Shakespeare and Company was opened by George Whitman in August 1951. George had found himself in Paris after the Second World War, not wanting to return to America straight away. He enrolled at the Sorbonne to improve his French and found a small hotel room on Boulevard St Michel. During his studies he amassed a large collection of English books and used his room as a library and bookstore. It was only after a conversation with his friend that George took seriously the notion of opening a bookstore in Paris. So, in 1951, he managed to acquire a small apartment opposite Notre Dame de Paris, which was then converted into the front of Shakespeare and Company.

Set in the heart of Paris on the Left Bank opposite Notre-Dame, Shakespeare and Company has grown from a bookstore into an institution. It is situation in the Latin Quarter which for centuries has been the centre of Parisian creativity and intelligentsia. Visitors can drop in for Sunday tea, literary festivals and other themed events.