I love Chapters Indigo and I fell in love with this location. It is located in Bayward market. The store is spacious and well-organized. They have a great collection of fashion, books, outdoor décor, outdoor dining, accessories, kids collection, etc. Starbucks is located at the side of the store, but doesn't have a separate entrance. Before COVID-19 pandemic, you could enjoy your coffee or cold beverage and spend hours in the store surfing through books and buying accessories. read more

Moderate selection of business books. Prices obviously not competitive with Amazon - but in my case they weren't way off (maybe 10%). Place is clean but there are surprisingly few places to sit and sample books (wasn't necessary in my case though). Finding books was a headache and service help was mixed. In other words: this was a pretty average experience (maybe slightly below average). read more

This is a very large Chapters located in the heart of downtown Ottawa. It's located at the corner of Sussex and Rideau across the street from the Rideau Centre and right beside the Byward Market. The store like every chapters I've been to has an attached Starbucks and has a large selection of books, magazines, multimedia and various home and exercise items. They have a pretty large selection of books and have 2 levels. There are a few places to sit in and around the store and you will see people reading all over the store. I don't think anyone from the staff has never helped me there but I usually know what I'm looking for when I drop in. I've never seen the staff bother anyone that has been sitting in the store reading. I've seen people sit in the same spot for hours! The selection is good and if you are not in a rush you can go to their website to order the book you want at a slight discount or you can purchase a Chapters member card which entitles you to more discounts through the year. If you want ever more savings you can probably go to amazon.ca to search for the book as well and see if it's available. read more

This is the largest Chapters location in Ottawa that I know of. It's pretty popular, seeing as how it has such a prime location - right downtown on Rideau. I hadn't been here in a long time until recently. A small group and I were volunteering downtown for a non-profit organization on a terribly cold and rainy day, and we needed a place to discuss our game plan, as well as put some educational material together. A couple of my group members remembered that they had some seating areas in Chapters, and it would be a much better place to talk and work than the Rideau Centre food court. We walked into Chapters and took the escalator upstairs, only to discover that they no longer had the couches they used to. One of the employees told us that they just completely removed them. There were people sitting and reading all over the store, particularly near the windows. We decided to just post up on the ground near some of the shelves. We were there for at least 20 minutes, maybe half an hour or so, putting together cards and ribbons. We didn't buy anything, but we weren't bothering anyone, and even though a few different Chapters employees passed by us, we were never asked to leave, and we really appreciated it! read more

I love Chapters, but this is seriously not a good location. I would highly recommend visiting the location in Barhaven or South Keys instead. This store is massively out of whack. Instead of prioritizing organizing the current stock, the workers instead cram books wherever they can fit on shelves. Books are incredibly out of place. I cannot stress this enough. If they would allocate a few overnight workers to comb through the Fiction and Mystery section, the store would be massively improved. It is ridiculous trying to find anything in the Fiction section when you know via the kiosk that there is a single copy of it available in store. Honestly, go to another location and look there. I spent nearly a year searching for a single elusive copy of a book by Sarah Waters, since it was sold out of every other Chapters location around Ottawa, except for a single copy at Rideau. I went weekly, due to the location of my work and school, and could not find it. Only by sheer accident did I find it jammed into the Mystery section, far away from the original shelf. What I also found was eight other Sarah Waters books all strewn around the Fiction section. This is a book store that does inventory before it organizes. If anyone has ever worked in a store that needed inventory, you know how ridiculous it is to inventory before, because you are not getting efficient or proper numbers. The workers are more or less bad-to-okay here. Marie is a rude worker and I would highly recommend avoiding her when possible, and getting help from literally anyone else. Honestly this store is not worth it. Yes, it is two stories. Yes, it is conveniently downtown. However, the employees tend to obsessively follow you to ensure if you need help, which feels like harassment, and it is hard getting around the visitors who sit on the floor to read. While I appreciate reading and reading in bookstores, the store should understand this massive need to invest in a few more chairs. People sprawl themselves out over the second floor, and it begins to feel awkward looking for books and literally stepping over people. Literally any other location is a better location than this one. I would highly recommend saving your money rather than investing further in this poorly managed store. read more

