Chiswick bookshop listed among the best in London

The eighteenth century bow window of Foster Books

Foster Books makes the Time Out Best Bookshops list

Time Out is great at lists – best restaurants, best new theatre openings. The magazine, founded by the late Tony Elliott in 1968 as a guide to London culture, is now a global brand, with Time Out guides from Rio to Vancouver, but they retain their local expertise in what’s good to do and where is interesting to go in London.

They have just published a list of ‘the 45 brilliant bookshops in London to visit in 2026’, and among them is a bookshop in Chiswick.

I think Chiswick must have more than the average number of bookshops for a London neighbourhood, with the possible exception of W1, as by my reckoning we have six – two of them opened in the last few years.

Waterstones has pride of place in the middle of the High Road. The independent bookshop Bookcase, a few doors down, cannot match it for floorspace but is well-loved by Chiswickians and will be celebrating 33 years here this June.

READ ALSO: A resurgence in independent book shops

READ ALSO: The Small Library Company adds to Chiswick’s bookscape

We also have the Oxfam bookshop on Turnham Green Terrace and the two latest additions: The Small Library Company in Chiswick Lane and Everybody Reads, at the Hammersmith end of the High Road.

But the most picturesque and venerable is Foster Books, a family bookshop which Stephen Foster took over from his mother and father, which they opened in 1970. It has the distinction of being not just the oldest bookshop, but the oldest shop in Chiswick.

READ ALSO: Fifty years of Foster Books in Chiswick

Stephen Foster; Photograph Lucinda MacPherson

‘A must-visit for any self-respecting bookworm’

It is this shop which Time Out has chosen to include, ranking it at number 21 on its list of 45.

‘Foster Books is a must-visit for any self-respecting bookworm’ write James Manning and Rosie Hewitson.

‘The tiny historic bookshop has been operating for 50 years in the heart of Chiswick, and specialises in hard-to-find, out-of-print, used and rare books. While you can buy from its website, a lot of stock goes uncatalogued on the shelves, so make sure you pop in and browse around for the full selection’.

Number one on their list is Daunt Books in Marylebone, which they say is: ‘quite possibly its most beautiful’ of London’s bookshops. It specialises in travel writing and I discovered its treasure trove when I was looking for travel guides and histories preparing to film a documentary series in Africa.

Also in their top five is Bookmongers in Brixton: ‘everything you could want from a secondhand bookshop’; Foyles in Charing Cross, which you have to visit just for its sheer size and rabbit warren layout; the London Review Bookshop in WC1 for its ‘the inviting and stimulating presentation to the quality of the books selected; and Waterstones in Piccadilly.

‘With eight miles of shelving and over 200,000 books in stock at any one time, the Piccadilly branch of the UK’s largest bookstore chain is the biggest bookshop in the whole of Europe, and features six floors of books alongside two cafes and a bar/restaurant’.

It is comforting to know that bookshops are thriving in London. James Manning, co-author of An Opinionated Guide to London Bookshops, and Time Out’s content director for Europe, writes:

‘I’ve visited dozens of London booksellers, from Richmond to Crouch End, and I’m delighted to report that the rise of online retailers hasn’t put a dent in the city’s characterful, welcoming bookselling scene.

‘Instead, bookshops have upped their game, offering personalised recommendations, readings, book clubs and cosy cafés where you can enjoy your purchases over a steaming cuppa’.

45 brilliant bookshops in London to visit in 2026

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