Bookstores in Victoria
Bookstores reward the browsers. Victoria, BC has 29 mapped right now, and 2 of them deal in used books. That's 29 bookshops mapped around Victoria, each with its own shelves and specialties. The used sections are where the real bargains hide.
This guide covers every bookstore we could verify in and around Victoria (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include Serendipity Books and Griffin Bay Bookstore, plus Russell Books. If a bookshop's missing from Victoria's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Victoria bookstore lineup
29 mapped within about 40 km:
Serendipity Books
Bookstore
Serendipity Books is Bookstore on 223 A Street, Friday Harbor. Serendipity Books also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 10:00-16:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
223 A Street, Friday Harbor, 98250
Hours: Mo-Su 10:00-16:00
Phone: +1-360-378-2665
Griffin Bay Bookstore
Bookstore
Griffin Bay Bookstore — Bookstore.
Russell Books
Used bookstore
Russell Books — Used bookstore. Also worth knowing about Russell Books: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 09:30-18:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
Hours: Mo-Su 09:30-18:00
Phone: +1-250-361-4447
Curious Comics
Bookstore
Curious Comics is Bookstore.
Bolen Books
Bookstore
Bolen Books — Bookstore.
Port Book & News
Bookstore
Port Book & News — Bookstore.
Tanner's Books
Bookstore
Tanner's Books — Bookstore.
Lopez Bookshop
Bookstore
Lopez Bookshop is Bookstore on 211 Lopez Road. Lopez Bookshop also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
211 Lopez Road
The Haunted Bookshop
Bookstore
The Haunted Bookshop — Bookstore.
Bucknucks Books
Bookstore
Bucknucks Books — Bookstore.
Odyssey Books & Gifts
Bookstore
Odyssey Books & Gifts is Bookstore on West Front Street. Odyssey Books & Gifts also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:00-19:00; Su 09:00-18:00.
West Front Street
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:00-19:00; Su 09:00-18:00
Christian Book & Music
Bookstore
Christian Book & Music — Bookstore.
Talisman Books and Gallery
Bookstore
Talisman Books and Gallery — Bookstore, found on 4605 Bedwell Harbour Road in Pender Island. Also worth knowing about Talisman Books and Gallery: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
4605 Bedwell Harbour Road, Pender Island, V0N 2M0
Phone: +1 250-629-6944
UVic Bookstore
Bookstore
UVic Bookstore — Bookstore.
SUBtext Books & Things
Bookstore
SUBtext Books & Things — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about SUBtext Books & Things: the map lists its hours as Sep-Apr Mo-Fr 09:00-17:00; May-Aug Mo-Fr 10:00-16:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
Hours: Sep-Apr Mo-Fr 09:00-17:00; May-Aug Mo-Fr 10:00-16:00
Phone: +1-250-721-8810
Sorenson Books
Bookstore
Sorenson Books — Bookstore on 1029 View Street. Also worth knowing about Sorenson Books: the map lists its hours as Tu-Sa 10:00-16:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
1029 View Street, V8V 0C9
Hours: Tu-Sa 10:00-16:00
Phone: +1 250 383-3215
Brentwood Bound
Bookstore
Brentwood Bound is Bookstore on 1191 Verdier Avenue.
1191 Verdier Avenue, V8M 1E6
Bastion Books
Bookstore
Bastion Books is Bookstore on 14 Bastion Square. Bastion Books also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 11:00-17:00.
14 Bastion Square
Hours: Mo-Sa 11:00-17:00
Terrier Books
Bookstore
Terrier Books — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Terrier Books: the map lists its hours as Su,Mo 10:00-16:00; Th-Sa 09:30-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
Hours: Su,Mo 10:00-16:00; Th-Sa 09:30-17:00
Phone: +1-250-885-2123
Camas Books and Infoshop
Bookstore
Camas Books and Infoshop — Bookstore on 2620 Quadra Street. Also worth knowing about Camas Books and Infoshop: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 10:00-18:00; it has a website with more detail.
