Munro’s Books

I love this book store. It’s a must for any book lovers visit to Victoria. I always find more than a few books to take home. I love the staff picks.

Best bookstore you could hope for in the online age. Cool building alone is worth the visit. I liked that the staff arranges a lot of the popular and recommended books facing the customer from the shelf, making judging a book by its cover even easier!

Gorgeous bookstore in the heart of downtown Victoria.

Beautiful architecture, heaps of stationary and fun bits and bobs. Plenty of books, organized and categorized perfectly. Friendly and average pricing.

One of my favourite bookstores of all time. Great selection for the size, and very helpful people. The owner is a joy. No one bugging you, but eager to help if you ask. The ambiance is gorgeous and I never want to leave. I always give these guys my moola over Chapters if I can help it. Also, they tend to have cool little gems hidden here that you don’t find just anywhere. Of course they have best sellers like any bookshop, but they obviously know books as they have some fantastic selection. You can’t go wrong shopping here for a new read!

Sometimes there’s just something about wandering around a bookstore and discovering new things that Amazon can’t beat. Discovering new books, magazines (magazines are where traditional bookstores really have Amazon beat, I think) and even random games, notes cards or other random things.
This store is beautiful, to boot. I love old buildings, and this is a real gem. Soaring ceilings. When we visited in December there was even a band playing live Christmas music on a ledge above the front door — amazing! We asked how they got up their and the cashier only told us mysteriously that «we have our ways».
This place is just one of the many reasons I keep coming back to Victoria.

Oh Munro, how is it I haven’t reviewed you yet?!
Munro’s is located right downtown along the main tourist walk in Victoria. While that means it’s great for those who are visiting and can just pop in, it also means for locals getting there is a bit like playing frogger. But once you’re in, I promise you, it’s worth it.
The building itself is gorgeous, high ceilings, beautiful design and is generally really great to look at, if you ever catch yourself looking up from the rows of books.
While Munro’s isn’t as big as Bolen, the other really great local bookstore in Victoria, they do have a great selection.
They’ve got a huge selection of local authors, with decent fiction and non fiction selections. Also, if you can’t find it, they’re often happy to bring it in for you.
I also love that they are local, and when the Canadian and US dollars were first on par and there was a huge price discrepancy between the two on books, Munro’s offered a discount to reduce the Canadian price a bit. I think that’s rad.
All in all they are great people, super knowledgeable, in a fantastic store and worth stopping in if you love books even the slightest.

Want to feel close to Alice Munro? Awed by great Canadian Literature and architecture in the heart of beautiful Victoria where the New world stands up dashingly with a little of the dignity of the Old and lots of it’s very own heart? Go to Munro’s Books. Touch the wood, look up at the lofty, inspiring stretching use of space, stock up on beautiful papeterie. If you are a book lover, give yourself time to fondle and browse. If you are a broke book lover, bring a friend who will drag you out of there for your own good.

After spending the afternoon phoning every used bookstore in the city looking for a copy of The Fifth Sacred Thing, I phoned Munro’s. To my delight they had 1 copy left. The lady gladly put it on hold for me, I raced down on my bicycle and they were very friendly and chatty and happy to recommend some other great reads! Thanks Munro’s I loved the book!

Munro’s Books has been described as «the most magnificent bookstore in Canada, possibly in North America.» Maybe so! On top of that, Gayle and I both had flashbacks of walking into Livraria Lello in Porto as we walked in here.
All bookstores should look this good and classy. Munro’s books sits inside nicely restored neo-​classical building that was designed for the Royal Bank of Canada in 1909. It’s located in the heart of Victoria’s Old Town and was started back in 1963 by Jim Munro and his first wife Alice (yes that one). Inside is a 24 foot high ceiling, complete with heavy brass lamps and various large fabric banners depicting the the Four Seasons and various classic works of literature.
It would be easy to come in and not want to leave. I love the old wooden bookcases, the art, the way I can wind around the stacks, the smell, and of course all the choices (including cards). There’s also an excellent selection about Victoria and books by local authors. Staff is also at the knowledge and service level that you would expect at a literary place like this.

