The 6 Best Libraries of Paris

Paris is full of libraries and book stores and we've searched and found the 6 best and most famous libraries of Paris for you.

“The very existence of libraries affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for the future of man.”  - T.S. Eliot

“The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.” - Albert Einstein

The 6 Best and Most Famous Libraries of Paris

Libraries functions as many things; databases, meeting places, peace for solitude seekers, joy for information lovers, and, if you’re lucky, a concentration of sensory pleasures; smooth cool wooden banisters worn by many hands, faded leather spines sporting shimmering metallic lettering, and the reassuring smell of yellowing paper.  And Paris has some of the best libraries that are full of leather bound books, yellowing paper and corners of solitude. 

Bibliothèque Mazarine - The Oldest Public Library in Paris

Bibliothèque Mazarine is the oldest public library in Paris. You’ll find this neo-classical, verging on baroque, library in the 6th arrondissement, on the left bank of the Seine opposite the Pont des Arts and the Louvre. If you’re visiting Saint-Germain-des-Prés you can’t pass up the opportunity to see this gorgeous library with marvellous marble interiors. 

The library was founded by Cardinal Jules Raymond Mazarin in the mid 17th century and holds, can you believe it, about 600,000 volumes. The oldest part of the collection, brought together by Mazarin, contains an astonishing 200,000 volumes on all subjects. Bibliothèque Mazarine is famed for housing a 13th century Gutenberg Bible known as the Mazarine Bible. This treasured artefact is securely store in a vault, as you would expect, but there is a replica on display in the main reading room for everyone to view.

Bibliothèque Mazarine is also well known for its many rare medieval manuscripts (a large portion of which were confiscated from French nobles after the French Revolution) and a modern french history collection covering the 12th century through to 17th century. If you want to visit the Bibliothèque Mazarine, you'll have to go on a weekday as it is not open to the public on weekends.

Bibliothèque Nationale de France - Richelieu Louvois

The collections of the Bibliothèque National de France are housed in different locations around the city of Pairs. The Richelieu Louvois Library is one of the locations. On rue de Richelieu, the library sits in the historic centre of Paris and boasts an exquisite facade. Currently named “Richelieu, bibliothèques, musée, galeries”, the Richelieu Louvois Library now also includes the libraries of the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art and the École Nationale des Chartes.

It was first opened to the public in 1868, making it one of the oldest centres for learning in Paris. Designed by architect Henri Labrouste, the library is famous for its immense and kaleidoscopic oval reading room. The site houses many ancient manuscripts, and a collection of Greek and Roman pottery. This stunning library is opposite Square Louvois (small manicured park) with its Large Fontaine Louvois (Louvois Fountain) , which is the perfect spot to read your book in amongst the flowers and sounds of the running fountain water.

Library website: https://www.bnf.fr/fr/francois-mitterrand

Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal at 1 rue de Sully, Paris

Another site of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France is the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal. This library appears on all good lists of the top libraries to visit in Paris. Located in the Bastille district, the library is the former residence of the Master-Generals of the Ordnance.  If you're a french history, particularly French revolution, history buff, then this former military building with its collections of french literature and french military history is your place.  This is a smaller library with less grandiose spaces, but the facade is attractive and Salon de Musique is simply breath taking.  The recently restored Salon has ornate walls and many chandeliers. You’ll find the Bibliothèque de L’arsenal at 1 rue de Sully.

Bibliothèque Forney, Paris

You’ll find the Bibliothèque Forney in the 4th arrondissement, on a quiet corner behind Pont Marie, in the Hôtel de Sens. What a delightful building this is! With turrets, stained glass lattice windows, and gothic renovations, the Forney Library is one of the best libraries in Paris. Hôtel de Sens is one of three medieval private residences remaining in Paris, its exterior dating from 1475.

The library within the Hôtel de Sens was founded in 1886. Clearly identifiable gothic elements can be seen as the result of various renovations. You'll love the vaulted archways and ceilings! Here you’ll discover one of Paris’ most comprehensive and eclectic decorative arts book collections.

Visit Bibliothèque Forney for books on design, graphic art, fashion, printing and more. Do you love stationary? It almost goes without saying that a book lover is also a stationary lover. Well, Bibliothèque Forney houses a unique collection of over one million postcards! For another taste of the eclectic, attend an exhibition across the courtyard in another wing of the Hôtel de Sens. There was once an exhibition about the history of spoons, so be prepared for the quirky and original.

Library website: https://bibliothequeforney.wordpress.com/

Bibliothèque Saint Geneviève in the Latin Quarter

Located in the Latin Quarter, across the street from the Panthéon, Bibliothèque Saint Geneviève is both a public and a university library containing over 2 million documents. The library inherited the collection of the Abbey of St Genevieve, one of the largest and oldest abbeys in Paris.

The large monastic library at Saint Geneviève consisted of the core texts essential to monastic life, including bibles, exegetical commentaries and glosses, patristics, ecclesiastical history, customaries, and service books. Only some of those 226 volumes collected in the 12th century library survived, were tracked down, and are in the current collection of the Bibliothèque Saint Geneviève. Architect Henri Labrouste was responsible for the design and construction of the Saint Geneviève library which began in 1838.

The library is famous for its glass and iron reading room named after Labrouste and also for the inscription of 810 names of illustrious scholars on the building's facade.

Bibliothèque Saint Geneviève official website homepage

- https://www.bsg.univ-paris3.fr/iguana/www.main.cls

And for architecture lovers:

• “The ferrous structure of this reading room—a spine of slender, cast-iron Ionic columns dividing the space into twin aisles and supporting openwork iron arches that carry barrel vaults of plaster reinforced by iron mesh—has always been revered by Modernists for its introduction of high technology into a monumental building.” (Marvin Trachtenberg and Isabelle Hyman, Architecture: from Prehistory to Post-Modernism, p 478)
• Interestingly, the band of leafy garlands above the windows on the first level exterior mirror the band of garlands found on the Pantheon across the street. Labrouste made a complimentary gesture to the existing monument and integrated the two great buildings.

American Library in Paris in the 7th Arrondissement

The American Library in Paris celebrates the written word and the life of the mind. It is constantly renewing its purpose in Paris as a centre for literature, learning, culture, and community. Located in the 7th arrondissement, the building is a short walking distance away from the Eiffel tower and looks just like any Haussmann apartment block in Paris.  

The American Library Association founded the American Library in 1920, partially in order to house the many books that were donated oversees to American soldiers fighting in World War I. The association wanted to bring the best of American literature and modern library science to France. Since then, the library has grown into the largest English-language lending library on the European continent.

Here is an excerpt from the library’s mission statement: “To promote better understanding between France and the United States by making available the artistic, historical, and business record of the American experience to an international audience.” If you’ve run out of books on your kindle or devoured your airport buy too quickly, make your way to the American Library in Paris where you'll easily find an english book to read.

So there you have 6 of the best and most famous of libraries in Paris. Have you visited any of these libraries? To read more on the stunning Bibliothèque National de France read our post on Bibliothèque Nationale de France (National Library of France) or as it's also known as, the BnF.

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