Restaurant del Parc Migdia, on 24 January 2023.[15]
- Club de lectora de escritoras Girona meet in Parc del Migdia to read together and talk about books. Instagram: @clubdelecturagirona (previously @clubdelecturaescritoras) They also have a Telegram channel called "Quedadas literarias Girona" (https://t.me/quedadasliteriasgirona) and a private Telegram group called "Quedadas literarias Girona Chat".
- Carles Rahola library have book clubs
References[edit]
- ↑ Abacus Bookshops: This is the largest bookstore chain in the Catalonia Region, with 47 stores https://www.ilo.org/resource/article/interview-v%C3%ADctor-meseguer-s%C3%A1nchez-deputy-director-general-abacus?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- ↑ https://www.diaridegirona.cat/girona/2011/03/06/gran-joc-girona-49468617.html
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 https://www.girona.cat/emblematics/cat/establiments_fitxa.php?id=78
- ↑ https://www.google.com/maps/place/Re-Read+Girona/@41.9854219,2.8249712,3a,75y,62.82h,84.02t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s4IvSyRMnvKiEuHAswG2PMg!2e0!5s20150501T000000!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D5.979443993444619%26panoid%3D4IvSyRMnvKiEuHAswG2PMg%26yaw%3D62.823855371246594!7i13312!8i6656!4m14!1m7!3m6!1s0x12bae6e70b6746d3:0x2aa8ca1aea33eea4!2sRe-Read+Girona!8m2!3d41.9854051!4d2.8250342!16s%2Fg%2F11c5zv5fjb!3m5!1s0x12bae6e70b6746d3:0x2aa8ca1aea33eea4!8m2!3d41.9854051!4d2.8250342!16s%2Fg%2F11c5zv5fjb?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDgwNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
- ↑ https://www.re-read.com/en/prices/
- ↑ https://www.cataloniatoday.cat/article/1968498-long-live-books.html
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 https://www.elpuntavui.cat/article/850162-la-dolca-materia-dels-somnis.html
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 https://www.elpuntavui.cat/cultura/article/19-cultura/2322082-el-dolc-gust-de-la-literatura.html
- ↑ https://www.enciclopedia.cat/diccionari-de-la-literatura-catalana/ernest-riera-i-arbussa
- ↑ https://www.raigverdeditorial.cat/traductor/ernest-riera-i-arbussa/
- ↑ https://www.cataloniatoday.cat/article/1968498-long-live-books.html
- ↑ 2025-12-02: https://www.instagram.com/sweetbooksgirona/?hl=en says Consultes a sweet.books.info@gmail.com
- ↑ https://www.escoladefilosofia.cat/alexagustipolis
- ↑ https://www.escoladefilosofia.cat/escola/
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/groups/1538310519936906
