I’ve visited some really beautiful bookstores around the world. While Libreria Acqua Alta in Venice is the most unique—I mean, its backdoor opens directly to one of the Venetian canals and books are kept in bathtubs and a gondola—Albertine in NYC is the most dreamy and atmospheric. Housed in a former mansion in the high Italian Renaissance style by architect Stanford White, the bookstore is not immediately visible when you enter the building. That’s because you have to first pass through a ravishing marble-columned rotunda and a statue before Albertine’s entrance reveals itself.

Once inside, you quickly realize that the serene and beautifully designed first floor is just the opening act. Make your way up to the second floor and the dreamy ceiling with stars and a zodiac motif will come into view. The second floor is not huge, yet it seems enormous with the tall ceiling and book-lined walls. There are some vintage leather sofas for your reading pleasure. Off to the side, a small reading room with a table and chairs upholstered in luscious velvet also invites you to take one (or 10) of the 14,000 books off the bookshelf and, well, read.

The bookstore was founded by Antonin Baudry, a writer and former French diplomat. He said he missed the cafes in Europe where one could have intimacy and meet people; he couldn’t find one like it in New York so that was what gave him the motivation to start the project. I’m so glad he did because this is truly a one-of-a-kind gem in this incredible city.