Bouquinistes

The bouquinistes are identified by large, wagon-green metal boxes bolted directly to the stone parapets along the banks of the Seine. These stalls house hundreds of thousands of second-hand books, vintage prints, and antique postcards, creating what is often described as the world's largest open-air bookshop. While they now span nearly three kilometers of the riverbanks, their presence began with itinerant booksellers who hawked their wares from portable baskets or trestle tables on the city's bridges as early as the sixteenth century.