I can’t remember the last time I was in a Barnes & Noble Bookstore but I stopped in for a coffee (and to get out of the bitter cold weather) at their NYC flagship store in Union Square.
The gorgeous Queen Anne building was built in 1890 as a commercial building. It became a landmark in 1987 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Unfortunately, it was vacant and derelict for many years until Barnes & Noble bought it in 1990 and renovated it.
The café is a lovely open space, serve great coffee, and play serene, classical music.
Excellent Barnes and Noble book store. Great section for children. You can even get crafts kits, like kits for children curious about getting into crochet . Great kid friendly snacks in the cafe section, such as fruit pouches, cheese sticks, and meat/cheese/cracker mini snack packs.
We visited this location February 6th, close to closing time, after paying my items my husband lost his wallet. We didn’t notice until 5 minutes after leaving Barnes and noble, when went back to look. The manager and security for that evening were sooooo helpful in helping us look for my husbands wallet, down to when it was last seen in the store. I just appreciated them so much. The location was great and everything you would hope from a bookstore.
The huge Barnes & Nobles on Union Square has the est and biggest children’s book, toy, crafts and game department! They slso have a great selection of fiction and nonfiction books
Love this Barnes & Noble location. It has four floors of books that bibliophiles can spend hours upon hours browsing. It is well organized and there are plenty of staff to answer your questions. The cafe is on the third floor and has more tables than some other locations and makes a really nice oatmilk cappuccino! In addition, it is very easy to get to from the western part of Queens.
I absolutely love Barnes & Noble — I could honestly spend my entire day there. The atmosphere is cozy, inspiring, and perfect for getting lost in books.
The only thing I wish is that the Spanish section had more books by authors who originally write in Spanish, and fewer American books translated into Spanish. It would be amazing to see a wider selection of voices from Spanish-speaking countries.
Other than that, it’s one of my favorite places to be.
As previously visited, I am always very excited to spend good time and good money at the Union square store. It has about nearly every titles past and present for non fiction but also science fiction literature. I especially come to purchase books and reviews on local history of New york city and for their large offer on interior designer from boutique hotels or such as the famous Chelsea Hotel on 23rd street. Again I will always apreciate the butler who has the charge to welcome and direct the guests to and from the restroom. It is an upmost respectful and undoubtly polite manner of treating people like we were in the 1920s era. I never miss the opportunity to enter each occasion I am in town.
Barnes and Noble sells original books in the best conditions. The books are also well-organized according to their genres. If you know what book you want, it'll most likely be there, and if you're new to books or a genre, you'll find something you'll love! The cashier was nice, too.
Great spot around Union Square. You are in a World so large you forget it’s a bookstore. It feels like so much more. It’s easy for any person of all ages to have a grand time in here. The cafe is a nice touch. However, it is pricey and can often be packed. Be aware of your surroundings when in this public space.
Visiting the world’s largest Barnes & Noble was a dream come true! Being a huge fan of Waterstones I was expecting a similar experience.
Unfortunately, a few issues took away from the experience: - The whole place felt untidy. I was looking forward to the coffee shop on the 3rd floor but it didn’t feel cozy at all; it was crowded and felt untidy. - The bathrooms were also dirty, with a 15-minute wait. - Overall there aren’t many seating areas.
On the bright side, the staff was very friendly and in the Christmas spirit! The selection is also massive, as you would expect!
Disappointed, I remember lots of spaces with comfy seating and better selection. But not all B & N s are made equal, I guess. Small Referance section and super small how to poetry book choices. I did find them online but that is not the same as physically checking out the book.
This is the biggest Barnes & Noble in the world, so I was beyond excited to visit. The selection is immense, and every floor is packed with shelves to browse through—you could easily spend hours here just looking around. Unfortunately, the experience was let down by a few major issues. There aren’t many seating areas, and the bathrooms were by far the worst part of my visit. The women’s bathroom had a 20-minute line just to get in, and once inside, all the stalls were dirty, with entire rolls of toilet paper on the floor. The stall I used didn’t even have a proper lock, so I had to hold it closed. When an employee was informed, they simply shrugged it off and carried on, which was disappointing from a customer service perspective. I also can’t say the staff at the register were particularly friendly. I came in expecting to love this store, and while the book selection absolutely delivered, the overall in-store experience did not.
