The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World

I’ve always loved libraries.

Whenever I visit a new city, I make it a point to check out their main library. In the spirit of adventure, here are the most beautiful libraries in the world.

Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, Paris, France.

Vennesla Library and Culture House, Vennesla, Norway.

Los Angeles Central Library in Los Angeles, CA.

Royal Portuguese Reading Room, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

New York Public Library, New York City, NY.

National Library, Site Richelieu, Paris, France.

Library of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt.

Wiblingen Monastary Library, Ulm, Germany.

Strahov Monastery Theological Library, Prague, Czech Republic

Fisher Fine Arts Library, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Library of the Benedictine Monastery of Admont, Austria.

Abbey Library of Saint Gall, St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Library of Parliament, Ottawa, Canada.

Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK.

University of Salamanca Library, Salamanca, Spain.

University of Michigan Law Library, Ann Arbor, MI.

Bapst Library, Boston College, Boston, MA.

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

The University of Coimbra General Library, Coimbra, Portugal.

George Peabody Library, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.

La Sorbonne Reading Room, Paris, France.

Pontifical Lateran University library, Rome, Italy.

Queen’s College Library, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.

Suzzallo Library’s Graduate Reading Room at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

The Harper Library Reading Room, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

Philological Library of the Free University, Berlin, Germany.

Cornell Law School Library, Ithaca, NY.

José Vasconcelos Library in México City, Mexico.

Rijksmuseum Research Library, Amsterdam.

Angelica Library, Rome, Italy.

Clementinum National Library, Prague, Czech Republic.

Library of the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain.

The Walker Library of The History of Human Imagination, Stamford, CT.

Herzog August Library, Wolfenbüttel, Germany.

Library of Congress, Washington, DC, US.

Codrington Library, All Soul’s College, Oxford University, Oxford, UK.

Melk Monastery Library, Melk, Austria.

Philips Exeter Academy’s Library in Exeter, NH.

Vorarlberg State Library, Bregenz, Austria.

National Library of China, Beijing.

 

More Resources:

• Attend a live speed-reading course in your city
• Register for an online speed-reading course

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