The cultured traveler knows the value of a good book to pass the hours, whether high in the air on a Trans-Atlantic flight or speeding through the Chunnel aboard the Eurostar. And while many of the sumptuously produced titles published by Paris-based luxury bookseller Assouline are too substantial to cart in your carry-on, they effortlessly capture the glamour and élan of the grand holiday.

At Assouline's new New York boutique, which opened in the Plaza Hotel this month, you'll find yourself transported abroad by elegantly photographed tributes to the "spirit" of destinations like St. Tropez, Aspen, Venice and more ($40 each). Or if you're in France this summer, stop by the Paris flagship store to pick up a copy of "Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc" ($50). It's a rare opportunity to peek inside the grounds of the famously discreet hideaway on the French Riviera, and might just convince you to add an extra stop to your itinerary.

What sets Assouline apart from its peers in the world of high-end picture book publishing -- Taschen, Phaidon, Abrams -- is the cohesiveness of its aesthetic: to buy a book here is to buy a slice of founder Prosper Assouline's clear-eyed vision of cosmopolitan chic.

Fortunately for the literate road warrior, Assouline offers the "Bon Voyage Suitcase" ($295, pictured above left).  Adorned with vintage destination stickers, it contains four neatly wrapped, best-selling travel titles - "In the Spirit of Cannes," "Paris Hotel Stories," "Island Hotel Stories" and "Adventure Hotel Stories." If, on the other hand, you prefer to bring the whole library with you, select a custom-designed Goyard trunk in black or white leather, packed with one hundred art, fashion and design books from Assouline's signature "Memoirs" collection ($20,000, special order).

Don't know where to start? Here are our top five Assouline travel-related reads:

1.    Royal Holidays by Cyrille Boulay ($40)
Snapshots from the private archives of ruling families from Monaco to Persia bring Boulay's history of royal retreats to life.

2.    The Light of Paris by Jean-Michel Berts ($50)
Berts captures the ethereal magic of La Ville-Lumière with these serene photographs, shot at dawn as the city slumbers.
 
3.    Hotel Stories by Francisca Mattéoli ($40)
The first in Assouline's popular series, Mattéoli collects tales of intrigue, romance and adventure set in the rooms of grand hotels around the world.

4.    Lost Africa by Cyril Christo ($120)
Christo's evocative black and white photographs, which document a rapidly disappearing way of life in Africa, are at once nostalgic and entirely current.

5.    The Carlyle by Nick Foulkes ($75)
British social commentator Foulkes turns his keen eye on the landmark New York hotel and some of the most famous guests of its storied past.

ASSOULINE NEW YORK
768 Fifth Avenue, Mezzanine Level
New York, NY 10019
212-593-7236

ASSOULINE PARIS
35 rue Bonaparte
75006 Paris, France
+33 (0) 1 43 29 23 20
 

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