Staff are excellent. If you need help searching for a book they locate it for you, if not, they'll look in the storage room :) Customer Service 5/5 ease of findind book 4/5 Book availability 4/5 read more

The service was exemplary! We were greeted cheerfuly as we came in but not bothered. When I seemed to be looking for something, a security guard offered to page a worker to help me. The lady was extremely nice and directed me to another coworker upstairs who was efficient in showing me what I was looking for and guiding me to other interesting sections. As I purchased my book, the cashier was courteous and cheerful. The store was also very clean, organised and well-lit! I loved my visit. read more

Chapters - Bookstores Near Me - Ottawa, Ontario

Usually when I go there I like to read books about geography.

Nice place to walk around when it's freezing outside. Such a good place to meet friends and hang out during the weekdays

Since I went to my first Chapters when I was 11 years old, I have been hooked! The smell as I enter the store (sigh books and coffee!), the thousands of unread books just waiting to be explored, and within the last few years a really interesting home decor line. I have spent many, many hours perusing Chapters and as this location is now closest to where I live, I have made it a regular stop. The staff are always helpful, friendly, and not pushy. Walking into my local Chapters is like a happy walk down memory lane. read more

This store is now more useful as a hang-out for downtown people than as a real bookstore. The coffee-mugs, diaries, other household items and kitsch in general have taken precedence over the books in recent years. This was only to be expected given the popularity of e-readers. Sometimes I can find a book I am looking for but more often not. The staff do their best but are helpless in the face of the owner's indifference. read more

It's Chapters. At this point, they have the formula down pat. Starbucks? Check. Books? Yup. Magazines? Of course. Gift items? Why the heck not? If you've been to one Chapters, you've pretty much been to them all. So if you are looking for a nice, comfortable, and familiar spot regardless of where you are? Chapters. read more

The selection,decor and all the items are amazing! The staff tho....almost harass me and my friend when we go. Not only are we followed and constantly asked if we need help.....but they make us feel like they think we are gonna steal something when we always buy hundred $ worth of stuff every time we go. It's annoying! read more

I visited this store in June to buy a pre-ordered book for a course. The on-line price was listed as $25, and they wanted $38. I asked why the difference? The answer was surprising. Our store and the online store are separate operations! I then wrote to Heather for an explanation of this unsavory practice. It has been one month, and no reply. Why does Chapters support showrooming?? read more

This is the best bookstore in Canada I find something new every time. I have a different and please tell time each visit.

The book business must be a bust north of the border because I was approached no fewer than four times by staff after wandering into this Barnes+Noble knock-off in downtown Ottawa, welcomed and asked if I needed help finding anything. When was the last time that happened in say, Borders? Never. I like Canadian bookstores and have spent a lot of time in them. There are two chains: Chapters and Indigo and even though they maintain somewhat different identifies: they're owned by the same company. This Chapters is complete with a full service Starbucks, big magazine selection and very substantial selection of fiction and non-fiction on two large selling floors. They have a bit of everything here including books most Americans have never seen since it's virtually impossible to find books regarding Canadian history, biographies or even travel in the USA. Yes, I know, Americans don't care about Canada and we barely know where it is. Don't blame me, I'm not one of those people. Anyway, this is a nice store close to Byward Market - very friendly staff - and a good selection of things to read - some deeply discounted. read more

my all time favorite place in ottawa. i just go in, grab a hot chocolate, a book and just go chill upstairs. the staff is so friendly and helpful, the environnement is amazing. read more

Nice store, but the Starbucks is too small with much too little place to sit. They want you to get a coffee and go drink it outside the store. A big no go for me. read more