India GOBookstores in Kochi
The bookshops worth seeking out in Kochi are two independents in Fort Kochi: Idiom Book Sellers on Bastion Street and Kochi Books off Princess Street, both strong on Indian history and Kerala. For Malayalam literature, go to the shops of DC Books, Kerala's big publisher, in Ernakulam.
Fort Kochi's two independents
Both are a few minutes' walk apart in the heritage quarter.
Idiom Book Sellers
Three interconnecting rooms on Bastion Street, by the Post Office, packed floor to ceiling with new and secondhand books: one of the largest collections in the heritage quarter. The shelves lean towards Indian history, fiction, travel and Kerala, and the arrangement rewards patience more than logic. A smaller branch is in Mattancherry, near the synagogue.
Kochi Books
Kochi Books is up a staircase off Princess Street, a small shop choosing its stock carefully since 2005: Indian history, spirituality, languages and Kerala titles. You can sit and read a few pages before deciding, and it ships worldwide, useful when the book will not fit in the bag.
Book cafes in Jew Town
In Mattancherry, a few cafes double as places to browse. Mocha Art Café has shelves of books on Ayurveda, architecture, Indian philosophy and Kerala culture on its first floor, many of them rare, and textiles and curios upstairs. Cafe Jew Town, on the antique lane, is part cafe, part bookshop, part curio store. In Fort Kochi, Pepper House Cafe, in an old spice warehouse by the water, keeps a library of more than 3,000 books to read over coffee; its hours can be irregular.
Malayalam books: DC Books
DC Books, founded in 1974 and based in Kottayam, publishes mostly classical and contemporary Malayalam literature, along with translations and children's books. In Kochi its own shops are at Edappally metro station (first floor), in Centre Square Mall on MG Road, on Market Road at Convent Junction and in Kurian Towers on Banerji Road in Ernakulam, in Thrippunithura and in Aluva, and there are DC Books counters in terminals T1 and T3 of Cochin airport.
FAQ
Where can I buy secondhand books in Kochi?
Idiom Book Sellers on Bastion Street in Fort Kochi sells new and secondhand books.
What is the best bookshop in Fort Kochi?
Idiom Book Sellers has the bigger collection of the two; Kochi Books, off Princess Street, has a smaller, carefully chosen stock.
Where to buy Malayalam books in Kochi?
At the DC Books shops: Edappally metro station, Centre Square Mall on MG Road, Market Road and Banerji Road in Ernakulam, Thrippunithura and Aluva.
Can a Kochi bookshop ship books home?
Kochi Books ships worldwide.
Is there a bookshop at Kochi airport?
Yes, DC Books has counters in terminal T1 and in the international terminal T3.
Sources (2)
Facts checked: 15 October 2026. Prices and hours are approximate; check locally.
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