For any book lover, this is a must visit. Situated on a busy street with shops, Livraria da Vila is…read morea classic and modern bookstore where you can browse for books, films, music, etc, sit in the café or read in their nooks.

This bookstore is fantastic. I walked in wanting to check the place out and was immediately greeted…read moreby a nice lady who only spoke Brazilian Portuguese. When she found out I spoke only a little Brazilian Portuguese and knew more English, she tried to find co-workers who knew English. The guy who ended up helping me a whole bunch in locating poetry books was awesome. He kept pulling out options that were of what I was looking for and others that were known to be from great authors. I ended up leaving with several books - all of them were so cool and were just my style. I am hoping these will also help me learn Brazilian Portuguese more on other mediums. The store is well organized on the floor the entrance / exit is located on. There is a lower level mainly filled with children books and things of that matter along with a cafe that I didn't get to check out because I was still browsing with books in hand. I totally forgot to go check it out after I had purchased my books so will need to go another time. There were two other upper levels - one with psychology, self help type books and more and then the highest level was small, but moderately filled with design, architecture, food, travel, music, and culture. I spent some time up here as there was a comfy armchair and not busy with people. There were some books up there I liked, but they were heavy and didn't want to take them back with me that day. Found that this bookstore was very close to where I was staying which was cool cause I was able to go back and forth to drop stuff off multiple times to free up my hands and lessen my carrying weight while I continued to explore the streets.

Must say that I was super happy to find this 'hidden' gem. I was pretty tired of the superficial…read morehype around coffee lab nearby. This place provides excellent coffee and nice quiet court yard behind the bookstore. I'm reading my kindle though, just saying.

I bought a few games for delivery in Minas Gerais. Ordering via the website failed (due to an…read moreunsuccessful registration) but the alternative via the phone went pretty smooth, despite my basic Portuguese. The staff handling the phones was super helpful and patient. Payment went via BdB direct deposit, but my payment got lost. After a few days waiting, I was contacted about the outstanding order. They then found the payment (luckily) and Dobble / Spot It arrived just in time for my trip. I would buy here again.