7 of the World’s Most Beautiful Libraries 

These libraries demonstrate some of the world’s most jaw-dropping examples of architecture, ranging from Gothic and Renaissance to contemporary. 

Libraries are havens of information. They are key in preserving the written history, culture and heritage of an area, and are often intricately designed, with architecture that is sure to impress visitors. Libraries are sometimes just as impressive from an architectural standpoint as they are from a literary one, and these seven libraries provide prime examples of stunning architecture. They are all widely different, some dating to medieval times and some opening as recently as the early 2000s. Each one, though, has a style that will make patrons eager to get lost in the stacks, from translucent floors and floating shelves to ancient frescoes and sustainable construction. 

1. Biblioteca Vasconcelos, Mexico 

Mexico City’s Biblioteca Vasconcelos spans over 400,000 square feet and has a unique, whimsical design that mimics the feeling of being lost in a book. Photographer James Florio described Biblioteca Vasconcelos as “like entering an alternate universe.” The library, which opened in 2006, features translucent walls and floors, multistory windows, mismatched levels, and a labyrinth of balconies and pathways that seem to float above the ground level. Often referred to as a “megalibrary,” Biblioteca Vasconcelos holds hundreds of thousands of titles. In addition to the stunning interior architecture and endless books to browse, the grounds of Biblioteca Vasconcelos are home to an extensive botanical garden. Architect Alberto Kalach designed the building and grounds to promote ecological regeneration, turning a barren plot of land into one overflowing with plants and information. 

2. The Library of El Escorial, Spain

The Library of El Escorial is located within the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, a vast building complex located about 30 miles from Madrid. The complex, which includes a monastery, church, royal palace, college and library, was conceived by King Philip II and built during the mid-to-late 1500s. Each building in the complex reflects the ornate architecture of the Spanish Renaissance, and the interiors are decorated with sprawling frescoes, paintings and sculptures by notable Spanish and Italian artists from the 16th and 17th centuries, like El Greco. The library itself, also known as the Royal Library, is made up of many rooms, but today only the Main Hall is open to visitors. The Main Hall is 177 feet long, 30 feet wide and 33 feet high, and gives visitors a good look at the stunning frescoes, woodwork and ancient books. El Escorial Library holds more than 40,000 printed books, as well as 4,700 manuscripts, many dating back to the era when the library was constructed. El Escorial was the first library to do away with book bays, instead placing bookshelves up against the walls where the collection could better be admired. 

3. Tama Art University Library, Japan

In the Tokyo suburbs, on the campus of Tama Art University, is the Tama Art University Library, a two-story building with massive arches and floor-to-ceiling windows. These arches are made of steel but coated in pure concrete, offering up a unique look developed by the building’s designer, Toyo Ito. Inside, the library is mostly one continuous space on each floor, with the only divisions between areas coming from shelves, study desks, glass partitions and more arches. This way, the library is divided into sections in a way that doesn’t interrupt the flow of the room. The windows allow library patrons to gaze out over one of the campus’s lush gardens, and the library is full of reference books for the university’s students. It was added to the campus in 2007 as a common space. 

4. Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading, Brazil

The Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading is located in the center of Rio de Janeiro and contains the largest collection of Portuguese books outside of Portugal, with over 350,000 titles. Three towering stories of books rise above the library’s open floor, leading to a stained-glass dome overhead. The library was built in the 1880s, after a group of 43 Portuguese immigrants and political refugees living in Brazil decided they wanted a way to preserve their written culture and heritage. Statues of important Portuguese figures, including writers and explorers, are placed throughout the library. The exterior of the building similarly preserves Portuguese history; Rafael da Silva e Castro, the library’s architect, designed the building in the style of 16th-century Portuguese architecture, and the library’s facade is made of Lisbon stone brought to Rio de Janeiro by ship. The library is open for visitors, publishes a journal on Portuguese literature and culture, and offers college-level courses on literature, history, anthropology, the arts and the Portuguese language. 

5. Bodleian Old Library, England

The Bodleian Libraries are a group of 28 libraries across Oxford, England, that are all part of the Oxford University system. Bodleian Old Library is the principal university library and the oldest of the group, having been in use since the 1300s. Bodleian Old Library houses over 12 million printed works, including first editions of Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” and Jane Austen’s “Emma.” The historic library looks like a castle, with magnificent, grand-scale Gothic architecture that has been featured in films like the “Harry Potter” series. As well as housing a jaw-dropping number of books, Bodleian Old Library contains the Divinity School, Oxford’s oldest teaching and examination room. Visitors to the library need to purchase tickets for a tour, where they will see the Divinity School, Duke Humfrey’s medieval library, and the library’s stunning Upper and Lower Reading Rooms. 

6. Beitou Public Library, Taiwan

The Beitou Public Library in Taipei, Taiwan, was the island’s first certified “green building,” constructed in 2006. The library is on the grounds of the Beitou Park, which is famous for its hot springs, and was designed to look like a large treehouse. It is built mainly of wood, boasts large French windows and fits seamlessly into its surrounding environment. Beitou Public Library qualifies as a green building under Taiwan’s “Ecology, Energy Saving, Waste Reduction and Health” (EEWH) certification system, which aims to reduce the impact of buildings on the natural environment. The wood used for the library was harvested from managed forests rather than primary rainforests, the windows allow for natural lighting and cooling, part of the roof is covered in solar panels, another section is covered in a layer of soil to improve thermal insulation, and the roof’s slope allows for runoff from rain to be collected and used in the library’s plumbing. Views from the Beitou Public Library are gorgeous, as it looks out onto Beitou Park, and the library contains over 20,000 English and Chinese titles. 

7. Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt

Billed as the “New Library of Alexandria,” Bibliotheca Alexandrina sits along the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt, and contains six specialized libraries, 12 academic research centers, a planetarium and several museums. The library opened in 2002 and aspires to “recapture the spirit of the original library of Alexandria,” which was destroyed centuries ago. The complex receives about 1.5 million visitors each year, all flocking to experience the incredible volume of knowledge the library offers and to admire the beauty of the complex itself. The library stands 11 stories high and is notable for its circular and tilted shape, as well as its surrounding reflecting pool. Bibliotheca Alexandrina mixes a contemporary exterior design with an interior that holds thousands of years of knowledge.

Rachel Lynch

Rachel is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.

5 Places to Visit for Lovers of Philosophy and Literature

For travelers who enjoy a good book or like to study the teachings of ancient thinkers, experiencing the places where those writers and philosophers lived (or died) is often at the top of their bucket lists. Here are five places to visit if you love philosophy, literature or both. 

1. Davy Byrne’s Pub, Dublin, Ireland

The exterior of Davy Byrne’s pub in Dublin. Flickr. John Logue. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The Irish capital has always been a popular European destination for visitors. Some come to Dublin to take in its historic architecture, while others go on journeys to trace their Irish ancestry. Some literature enthusiasts come for the city’s connection to James Joyce, the famed Irish author best known for his 1922 modernist novel “Ulysses.” The novel follows the story of Leopold Bloom as he wanders the streets of Dublin in a manner reminiscent of Odysseus’ journey in Homer’s “Odyssey.” In Chapter 8 of the novel, Bloom visits Davy Byrne’s pub for a Gorgonzola sandwich and some Burgundy before returning to his travels through Dublin. While Bloom is a character of fiction, the pub is not, and is still operating to this day. According to the pub’s website, Joyce frequently visited and was close to the pub’s founder, Davy Byrne. Joyce fans still stop by the pub while traveling through Dublin, enjoying a sandwich and some wine during their own Irish odyssey. 

2. The Tomb of Karl Marx, London, England

The headstone of Karl Marx’s grave in Highgate Cemetery, which reads “Workers of all lands unite.” Flickr. Daniele Nicolucci. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Cemeteries aren’t usually at the top of travelers’ bucket lists, especially of those visiting London. Yet, Highgate Cemetery in north London is visited by philosophy lovers for being the resting place of one notable 19th-century thinker— Karl Marx, the controversial German philosopher best known for writing “The Communist Manifesto” and “Das Kapital.” Almost 140 years after his death, his grave is sought out by fans of his work and of the school of thought that he inspired. However, the tomb of Karl Marx is also targeted by those who disagree with his philosophy, often being subject to acts of vandalism.



3. Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library, Indianapolis, United States

The entrance to the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library in Indianapolis. Flickr. Martin Kalfatovic. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

American novelist and satirist Kurt Vonnegut is known for his darkly humorous yet oddly lighthearted stories filled with eccentric characters representative of post-World War II America. Vonnegut, who was born and raised in Indianapolis, often referenced his home state in his novels. The Rosewaters, a fictitious American political family at the center of Vonnegut’s 1965 novel “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater,” are even from Indiana. Fitting for a Midwesterner at heart, the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is located in Indianapolis and is dedicated to his life and works. Vonnegut fans can sit in front of a model of the typewriter he used to write his stories with, look at pictures of his life and family, and even read his numerous rejection letters from editors. 

4. Plato Academy Digital Museum, Athens, Greece

The Athens skyline. Unsplash. Evan Wise.

For those with a passion for classical history, ancient epics and philosophy, there’s no city with a connection to all three like the Greek capital of Athens. The city is considered the birthplace of many philosophical schools of thought and traditions, and was home to some of humanity’s most important thinkers. Yet one museum, dedicated to the philosopher Plato, is making ancient teachings accessible for a 21st-century audience. The Plato Academy Digital Museum was built in 2015 on the ancient grounds of Plato’s academy in Athens, and features interactive installations where visitors can learn about the teachings of Plato and his role in shaping Western philosophy. One can even take a quiz to see if they have what it takes to be a student of Plato. 

5. Konigsberg Cathedral, Kaliningrad, Russia

Konigsberg Cathedral, where Immanuel Kant is buried. Flickr. Anita. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Located in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, this Gothic cathedral looms over the surrounding city, a reminder of the region’s Prussian history. It is also the resting place of German philosopher Immanuel Kant, best known for his contributions to the fields of ethics, aesthetics and metaphysics, who was born in the city when it was still part of the kingdom of Prussia. Much of Kaliningrad, which was called Konigsberg when it was part of Prussia, was destroyed during Allied air raids in World War II. The cathedral was also heavily damaged during the war, before reconstruction efforts began in the early 1990s. Kant was buried inside the cathedral after his death in 1804, and now rests in a mausoleum located to the side of the building. 

Aerex Narvasa

Aerex is a current student at Occidental College majoring in Diplomacy and World Affairs with a minor in East Asian Studies. He is passionate about sharing people’s stories through writing, and always strives to learn about new places and cultures. Aerex loves finding new music and exploring his hometown of Los Angeles in his free time.