City Lights Booksellers and Publisher Review

Three story book store, what's not to love? A great way to find new books and new authors. They have "Staff Picks" and I found myself looking through books I normally would have passed up on.

Personally don't think it's that great of a bookstore. Just a lot of hype/history

Cool place for some non main stream books. Hot little poetry section upstairs.

Great bookstore, wonderful selection, a little difficult to figure out where specific things are.

Amazing selection with a really good vibe. The quintessential bookstore!

Very unique selection of books with 3 levels. Definitely different than your typical book store

Hole in the wall bookstore with so much history. Great selection of unique books not found in chain stores

I love independent book stores tucked away in corners of the city I might not otherwise seek out. Clean, friendly staff and an interesting layout and selections. Was a great addition to an afternoon exploring the city!

Very good place to browse and spend some time. Quite a strong selection of, especially, fictional literature. Has some hard-to-find books, but unfortunately not what I was hunting down (the surprise of the clerk who was assisting me, as well).

The occasional book readings/discussions upstairs round out this SF institution nicely.
Visit City Lights with a strong cup of coffee and at least an entire afternoon.

This store is one of my favorite stores around San Francisco. It not only has cool books, but has a intresting store layout. The stores layout of going up and down stairs makes me feel comfortable in a bookstore filled with many.

A San Francisco classic. Great inventory including their own publications.

Popular famous bookstore in Chinatown. Only sells new books.

Amazing how this place remain the same after all those time had past. Plenty of books arranged from many categories for all kinds of readers to enjoy their time soaked in the forever citylights:)

Beautiful, well-stocked civic-minded independent bookstore. Well worth supporting

Such a cool shop. Amazing range of books and they are smart to sell merchandising gear for their own brand. Staff seemed a little aloof but who knows, I don't come from there.

This place is the cutest place for tourists to go into. The place has a large variety of books, with an entire upstairs floor filled with poetry. Definitely visit this place if you're visiting San Francisco.

Lovely independent bookstore in Chinatown, famous for being the bookstore of beatnik poets like Jack Kerouac. Quite a wonderful selection of books, and a great old-fashioned atmosphere.

Great bookstore with fantastic history, friendly helpful staff with plenty of books.

If you like dusty bookcases, with the smell of books and paper on the tall wooden shelves, you're in the right place. Inside you can breathe the classic air you would expect in an old bookcase, those where the books are dark, with a leather back. It is worthwhile to enter it even just out of curiosity

Quirky and so interesting. A great SF bookstore with 1950's charm and a feeling of bohemian feel.

love bringing my out of town/country friends here! So much history & of course love Scott xoxo

Every city shall have it's signature bookstore. City light is the signature bookstore in San Francisco.
Browsing through the shelves almost feels like a meditation to me. Staff picks are good and often inspirational. If the ground floor gets crowded, which it often does, hide away in the attic where there is a poem corner.
Great way to spend some quiet time, right next to the chaos in Chinatown.

Very cute and small but it enough for exploring all your options for books. Check out the store when you can. You might find something interesting...

I felt that the City Lights Bookstore was very unique and interesting to see, especially with it's history. It's worth a look if your in the area.

Customer service has always been exemplary. Calm and personal. Love that. You can sign up for free to be a member and get a discount when you buy. Importantly, you can also sell books here. Check out the store for more info bc I haven't sold anything yet.

This bookstore is most famous in San Francisco, there are basements and upstairs. Many books about poetry, LGBT, cultural history. Here you can sit while reading a book. The cashier is on the front. An interesting place to visit when visiting San Francisco.

Basically, I love every bookstore I have been visited, but this one is different. They have a very good ambience for book lover since they give a place for people to read books they like. On the second floor you will see poet and poem's corner with sophisticated chairs. In the basement, you will see more interesting books. Definitely a recommendation bookstore to visit when you're in San Francisco.

Beautiful book store in an very picturesque part of SF. Walked in thinking I d stumble into a beatnik era novel, but left with a book on our current understanding of time and quantum physics. Would definitely come back!

