Tea and Tattered Pages – Old books and cake

Image by Harriet O'Brien

I love a second-hand book shop. I’m not sure whether it’s the musty smell, the odd-looking man lurking as if he has nowhere else to go (and more than likely he doesn’t), or the weird and very wonderful things you can pick up on the cheap (cookery book where everything looks as if its coated in slime, DIY book in which every piece of advice is now illegal or extremely dangerous, calendar from 1990… to name just some of the treats I’ve come across).

Also, these places always make me feel (smugly) like I’m cheating the system somehow. Like when you find exactly what you want and its on sale, but not like a normal shop sale, more like 90 per cent off. And it’s a book, so somehow just a little bit better. Glorious.

Anyway, in Paris, second-hand book shops are both better and worse than the ones at home (mine’s the UK). Better as there are so few of them and English/US literature is such a treat when you live abroad, worse because the books can be so shockingly expensive and the selection is often poor.

Hurrah then for Tea and Tattered Pages which has both a wide and varied selection of stock, all at reasonable prices.

Its a little off the usual tourist track out in residential Montparnasse but well worth the journey. What’s more, the lovely American lady who runs the shop will serve you English tea, scones and carrot cake in the tiny tea-room at the back. Fab.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Tea and Tattered Pages | Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks
24 rue Mayet | Montparnasse | +33140659435
Mon – Sat 11:00 – 19:00, Sun 12:00 – 18:00