French Friday: Les Bouquinistes

Setting up for the day

 I adore Paris for its open air markets, and les bouquinistes are like open air markets for used books: simply paradise for this bibliophile!

These booksellers have been a part of the Parisian landscape almost as long as the invention of the printing press . They first peddled their wares in wheelbarrows, but in the late 1800s the government granted the bouquinistes permanent legal status. Today the iconic dark green metal boxes line the sidewalks on both sides of the Seine near Notre Dame.