This is an extraordinary bookstore! A living piece of history with an eclectic selection.

Iconic place in a well-preserved setting. Huge selection.

One of my favorite book stores. So many delightful book nooks, kind employees, and opportunities to make new friends

Such a unique bookstore! Great collection of poetry and new publications as well as being a historic location for 20th century beat poetry! Highly recommend stopping by and checking them out!

Sooo great place to read quietly and to shop great editions!
If you are in SF its a must to go!

If you are a bookworm then you need to visit here. This was the popular hangout of Jack Kerouac - his walk of fame star is just outside. Oh yeah, they have books, too!

Amazing people running that store. The idea of community and literacy is strong here...not to mention that it is steeped in history!

City Lights is a Barnes and Noble in disguise. They only sell new books at full retail, and the selection is pretty poor. It may have been a great bookstore at one point, but now it's a Beats gift shop that sells a few books.

What can one say about City Lights? It is the Mecca for those seeking sanity from a world gone mad. What once was considered absurd has become sensible. Seek guidance here. The staff is amazing and beyond expectation. This is the holy shrine still intact and still reeking with the sweet scent of what made America truly great.

I could have spent hours here. I only had about 20 minutes to explore and it was so hard to leave. Each room is filled floor to ceiling with room shelves and the rooms are organized by genre. This is definitely a book lovers paradise.

Wealth of choice in books and feeling of intellectual vivacity

Great selection of books. Historic bookstore, worth a visit!

I can soak in for entire day, very warm and cozy bookstore.

Has a vast collection of books from local and world wide authors. My wife and I love going here. As usual San Francisco's hard for parking so you may have to look a couple blocks away.

Small, well-edited selection of books that will make you a better person. The kids' section stocks classics and new, innovative works.

Charged me 10 cents, but didn t give the bag because I bought the Howl tote bag. I assume I do have problems pronouncing the L in Howl , but it can t be that bad that he couldn t even tell I said the word twice... After trying to say the bag of Howl, I pointed at the bag and said the white one. Then he said there are two white ones. Great Terrible attitude when I asked him how much is Yoko Ono s Grapefruit. I guess he just really doesn t like Yoko Ono......

Hard to say something original about this place...my best source for i ek...

Classic independent bookstore. A hidden gem & difficult not to spend hours browsing.

I love this place. Great selection. Great location. You can't ask for more. Try to come when it's not too crowded, but definitely come. Every time I'm in the city it's inevitable that I'll stop by.

It's quiet. The sound of the wood floor sounds nice.

Wonderful! Iconic bookstore in San Francisco, from the legendary beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. It has all the Beatniks' works. Essential!

For me this is a special place. This library is also a sign of literature, poetry, freedom, culture. Tourist often does not care about visit this place and buying a poem book and they are wrong.

If you're a bookish traveler passing through San Francisco, you should make a pilgrimage to City Lights Bookstore, the surviving spirit of the Beatnik generation. Filled with literary titles from basement to attic, the place exudes poetry and literature. Whereas Barnes & Nobles and other chain stores are highly commercialized, City Lights has the inviting atmosphere of someone's private library or a neighborhood bookstore (only a lot better stocked than a typical neighborhood bookstore). Located right on Columbus Avenue, it sits at the intersection between San Francisco's China Town and the Italian neighborhood. The bookstore could be a reading intermission between your dim sum lunch and pasta dinner.

The legendary bookstore and beat publisher started by Lawrence Ferleghetti. Spend an afternoon there and learn about this rich corner of American culture.

Lots of different books, and they gave us extra bookmarks, which is always good

They have all kinds of books and a great poetry collection.

I know this is a adult book store nothing good for kids books are dusty and old thiny store I DO NOT RECOMMEND

You can't go to San Francisco without going to this bookstore of Beat fame

True to it's word and open till midnight ever night. Great place to find a good book, a nook and read.

Coming back for over thirty years to great surprises

The best bookstore for new titles. Green Apple still wins for best in town though due to its superior used selection.

Beat Generation iconic bookstore.
Loooove the Poet's room.