Now that the euro is falling, we can go to many parts of the world at a fairly reasonable cost. If you're wondering where to go first, perhaps these gorgeous libraries from around the world can inspire you. If your idea of the library is a dull place with loads of dusty rows of books and dull corners, let this list of the most beautiful libraries in the world change your mind. Many of these sites from around the world are beautifully constructed architectural masterpieces and are a must-visit even for those who don't like reading, so feel free to add any (or all) of them to your travel group list!
1 Admont Abbey Library, Austria
The ancient beauty of Admont Abbey library – Source: @DrEstellePrnq (twitter)
At the top of our list is one of our all-time favorites, the Admont Library. Located in the southeast of Austria, it stands out from other libraries by its majestic gold-white interior, as if coming out of a fairytale dream! Also the largest monastic library in the world, home to Josef Stammel's Last Four Things, sculptures depicting death, heaven, hell and the Last Judgment, and stunning frescoes on the ceiling representing different stages of human knowledge.
Site: https://stiftadmont.at
Address : Kirchplatz 1, 8911 Admont, Austria
Opening - closing hours: from 9h - 17h on weekdays
2 Mafra National Palace Library, Portugal
The magnificent beauty of the Mafra National Palace Library – Source: @fotos.by.dina (Instagram)
The Mafra National Palace Library in Portugal is worth visiting just for its magnificent beauty. With its luxurious marble floors and walls lined with Rococo-style wooden bookshelves, the library is definitely a highlight of the royal palace. The library is also known for its bats that dwell behind bookshelves, feeding on insects in the library at night, otherwise possibly eating manuscript pages.
Site: http://www.palaciomafra.gov.pt
Address:Terreiro D. João V, Mafra, Portugal
Phone: +351 261 817 550
Opening hours - closed: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
3 Stuttgart City Library, Germany
Modern architecture of the Stuttgart library - Source: wallpaperflare.com
Located in the southern German city, the Stuttgart City Library is one of our favorite modernist libraries, embodying modern minimalism at its best. Designed by Korean-German architect Eun Young Yi, the 9-story building features a perfect white cube, complete with a rooftop terrace offering stunning views of the city. However, our favorite part is the aesthetically pleasing reverse ziggurat reading room on the inside, illuminated by a photovoltaic glass ceiling.
Site: https://stadtbibliothek-stuttgart.de
Address : Mailänder Platz 1, 70173 Stuttgart, Germany
Opening - closing hours: Monday - Saturday 9h - 21h
4 Royal Portuguese Reading Room, Brazil
Masterpiece of art from Portugal's royal reading room – Source: imaginoso.com
While in Rio de Janeiro, visit one of the city's hidden gems, the Royal Portuguese Reading Room. Built in 1837 with the aim of spreading culture and literature among the Portuguese communities living in Brazil, the library is home to more than 350,000 titles including rare books from centuries ago. One of the highlights here is Altar da Pátria, a stunning masterpiece made from marble, ivory and silver commemorating the Portuguese Discoveries that took place in the 1400s and 1500s.
Site: https://www.realgabinete.com.br
Address : R. Luís de Camões, 30 - Centro, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 20051-020, Brazil
Phone: +55 21 2221-3138
Opening - closing hours: Monday - Friday 10h - 17h
5 Strahov Library, Czech Republic
Strahov Monastery Library where many Bible books are preserved - Source: @Kazzycrazy78 (twitter)
With its well-preserved history and stunning ceiling frescoes, the magnificent Strahov Library is a must-visit when you arrive in Prague. The library is located in a Premonstratensian monastery and is divided into two main halls – the Baroque Theological Hall contains much of the material of a theological nature and a large collection of Scriptures in various languages, while the Hall of Philosophy contains more than 42,000 ancient philosophical texts.
Site: https://www.strahovskyklaster.cz
Address : Strahovské nádvoří 132/1, 118 00 Prague 1-Hradčany, Czech Republic
Phone: +420 233 107 710
Opening - closing hours: Monday - Sunday 9h - 12h, 13h - 17h
6 Qatar National Library, Qatar
Qatar Diamond Design Gallery – Source: @wanderjon (Instagram)
Designed by Dutch architecture firm OMA, the Qatar National Library in Doha is an aesthetically pleasing space, with a unique diamond-shaped exterior and spacious interior. With a design focused on light and views, the bookshelves here are spread across terraces at both ends of the large library, while sinking 6 meters into the center of the building are beige marble blocks containing heritage archives and important collections on Arab-Islamic Civilization.
Site: https://www.qnl.qa
Address : District of Freedom, Education City, Al Luqta St, Doha, Qatar
Phone: +974 4454 0100
Opening - closing hours: Monday - Sunday 8h - 20h
7 Morgan Library and Museum, USA
Morgan Library where drawings by Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci are kept – Source: themorgan.org
Once known as the Pierpont Morgan Library, the Morgan Library and Museum houses the private collection of financier J.P. Morgan, who is named after it. Located right in the heart of New York City, the museum and research library features beautifully frescoed ceilings and spans three lots on Madison Avenue. The building also features large bronze bookcases filled with original manuscripts, as well as a collection of valuable prints and drawings by famous artists such as Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci.
Site: https://www.themorgan.org
Address : 225 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016, USA
Phone: +1 212-685-0008
Opening - closing hours: Monday - Sunday 10h30 - 17h
8 Tianjin Binhai Library, China
The Eye of Tianjin in China - Source: inhunter.com
This futuristic Tianjin Binhai Library in China has a spectacular arrangement of curved floor-to-ceiling shelves. On a 5-story space, the library actually possesses a capacity that can hold over a million books, but currently stores less than a quarter of that. In fact, most of the books on these shelves are fake, but it's still a worthy place on the insta! At the heart of the library is also an auditorium shaped like a white sphere, and along with a unique exterior design resembling a giant eye, the library was eventually nicknamed the 'Eye of Binhai'.