One of my biggest fears is that the invention of e-​readers might kill places like this.
It’s worth a look inside even if you don’t need any books, as the interior is just beautiful. They have a wonderful selection of cards (I hate the crap ones at places like hallmark, so I always stock up when in Vic), lovely diaries and note pads, and of course, a fantastic selection of books.
The staff are also very friendly, they will search their database for you to find books, and if something hasn’t come out yet, they will pre-​order it for you. They will also order things in specially, and mail them to you if you don’t live in Vic.
Also, when the 3^rd Harry Potter book came out, Mr Munro was there making magic wands and handing them out to kids. He had his office set up to look like Olivander’s and he would measure your arm and let you try out different ones to see which wand would pick you. So awesome!

I’m pretty sure this is what every Canadian bookstore should strive to be.
From the incredible can-​lit selection, to the beautiful interiors and the friendly and knowledgeable staff, Munro’s is, to me, the ideal bookstore.
Every time I return to Victoria, Munro’s is one of my first destinations. Walking in the door of the store, originally built for the Royal Bank in the early 1900s, I’m always immediately immersed into the sea of old wooden book cases and their seemingly endless catalogue of fantastic books.
To me, the most impressive feat is their dedication to Canadian literature, and the collection that reflects this. Being started by Alice Munro doesn’t hurt that cause, of course.
Furthermore, the incredible staff that this place employs makes every trip to Munro’s a memorable one for me. I’ve never come across a more knowledgeable group of individuals when looking for a new book.
Needless to say, anyone who’s looking for a book or some inspiration while in Victoria needs to check out Munro’s first.

Lordy, I love this place. It is always my first destination upon arrival in Victoria.
I like everything about Munros– from the ways it smells to the way it is organized.
A perfect bookstore.

I am a book store whore. I’m also cheap and prefer to get my books from the library. The only solution: stay away from any and all book stores.
However…I was on vacation and so gave in to temptation. The store is bright and comfy, with wooden bookshelves and most importantly (and dangerously!) a large selection of discounted/​on sale books. There were a good number of people browsing the shelves on a Saturday afternoon, but the store is large and filled with fun nooks and crannies, so it never felt claustrophobic.
The staff was very nice, and while I was browsing for nothing in particular, I got the impression that they would be more than able and willing to help you find whatever you needed.

On a day where other stores in this area weren’t at all interested in taking my money, a wonderful associate and book lover at Munro’s made my day. As if the décor and atmoshpere of this bookstore weren’t enough to take the edge off an otherwise frustrating day of shopping, this fine gentleman helped turn my day right around!
Not only did I find a great book I wasn’t expecting, but the fellow assisting me actually helped me to determine the author of a book I only had a picture of on my iPhone that I had taken from a magazine. Although they didn’t have the book in stock, he did offer to special order it in, which was like a blast from the past of excellent customer service of the old days when people were actually interested in helping you get what you want :)
So THANKS Munro Books, for having a great store and great staff and for turning an otherwise frustrating day into a fulfilling one!
PJ xoxo

Nice bookstore spot in Victoria, for fellow book readers. Good decore, selection, prices and layout.

Beautiful little bookstore in a very pretty building. Okay, so I have to admit I especially liked it since it was one of the only places open in the off-​season on a Monday morning when I went touristing in Victoria. Also: it’s a nice little bookstore, including a section of local authors and such, and pretty stained glass windows.
P. S. If you really needed to go, the WC is actually in a closet.

Munro’s has an OK selection of bargain priced books, but that’s about all they have going for them. If you want to shop for books in a place where the staff find chatting to each other at the till and ignoring customers more important than actual quality service, Munro’s is for you. If you do manage to catch their attention, the service you receive is pretentious to the nth degree. But people are willing to suffer through it for the prestige of saying, «I only shop at Munro’s.» There are so many other local book stores where you’ll be treated like a king rather than a lowly peon, and that’s where you should be shopping.

I can get lost for days in this place, I love the ambiance, the smell of ink and paper. My father still buys me a book from Munro’s every Christmas. Indeed we canucks are proud of our writers and Munro’s carries the best selection of local talent. When I travel I often bring books as gifts and can’t think of a better souvenir.

Munro’s is supposed to be one of the best bookstores in Canada. I’m baffled at the idea; the store closes at 6:00 pm five nights a week, and has no ongoing events series or book club. How is it supposed to be a «best» general bookstore if it’s closed whenever you’re downtown after work?
The hype totally skews your expectations.
So here’s the deal. Munro’s is a pretty great little local new bookstore in downtown Victoria. They have a knowledgeable staff, good selection, and standout Canadiana and magazine collections. Ignore the hype, and you’ll enjoy having your wallets lightened (if the store’s open, that is).