I'm a bit of a bibliophile and looking for recommendations for the best libraries or bookstores across Europe. Preferably places that let you go in and explore! I've found some good top 20 lists online but interested to see if people have hidden treasures or "must gos" or "not as impressive as it seems".
Thank you!
It would be nice to know where you are going to explore on an upcoming trip. Several of us on the forum have a long interest in libraries and books and we might be able to tell you about some specific places you are planning to visit.
I've seen some wonderful, tantalizing lists too but do you have some countries you plan to visit in the next year or two?
EDIT: I see in your other post that you are actually going to Munich and some other cities in March. If you go to Vienna and take a trip to Melk be sure to spend some time at the abbey and library there. If you go to Prague and visit Brno, go to the abbey library where Gregor Mendel taught and had his pea patch. If you head to Switzerland there is a wonderful library at St. Gallen. These are 3 that I've been to in this part of the world.
Thanks for the reply! I'm actually hoping to narrow down some future destinations based on the suggestions I hear. Pretty open slate at the moment.
For future trips: I could spend hours at the British Library in London, absolutely fascinating and something for everyone! If in the U.K. poke around in libraries in the colleges at Oxford and Cambridge that allow access. Specifically visit the Bodleian at the University of Oxford.
Hi,
As a bibliophile you ought to go the National Bibliothek in Vienna located in the Hofburg. In front is the statue of Prinz Eugen as he's called in German. You'll be amazed inside.
Now as for a bookstore, if you have a good reading level of German, I absolutely recommend "Dussmann" in Berlin on Friedrichstrasse, ca. 5 mins or so from Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse. The place is a combination of books on numerous subjects and music in the 5-6 floor building. Dussmann is certainly a captivating place where you can lose track of time.
Dublin - Book of Kells. You'll wait in line to spend a few minutes looking at one page of this book under glass in dim light, but then you get to spend as much time as you want in the library upstairs.
For traditional bookstores in London a pilgrimage should be made - before the last shops close because of lack of demand - to Charing Cross Road between Leicester Square and Oxford Street. There are lots (at the moment) of little used bookstores with incredible variety and there are specialities at many of them. Also in Charing Cross Road, if Crossrail hasn't done for them yet, is the old landmark of Foyles, a proper multi story warren of aisles going off in all directions. They sell new books.
In Oxford is Blacks which should need no introduction.
Cambridge has both the Pepys Library and the Wren Library, both available for visits at quite restricted times. Many college libraries in both Oxford and Cambridge are open to the public during Open House in September. In fact, whatever name the Open House scheme is called in various countries in Europe (Days of Patrimony in France, for example) it is in September and all sorts of treasures are open to the general public, and for free.
Europe is a big place. It is worth making plans.
There's the Chained Library in Hereford Cathedral in England.
The original Foyles closed several years ago, the new store is in the old Central St Martins art school building a little way down the road. It's still one of the largest bookstores in London. There are very few remaining small bookstores in the area, but some remain in the side alleys to the east side of the street at the Trafalgar Square end.
Another shop worth visiting for people into travel is the Stanfords shop in Long Acre, which specialises in maps and travel guides.
Keith,
you are right. That's what happens when dictating answers to Siri..
Sad about Foyles, and all the small shops.
Gutenberg would be spinning in his grave. I had to explain to a teenager the other day what that index thing is at the back of a book. They just search on line.
Great question! My daughter and I will be spending several days in London this coming June, and we will put these bookstores on our list of places to visit.
And I'm adding a lot of the other libraries and bookstores mentioned to my "future trips" planning. So many wonderful things to see in this world!
Wow this thread has taken off! Thanks to all for the suggestions. Any other thoughts on non-UK libraries/bookstores?
As Fred says , The Austrian National Library is a must - the highlight ( which had us occupied for nearly four hours ) is the Prunksaal or State Hall . look here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_National_Library#/media/File:State_Hall_of_the_Austrian_National_Library_NightFall404_1.jpg
another eyeful is the library at The Palace and Monastery of El Escorial outside of Madrid - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Escorial#/media/File:EscorialBiblioteca.jpg
Abbey Library of St. Gallen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_library_of_Saint_Gall
Chateau de Chantilly reading room: http://www.domainedechantilly.com/en/accueil/chateau/cabinet-des-livres/
Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal
For beautiful looking old libraries, but where you can't actually look inside the books, three that came to mind immediately are the ones in Prague, Coimbra (Portugal) and Manchester.
FNAC is a chain that started in France as a bookstore, but now is in various countries, selling all kinds of things besides books - CD's, DVD's, computer equipment, cameras, etc. However, one of them in France (and I'm sorry I can't remember which city - maybe Lyon?) had a HUGE selection of comics and graphic novels (called BD in French, for bandes dessinée). It was actually subdivided into three sections - adult, children, and manga - and each section was in its own large room! Even if you don't find that particular FNAC, the book sections of all of them seem to be heavily patronized, which is heartening; it's worth popping in, and they all sell some English titles, although of course the vast majority are in the local language. They have stores in France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Switzerland.
