“The bookstore has beautiful collections for adults and children.”
Librairie La Mandragore - Chalon-sur-Saône
At the heart of Chalon-sur-Saône is Librairie La Mandragore (meaning Mandrake), a welcoming independent bookstore. The bookstore was established in 1991, and was born from a merger of a youth specialist bookshop, and a literature orientated bookseller. It became a general bookstore by developing other topics, such as humanities and their comic collection; today, there is an excellent choice of comics and social science works. For 25 years it was under the leadership of Alain Demay, however since 2014 it has changed hands.
The staff are a team of passionate booksellers, who will welcome and advise you, helping you locate the book you are looking for, and if failing to do so will order any book into the store. There is also a lot going on in terms of activities based around books and reading, these include readings, exhibitions, storytellings, theme nights and contests. You can find a programme for upcoming events on their website. Occasionally, there are also authors, illustrators and publishers coming into the bookstore for meetings and signings. The bookstore also change their display each week to reflect a different theme, so if you are passing by don’t forget to take a look! Due to being a member of the Association of Youth, there is also a youth recreation room, which is a space for young people.
All-in-all, this French bookstore is a lovely place to get lost in a book, with the red painted walls warming you up in the colder months.
Address: 3 Rue des Tonneliers, 71100 Chalon-sur-Saône, France
Hours: Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 1:00pm and 2:00pm to 7:00pm
Telephone: +33 3 85 48 74 27
Website: http://www.librairie-la-mandragore.com/