2620 Quadra Street
Hours: Mo-Su 10:00-18:00
Alphabet city
Used bookstore
Alphabet city — Used bookstore on 552 Pandora Avenue. Also worth knowing about Alphabet city: the map lists its hours as Su 10:00-16:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
552 Pandora Avenue, V8W 1N7
Hours: Su 10:00-16:00
Phone: +1-778-899-6208
Smart Books
Bookstore
Smart Books is Bookstore.
CAVITY Curiosity Shop
Bookstore
CAVITY Curiosity Shop — Bookstore on 2514 Douglas Street. Also worth knowing about CAVITY Curiosity Shop: the map lists its hours as Th-Su 12:00-18:00; it has a website with more detail.
2514 Douglas Street
Hours: Th-Su 12:00-18:00
Ivy's Bookshop
Bookstore
Ivy's Bookshop — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Ivy's Bookshop: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-17:00; Su 12:00-16:00.
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-17:00; Su 12:00-16:00
Munro's Books
Bookstore
Munro's Books is Bookstore on 1108 Government Street, Victoria. Munro's Books also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 09:30-18:00; PH 10:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
1108 Government Street, Victoria, V8W 1Y2
Hours: Mo-Su 09:30-18:00; PH 10:00-17:00
Phone: +1-250-382-2464
Beacon Books
Bookstore
Beacon Books — Bookstore on 2372 Beacon Avenue.
2372 Beacon Avenue
The Children's Bookshop
Bookstore
The Children's Bookshop is Bookstore on 2442 Beacon Avenue.
2442 Beacon Avenue
Books & Shenanigans
Bookstore
Books & Shenanigans is Bookstore on 347 Cook Street. Books & Shenanigans also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-18:00; Su 11:00-17:00; it has a website with more detail.
347 Cook Street
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-18:00; Su 11:00-17:00
Indigo
Bookstore
Indigo — Bookstore.
What the map tells us about bookstores in Victoria
13 of the 29 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — bookshops keep civilised hours, so the listed ones are usually reliable.
11 have websites listed. Worth a look for events — readings and signings get announced there first.
2 of the shops are tagged as selling used books — the second-hand shelves are where out-of-print gems and first editions turn up for pocket change.
The Victoria bookstore crawl
Plot these on a map and the day plans itself: Serendipity Books on 223 A Street, Griffin Bay Bookstore, Russell Books, Curious Comics, Bolen Books, Port Book & News, Tanner's Books, and Lopez Bookshop on 211 Lopez Road. That's 29 stops on the Victoria bookstore crawl. 21 more are listed below.
Bookstore tips for Victoria
A few things worth knowing before you work through Victoria's bookstores:
- Note the shop's specialties at Serendipity Books. Sci-fi, travel, art books, philosophy — every good shop leans somewhere. Find the lean that matches yours.
- Don't judge by the window display at Griffin Bay Bookstore. The front table is marketing. The back shelves are the shop's real taste. Walk the whole floor.
- Buy the signed copy. Signed stock costs the same as unsigned and only goes up in charm. Ask at the till; shops often have signed copies behind the counter.
- Check the staff picks shelf first. It's the fastest read of a shop's personality. If the picks excite you, the rest of the store will too.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Victoria — that covers the town itself plus the surrounding communities you'd reasonably drive to. Listings come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by local volunteers, so a brand-new bookstore in Victoria can take a while to appear. Spotted a closure among the 29, or a bookstore we missed entirely? The map is the source of truth here — one OpenStreetMap edit corrects it for everyone.
We don't list prices — they change constantly and vary by edition. What we list is the where: real shops, verified by real mappers, in alphabetical order with no favourites.
If you run one of the 29 listed here and something's wrong — a closure, a move, new hours — the fix is the same: update the shop on OpenStreetMap and the correction flows through to this page on the next daily refresh.
Bookstore listings for Victoria: 29 mapped from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual photo credits appear in captions. Listing data was last refreshed automatically — verify hours before visiting.