If you're an Anglophile like me, anything book-related just makes your heart sing. From Barnes and Noble to old monastic libraries, anything that houses books is a beautiful place. Here's a collection of five of the coolest libraries in the world that all book lovers should visit.
5. The Library of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt
The original library of antiquity was one of the Seven Wonders of the World and the newer version was built to honor that. Completed in 2002 and after $220 million, the library now holds planetarium, a manuscript restoration lab, art galleries and exhibition space, museums, a conference center, and niche libraries for children, young adults, and the blind.
4. Salt Lake City Public Library, Salt Lake City, Utah
This library is amazing and filled with beautiful natural light thanks to a five-story curved glass wall and a 20,00 square foot skylight. Although relatively new (built in 2003), it seems like the perfect place where nature and literature meet because of the light and the rooftop garden it features.
3. Trinity College Library, Dublin, Ireland
So this is by far one of the coolest places I've ever visited. It is located inside the still-used library of the college and houses the Book of Kells, which is a book of Gospels created by Celtic monks around the year 800. The long room which is pictured here has many familiar faces such as Shakespeare and Jonathon Swift (just to name a few) immortalized in marble busts along the walkway.
2. Abby Library of Saint Gall, St. Gallen, Switzerland
This is an old monastic library that holds manuscripts dating back to the 8th century. It is even still open for public use and most of the old manuscripts have been added to the internet so people can read them virtually. And of course you can't miss that beautiful architecture and painting (I mean just look at the ceiling!).
1. National Library of St. Mark's, Venice, Italy
This is a beautiful Renaissance library in the heart of Venice, which is possibly one of the coolest and most interesting cities to visit in Europe. This library houses some very important classical texts and now holds more than a million books.
" Reading gives us somewhere to go when we have to stay where we are." -Mason Cooley
