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iVisit.... Foyles @Charring Cross Road

  • Foyles 113-119 Charring Cross Rd London, WC2H 0DT United Kingdom (map)

Foyles is a renowned, even legendary award-winning independent bookstore with a long history.

The new Foyles flagship at 107 Charing Cross Road houses a range of over 200,000 different titles on four miles (6.5km) of shelves - the equivalent of lining one bank of the Thames with books from Battersea Power Station to the Tower of London. With 37,000 square feet of retail space, spread across eight alternating foot-plates over four floors, it is the largest bookshop to have opened in the UK so far this century. Alongside books, they have a wide range of gifts and stationery, magazines, printed music, classical music CDs and Classic and World DVDs as well as Ray's Jazz, Grant & Cutler Foreign Languages, a Cafe and an Auditorium. An impressive full height central atrium and large windows fill the space with natural light, while the layout allows for easy navigation and the serendipitous discovery of new books.

Foyles, which was founded in 1903 by brothers William and Gilbert Foyle, first opened on Charing Cross Road in 1906 and moved to its location at 113-119 Charing Cross Road in 1929. Declared by William Foyle to be 'the world's first purpose-built bookshop', it quickly became one of the capital's most well-known literary landmarks. William's daughter, Christina, built friendships with some of the leading writers of the time and pioneered bookshop author events, beginning a lecture series in the 1920s and founding the famous Foyles Literary Luncheons in 1930. The move to 107 Charing Cross Road in June 2014 marks a new chapter for this world-renowned, family-owned bookshop.

Earlier Event: March 10
iVisit.... Green Park
Later Event: March 24
iVisit.... Holland Park