El Ateneo (taken from argentinastravel.com)

I read an article recently about the most beautiful bookstores in the world. On top of that list is Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht, which is a bookstore inside what used to be a Dominican Church. View some pictures here.

Another bookstore is the El Ateneo in Buenos Aires, a bookstore in what used to be a theater. Pictures and a description here.

Both really, truly are beautiful settings for books. Ah, to be a bookstore that looked like that.  If you have a grand old church or theater you can spare, please let us know.