Went twice to do my Christmas shopping; overall helpful staff in directing me to where I needed to go in such a large store. Wanted to give a special shoutout because I had the same cashier, Julia, both times and had friendly and personable customer service which is so rare to find especially with the stress of such a busy time. Hope everyone keeps up the good work is easily one of the best bookstores in the city from staff and selection of books !!
I love this Barnes and Nobles. It is huge and in an amazing area near lots of other shopping. Great customer service and the widest selection of books. Nice cafe too.
It's a friendly store; children can read, look around, and play with everything in the store without any hassle, and you don't need to buy anything to use it. There's a wide variety of items, and it's a clean, spacious, and large place. There are restrooms, an area to enjoy a good coffee, and a café inside the store. You can also have snacks, sweets, and even breakfast, lunch, and dinner there. I love this place; I go very often with the children, and they enjoy it a lot. They also have storytime sessions on Saturday mornings for those cold winter days.
I love taking a trip to Barnes & Noble. The staff is super friendly and happy to help. Got to have a very fun and just chill conversation with 1 staff member on the way out that even told us about a newly opened location that was closer to where we live for out convenience. The book selection is of course fantastic! Huge variety of books to suit anyone and everyone's taste.
Booklover's dream: a perfect place to explore a wide range of interesting books in a vibrant and upbeat setting. Lots of beautiful decorations. Buy a book and then read it in Union Square nearby!
this was my first time at this particular location and I brought my children with me and they enjoyed it. They are complete bookworms just like me. They had all of my toddlers favorite books and they were inexpensive. The staff is super nice and helpful.
Fun to visit this enormous location of Barnes & Nobles. At some parts the floor was uneven. The store itself was quite bare. The security guards kept following us closely which was mildly unpleasant.
This is such a cool Barnes & Nobles. This B&N is four stories and includes a Starbucks Cafe which is pretty large and allows for quite a few people to hang out, study, and read. The building is clean and really organized. The bathrooms were really clean and the staff was very helpful.
Fantastic Barnes and Noble. Something for every book lover here. Excellent seating area for special events. Solid music selection and cafe. A great location to grab a book and head out to Union Square Park to read.
Our favorite place to be! There’s always a great selection of books here both normal print, special editions and signed copies! We love attending the book signings here and come all the way from New Jersey to explore 10/10 recommend
My first time visiting the Barnes & Noble in Union Square, NYC — and I honestly loved it. The store is spacious, peaceful, and filled with so many genres to explore. I grabbed a cozy iced vanilla latte and a buttery croissant from the in-store Starbucks, then settled in with my book (The Conference of the Birds) and just enjoyed the calm. The atmosphere had that perfect mix of city energy and bookish escape. Definitely coming back again.
A beautiful place to visit and one of the biggest Barnes and Noble we've been to. The guy in the music area was a joy to speak with. He helped me search for vinyl. There are so many books to choose from and a café and seating at the very top. The bathrooms could use some work, but it's not as bad as some others. I sat on the floor at the end cap out of the way near a few magazines, and an older white lady said, we usually don't allow people to sit in the aisle. I wasn't but she was bothered, and quickly disappeared into thin air. We aren't from here but have had our share of experiences that prove a lot of what is being said. I didn't make my purchase after that incident and don't think I will purchase anything from them. I've had similar incidents in the past with Barnes and Noble, and they are notorious for racial bias. The store was clean and well organized. It is directly across the street from Union Park, where there are an endless amount of vendors. Especially food and organic produce. There is an escalator, so have no fear.
A very big Barnes and Noble consistent of four floors.
The main floor has a bunch of bestsellers and registers. The second floor is geared towards children (there is a bathroom for children and their chaperones). The third has a cafe, more books and bathrooms. The fourth has even more books and a space for events with folding chairs set up.
Biggest Barnes & Noble branch in the area offering a vast collection of books, DVDs (in 2025!), cards, legos, art, and more. A cafe serving Starbucks coffee and externally-sourced baked goods is located on the third floor. I had an Autumn quiche and was quite happy with how it tasted. The cafe has a big seating area where you can read a book while enjoying a treat or play board games with complete strangers.
I love Barnes & Noble. They had so many options to choose from in terms of books, novels, comic books and accessories that you can spend the whole day there. What I don’t like is that they are so strict when it comes to use the bathroom. They used to be more generous.
125 W 3rd St, New York, NY
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