Along with New York, Munich is the city with the highest number of publishing houses worldwide. This goes hand in hand with the fact the city has attracted famous intellectuals for the last two centuries. So it is no surprise that many fabulous and well-assorted book shops – especially art book shops – can be found in the former Bohemian-intellectual quarters Schwabing and Maxvorstadt near the University.
Having said that I always felt Munich was lacking a more design lead and young version. Sebastian Steinacker has obviously felt exactly the same way and filled the gap by opening Soda just off Viktualienmarkt after relocating from London.
Soda stocks an eclectic selection of books and rare magazines all around art, design and fashion but you will also find beautifully designed pop-up books such as “One Red Dot” by David A. Carter for children or the “Star Wars pop-up guide to the galaxy” not for children. It is also worth checking the website for book or magazine launches which are celebrated in the premises and attract Munich’s creative crowd.