San Francisco’s City Lights is one of the world’s most famous bookstores. “The shop and publishing house were founded by the poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti and the publisher Peter Martin in 1953. It became famous as the home of the beats in the 50s and 60s – the place where you bought Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady – and it has never lost its countercultural image, although tour buses no longer pause outside to show visitors the ‘beatniks’, as they did 40 years ago. Situated in the North Beach area, surrounded by cafes, Chinese restaurants and strip clubs, City Lights has managed to survive despite the growth of the big chains and internet bookshops.”