Powell’s City of Books

Portland, Portland Region
1005 W Burnside
Portland, Oregon 97209
800-878-7323
Powell’s City of BooksWebsite

Powell’s City of Books is a book lover’s paradise ⁠— the largest independent bookstore in the world.

Located in downtown Portland, occupying an entire city block, Powell’s stocks more than a million new and used books. Nine color-coded rooms house more than 3,500 different sections, offering something for every interest, including an incredible selection of out-of-print and hard-to-find titles.

Be sure to grab a map: The store takes up an entire city block and it’s easy to get lost among a  million books.

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating: 5.0/5 TripAdvisor Traveler Rating based on 5421 reviews

TripAdvisor

  • TripAdvisor Rating
    April 2, 2024
    Thomas V

    Bags of Books

    We spent a good part of the afternoon here searching through the books, both old and new. It's a very large store. We left with big bags full of books. It's a good thing we had a car to load them into.

  • TripAdvisor Rating
    March 12, 2024
    Eminan01

    A large and nice bookstore

    Powell’s City of Books is very large and have nearly all kinds of books in it. There are also some DVD and other book’s related products sold in the bookstore. The staffs are very nice and friendly. I like it very much.

  • TripAdvisor Rating
    February 22, 2024
    madlikemercury

    must-see for book nerds

    Expansive book store, very fun to wander through. Almost too big - if you're short on time you won't be able to see it all. You could easily kill half a day in here. The rare book room on the top floor was interesting to look through, so definitely check that out, and then make your way down, stopping at whichever sections interest you most. After browsing, I bought some books and sat in the attached cafe to read for an hour before meeting up with friends.

  • TripAdvisor Rating
    February 12, 2024
    PH2003

    The biggest bookstore ever

    While looking for stuff to do in Portland, we learned that they have one of the biggest bookstores. I’m glad we checked this place out, it’s in a really cool location and it’s very welcoming - unlike other city spots. It’s next to restaurants and feels like it’s definitely in the heart of Portland. You take the Burnside bridge there too, so you get full view of the Portland white stag sign on the way. The only downside is the area has a lot of homeless people who are a bit confrontational. We had more than one person approach us asking for things, one for drugs another for money. Lots of trash on the ground and you get hard pee-smell. I even saw poop on the ground. But I guess that’s Portland these days. A hot tip: the bookstore has a public bathroom which is a scarcity in the city

  • TripAdvisor Rating
    February 9, 2024
    mostly_happy_camper

    Great place to browse. Bring money.

    A city landmark, rightfully so. Huge selection of new and used books, organized well into color coded sections on several floors. Impressive and, well, expensive. The used book collection is absolutely terrific and, well, expensive. Used books are not the bargins you might expect. A rare book room is a delight for window shopping, but have your wallet full or a valid credit card if you are serious about purchasing any. The proprietors used to pay cash for your books (not very much in fact), but no longer do. Only a credit for the store is available anymore. The store also has a large selection of gift items, like stationary, cards, jigsaw puzzles, and a wide variety of other odds and ends. It has a decent cafe, too.

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