Historic Literary London Walking Tour

From Westminster, it's an easy walk to the historic Charing Cross location of Foyle's Bookshop (or take the tube to Tottenham Court Road or Leicester Square). Founded in 1903 by two brothers who had failed their civil service exams -- and were amazed by the response to the ad they placed to sell their textbooks -- Foyle's has been at this location since 1906. Regulars have included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, G. B. Shaw, and Walt Disney; it's said that Aleister Crowley once haunted the occult department.

If Foyle's doesn't sate your thirst for bookstores, browse through others on Charing Cross Road or venture over to Hatchards, London's oldest bookstore, at 187 Piccadilly, or Daunt Books, with its Edwardian decor, at 83-84 Maryleborne High Street.