I’ve talked about this place before, but since this is the 20th anniversary of El Ateneo Grand Splendid, I thought it worth mentioning again.

Originally a theatre and then movie theatre, in 2000 this beautiful old building was transformed into a bookshop. Even as the seats were removed to make way for books where people used to sit, the renovation kept most of the original features. The foyer features beautiful coffee table books, journals and diaries, and even a small section of English language books. The box office still kind of fulfills its original function, as it’s now where you go to pay for your books.

If you take the marble staircase to the next level, you can look down over the auditorium, and it’s also a place used for art exhibitions of various kinds.

My two favourite parts are the boxes and the stage, which have been kept as they were and repurposed. I’ve never actually sat in any of the boxes, but people take books in there and read for as long as they like and nobody bothers them.

The stage is now a cafe, where you can have anything from a cup of coffee to a full meal with wine, and if you look up you’ll see all the ropes and pulleys that used to operate the stage.

I pop in once in a while for a coffee and usually end up buying at least one book. And when anyone comes to visit it’s definitely on my list to show them.

Last year, National Geographic voted El Ateneo Grand Splendid “the world’s most beautiful bookshop”. I don’t doubt it.