Powell's City of Books

Michelle Gonzales
Mar 20, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Jun 27, 2025

Are you a bookstore lover? Then you're going to love this post! Let me introduce you to one of the greatest bookstores I have been to . . . as of today . . . Powell's City of Books in Portland, Oregon.

powell's city of books in portland oregon

Yes! The bookstore is this whole building, with three floors of books! Everything from new, used, and even a rare book room that is open on select days. Be prepared to spend at least half a day here, if not a whole day, and probably spending a lot of money on books . . . I know I did!

Powell's is located in downtown Portland, Oregon, within the Pearl District, occupying an entire city block. There are ten rooms of books, all color-coded, spread out over 3,500 different sections housing approximately one million books making Powell's the largest used and new bookstore in the world! Can you say IMPRESSIVE!

For myself, this was a place of amazement, wonder, and serenity. I spent half a day here (didn't really understand when planning the trip the massiveness of the bookstore) but really needed a whole day to just browse all the different sections and enjoy the Guilder Cafe. It is truly an amazing place.

Now let's talk about planning your trip . . . some things you will need to know.