Hidden among the historic corridors of the Güemes Gallery is the smallest bookstore in Buenos Aires, as tiny as it is powerful: it measures just 4.34 square meters. But the most daring act of this bookstore is not being the smallest in Buenos Aires, but daring to revive the act of giving books as gifts.
The smallest bookstore in Buenos Aires is hidden in this Art Nouveau gallery: it is the second smallest in the world, and the author of The Little Prince walked through its corridors.
The smallest bookstore in Buenos Aires is located inside the Güemes Gallery and is only surpassed by a few centimeters by the one that currently holds the world record in Lisbon, with 3.70 m².
This small bookstore is hidden, waiting for you to discover it, in the main hallway of one of the most beautiful galleries in Buenos Aires. Imagine if there is a special connection that the author of The Little Prince experienced in this gallery, which today houses a secret bookstore, the smallest in the capital, that you have to visit.
This bookstore is called “Te quiero regalar un libro” (I want to give you a book) and is a secret gem that proves you don’t need acres of space to create worlds. This bookstore is a micro-universe dedicated exclusively to illustrated books for children and adults who still believe in magic. Each title has been meticulously curated with a specific mission in mind: to bring back the tradition of giving books as gifts.
The proposal is aimed at those who seek to surprise with more than just an object: to give a story, an image, a pause amid the digital noise. In times of endless scrolling, this small space invites you to stop, even if only for two minutes, and take off to another world through a book.
The smallest bookstore in Buenos Aires is hidden in the corridors of the Galería Güemes
The location is no coincidence. The bookstore chose Galería Güemes because of its strong connection to Buenos Aires’ past. Opened in 1915, Galería Güemes is one of the most elegant architectural gems in downtown Buenos Aires. If the key to saving something important is often found in a small, hidden corner, but one full of identity, then this small and beautiful bookstore has come to save the world. Behind this space is Alma, along with her daughter Candela and her son Gerónimo, who are embarked on this venture with a simple and powerful conviction: a book can change a day, a childhood, or a way of looking at the world.
The Galería Güemes was designed by the same architect as Confitería El Molino, Francisco Gianotti, and combines Art Nouveau refinement with a European imprint: glass domes, symmetrical corridors, original elevators, and ornamental details make this building a time capsule. It is no surprise that the Galería Güemes is an icon of the heritage of cosmopolitan Buenos Aires at the beginning of the 20th century.
But it’s not just about beauty: the smallest bookstore in Buenos Aires is located in the same place where the author of one of the world’s best-known books, The Little Prince, lived.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince, lived there between 1929 and 1931, during his time in Buenos Aires as director of Aeroposta Argentina. In one of the apartments on the upper floors, Saint-Exupéry wrote Night Flight, one of his most important works.
Although The Little Prince was published years later, this building is a real part of his biography and his universe. And it is precisely there, among the Art Nouveau corridors where Saint-Exupéry also walked, that the smallest bookstore in this city is located.
When are you going to buy a book?
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