About

Sidney Booktown is located on the beautiful Saanich Peninsula of Southern Vancouver Island. Sidney-by-the-Sea is a small town treasure.

Offering a collection of unique shops and services, restaurants and bakeries, marine centres and bookstores, this town of only 11,000 residents is a destination with plenty to choose from. Whether you like to explore a museum, rent a kayak, take a walk along the seaside, curl up with a good book, or “shop till you drop” you will find it here in Sidney.

Much of the activity is found along the main streets of Beacon and Bevan Avenues and the waterfront. The best way to enjoy your visit is to park the car and take a leisurely stroll while exploring the local sights. Parking is easy, mostly free and located on the main and cross streets; you can walk to everything!

One of the first things you’ll notice is the abundance of bookstores. Established in 1996 and one of only a few in the world, Sidneyis Canada’s Only Booktown. Each of the bookshops has a very unique identity and focal point. The bookstore owners are experts in their fields and have put together special collections of thousands titles and categories to choose from.

Hay-On-Wye, England is the original Booktown and has 39 bookstores with a combined inventory of an estimated two million books, all in a town with a population of only 1,800 people. The concept of Booktown was developed by an eccentric booklover, Richard Booth, now the King of Booktowns around the world.

Should you feel overwhelmed browsing the many shelves of our Booktown, Sidney’s well-read owners and booksellers are happy to provide you with the expertise you need to find the reading experience you are looking for.