Made famous by the 1999 movie, Notting Hill, this bookshop is often surrounded by a crowd of tourists. The actual bookshop that featured in the movie was inspired by The Travel Bookshop the previous bookshop at this address. At the time the owner did not allow any filming in his store so a replica of the interior of The Travel Bookshop was built as a film set at the studio.

The Travel Bookshop opened in 1979 and, as the name would suggest, specialized in travel books. The bookshop was sold in 2011 to a bookstore chain and changed its name to The Notting Hill Bookshop expanding into broader range of subjects and titles. Later, when the bookstore chain went out of business it was taken over by brothers James and Howard Malin, remaining The Notting Hill Bookshop .

The bookshop offers many giftable books, from special editions to the surprise factor pre-wrapped "Blind Date with a Book" and "Lucky Dip" (there is a broad description of the contents on the cover).

The romantic roots of the bookstore means that it remains a popular destination for marriage proposals.

The store that was the inspiration for the bookshop in the movie Notting Hill.