Site: https://www.bhwhzx.cn
Address : 347 Xusheng Road, Binhai New District, Tianjin, China
Phone: +86 22 6554 5678
9 Library of Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Hogwarts (Harry Potter) Similar Library – Source: reddit.com
Step into it feels like a library straight from Hogwarts at the Old Library at Dublin's Trinity College. The long room is undoubtedly the most famous part of the library here, with its marble sculptures and two tiers of wooden shelves filled with books and manuscripts from start to finish. The room houses 200,000 of the library's oldest books, including the prized Book of Kells, a preserved vellum manuscript from the 4th century.
Site: https://www.tcd.ie/library
Address : Trinity College of Dublin, College Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
Phone: +353 1896 1000
Opening - closing hours: Monday - Sunday 9h - 17h
10 Seattle Public Library, USA
Seattle Library Recognized by UNESCO as a City of Literature – Source: @zujian__ (Instagram)
There's so much to love about Seattle, from the great art scene, food, and coffee, to their Seattle Public Library. The city is a UNESCO City of Literature, known for its excellent bookstores and the Amazon, but the vibrantly designed Central Library itself is one of the most exciting places to go. With a postmodern architectural style, the 11-story glass and steel building is organized into different sections and spaces equipped for specific tasks, whether it is work, socializing, or playing.
Site: https://www.spl.org
Address : 1000 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
Phone: 206-684-7978
Opening - closing hours: 2nd to 5th - Saturday - Sunday 13h - 17h
11 Abbey Library of Saint Gall, Switzerland
The oldest library in the world Abbey – Source: discovergermany.com
Founded in 719 AD, the Abbey Library of Saint Gall, also known as Stiftsbibliothek Sankt Gallen in German, is one of the oldest operating libraries worldwide. Home to more than 150,000 pieces neatly arranged on intricately carved wooden shelves, it's also one of the most stunning libraries on Earth and has even been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for "a perfect example of a great Carolingian monastery."
Site: https://www.stiftsbezirk.ch/de
Address : Klosterhof 6D, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 227 34 16
Opening - closing hours: Monday - Sunday 10h - 17h
12 Biblioteca Vasconcelos, Mexico
Biblioteca Vasconcelos library with unique bookshelves - Source: thedailybeast.com
A visit to the Biblioteca Vasconcelos public library in Mexico City feels like an art experience thanks to its unique interior design and structure. With its asymmetrically stacked open bookshelves and balconies, along with see-through walls, the library most likely appears as if it's filled with countless rows of floating bookcases. Another element we love about the unique space is also the permanent art installation that sits in the middle of it all – an amazing hanging sculpture made from whale skeletons, named Ballena.
Site: https://bibliotecavasconcelos.gob.mx
Address : Eje 1 Nte. S/N, Buenavista, Cuauhtémoc, 06350 Mexico City, Mexico
Phone: +52 55 9157 2800
Opening - closing hours: Monday - Sunday 8h30 - 19h30
13 Starfield Library, South Korea
Underground Library in Korea – Source: arcadata.com
Located in Korea's underground COEX shopping mall, the beautiful Starfield Library is home to 50,000 books and reading materials from every genre. The vibrant 2-story building is brightly illuminated throughout the day and features large floor-to-ceiling bookshelves flanked by escalators. Doubling down as a cultural event space, the library hosts a range of social and arts events each month, from exhibitions and lectures, to readings and workshops.
Site: https://www.starfield.co.kr/coexmall/starfieldLibrary
Address:513 Yeongdong-daero, Samseong 1(il)-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Phone: +82 2-6002-3031
Opening - closing hours: Monday - Sunday 10h30 - 22h
14 George Peabody Library, USA
George Peabody Book Basilica – Source: @thetangledtomato (Instagram)
Funded by philanthropist George Peabody for the citizens of Baltimore, the George Peabody Library is now a 19th-century focused research library of Johns Hopkins University, also known as the 'cathedral of books'. Six stories high, the library is a stunning building with ornate iron balustrades, gold-plated shell columns, marble tiles and neatly arranged shelves containing nearly 300,000 books. The public library also allows private events to be held here, providing a beautiful setting for receptions and weddings.
Site: https://www.library.jhu.edu
Address:17 E Mt Vernon Pl, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, USA
Phone: +1 667-208-6715
Opening - closing hours: Monday - Sunday (Friday - Saturday closed) 10h30 - 22h
15 Oodi Central Library Helsinki, Finland
Best Libraries of 2019 in Finland – Source: urbannext.net
One of the newer libraries on this list, the Helsinki Oodi Central Library was voted the best new public library in the world in 2019, no surprise. The modern 3-storey library is where you will enjoy traditional library services as well as workshops, movie screenings or simply chat with friends over a cup of coffee. The striking building isn't one you can easily overlook either – towering in central Helsinki, the public library's Finnish spruce exterior is shaped into a unique twisted surface, with the large glass windows of the upper floor's 'reading room' overlooking the rest of the city.
Site: http://www.oodihelsinki.fi
Address : Töölönlahdenkatu 4, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Phone: +358 9 31085000
Opening - closing hours: Monday - Sunday 8h - 21h (Saturday - Sunday 10h - 20h)
