Brussels opens new outdoor sports and nature bookstore

A new specialized bookstore, Le Refuge, has opened in the center of Brussels at Rue du Lombard 11. Founded by audiovisual professional Camille Quintin, the shop focuses on outdoor sports and nature, covering topics such as hiking, sailing, skiing, and mountaineering.

In addition to sporting titles, the inventory includes books on biodiversity, climate change, sustainable travel, nutrition, training, and women in sports. The store offers various literary genres, including adventure stories, biographies, technical books, and comics, primarily in French. To promote sustainable travel, the current selection of travel guides and maps is limited to Europe.

Quintin noted that interest in outdoor sports and mountain holidays has increased since the pandemic. The shop occupies a space previously used by a sneaker store and aims to fill a niche in the Brussels market following the relocation of a previous travel bookstore to Leuven.