World's Best Libraries

A grandiose structure in Mexico City, with a whale skeleton inside adding to its surreal beauty.

Famed for its stark white, cubic design — a minimalist's dream located in Stuttgart, Germany.

Rio de Janeiro's gem, with a limestone façade and an exquisite interior that transports you back in time.

Inside the the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building of the New York Public Library, the reading room is open to the public again after years of renovation.

8 million books in this vast modernist library with curving facade, plus 4 museums & a planetarium.

Oxford's iconic library, deeply rooted in academia with breathtaking English Gothic architecture.

Elegant 1800s library featuring exposed iron columns & arches, with free guided tours on offer.

300,000-volume 19th-century library at Johns Hopkins University, with ornate Greek Revival interior.

A sacred treasury in Vatican City, home to ancient texts and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel nearby.

Dublin's pride, where the ancient Book of Kells is displayed under the long room's vaulted ceiling.

Celebrated museum & library's gift shop featuring books, accessories & collection-related wares.

A striking example of modern design by Rem Koolhaas, with a glass and steel exterior in Seattle, USA.

An eco-friendly, wooden structure settled in Taipei's Beitou Park, blending nature with knowledge seamlessly.

Yale University's architecturally unique library with a vast collection of rare books & manuscripts.

Comprehensive collection of more than 35 million historic & contemporary publications & documents.

World's largest monastic library, with stunning frescoes and sculptures.

An opulent library with gold leaf, exotic wood, and a colony of bats!

Featuring a baroque library hall that was once part of a Jesuit university.

A masterpiece of Renaissance architecture, with works by Titian.

A true embodiment of baroque beauty, home to over 200,000 tomes.

Premonstratensian monastery & historical library offering ceiling frescoes, exhibits & guided tours.

Majestic, airy library within the Siena Duomo known for its soaring, vibrant Pinturicchio frescoes.

Rococo library, formerly adjoining an abbey that burnt down, with over 170,000 religious texts.

Vast 1500s complex of royal buildings housing old masters, lavish apartments & a vaulted library.