Did you see the recent story in the New York Times about seven authors and their favorite bookstores? Only two are in Europe, however: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/07/travel/7-authors-on-their-favorite-bookstores.html
And the accompanying story was about destination bookstores around the world (three are in Europe): http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/travel/temples-for-the-literary-pilgrim.html
On the note of specialty book stores, one of the few remaining LGBT bookstores - anywhere - is Les Mots a la Bouche, in Paris. They have some English titles too: http://motsbouche.com/en/
My sister's husband's parents made special arrangements months in advance to attend the Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye, mentioned above, and were very glad they did. It's a very small town, so if you want to stay anywhere nearby, you do have to plan way in advance.
Harold - Prague - Strahov Monastery ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strahov_Monastery#/media/File:Sala_della_Teologia_-_Biblioteca_del_monastero_di_Strahov_-_Repubblica_Ceca.jpg
Book Towns or Book Villages---villages or towns that have designated themselves destinations for book lovers. They usually have several used book stores in the towns/villages. We've been to several. Here is a listing:
http://webs.schule.at/website/Europa/Europa_BookTowns_en.htm
I know , I know , I know !!! This thread is about Libraries and bookstores in Europe , but I can't resist - In the northwest corner of Massachusetts on the New York and Vermont borders , is Williamstown , Massachusetts . Home to Williams College and The Clark Art Institute . The Clark has one the finest art research libraries anywhere . Often , my wife and I will go up there ( about 150 miles , from our home in Westchester County NY ) for a few days , and spend at least a day , from open to close , in this library . Unfortunately , I cannot find appropriate photos of the interior , but here are two links - to the town and to the art institute , I hope some of you might eventually come to see this bucolic place - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamstown,_Massachusetts and the institute - http://clarkart.edu/ Bets , your list is a surfeit of riches !
I can't thank everyone enough. These suggestions are really useful!
I'm not necessarily the biggest fan of Libraries. The best I've seen, by far, to date is the British Library in London. The treasures room there is amazing and not to be missed. The other that comes to mind is Trinity College Library with the Book of Kells.
After those two, nothing else stands out.
There is also Shakespeare and Co in Paris and the book stalls on the Seine.
I second the library in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The library itself is monumental (18th century), and it is home to some of the earliest known music manuscripts. I could not hold back tears in looking a small Graduale codex from 9th century, still in the old neumatic notation.
http://www.cesg.unifr.ch/en/index.htm
A very beautiful library is the Medicea Laurenziana by the church of St. Lorenzo in Florence. Its access stair was designed by Michelangelo.
The Almost Corner Bookshop in Rome - it used to be on the corner, but then moved up the street! It's on Via del Moro in Trastevere, just across the Pont Sisto. It's a wonderland of brilliant English language books, and Dermot - the bookshop owner - has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Rome and a great love for the books he sells. Well worth checking out on any trip to Rome.
Hay-on Wye in Wales. We have been many times but not within the last 15 years. You used to be able to crawl around in basements of the various bookstores and find amazing treasures! The town is filled with bookstores.
British Library - Their public display room has some of the pivotal works of western civilization.
Klementinum Library in Prague - Baroque and beautiful!
Strahov Monastery in Prague - another gorgeous library...there are two rooms. One dedicated to humanities/one dedicated to religion.
Vienna National Bibliotek - Most of these old libraries only allow you to look in through the door. This one allows you to walk in and poke around. I spent almost two hours in here. Amazing!
Bodleian Library in Oxford, England - Take a tour...it's a gorgeous place and incredibly interesting.
Trinity College in Dublin...the Old Library - colums and colums of old books in a stunning room.
For something different, The Black Diamond in Copenhagen is a modern masterpiece!
There are a number of book-related places that I have been to but these are the ones that stand out in my mind! Have fun!
Anita , thanks for reference to the Klementinum , going back to Prague in the fall , I will make certain to see it !
If anyone happens to be in Paris this weekend only, the Richelieu site of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (National Library of France, the BNF) - the old, fancy part in the center near Palais Royal, not the big modern behemoth in the 13th -- is holding Open Doors so folks can visit some of the newly renovated spaces that they've been refurbishing lately.
http://www.bnf.fr/fr/la_bnf/anx_actu_bib/a.170115_portes_ouvertes_richelieu.html
Here's from the site:
The Richelieu Library houses BnF’s special collections: Performing arts, maps and plans, prints and photographs, manuscripts, coins, medals and antiquities. Renovation work has started in 2010 and should be completed in 2020. It is one of the major initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Culture and Communication for coming years.
From an article in Telerama:
http://sortir.telerama.fr/paris/lieux/musees/bibliotheque-nationale-de-france-richelieu,4475.php
Pénétrer l’antre réservé aux chercheurs et découvrir des lieux superbement rénovés. Bienvenue à la BnF Richelieu, qui ouvre grand ses portes durant deux jours, après une rénovation (partielle) de six ans. La visite vaut le détour et s’agrémente de performances des Padox, mi-humains, mi-créatures en latex. En prime, des projections, des lectures en nocturne (le 14, jusqu’à 22h), des présentations d’œuvres patrimoniales (14h-18h), des conférences et la présentation en dix minutes par des doctorants de leurs sujets de recherche (de 16h à 18h). Les férus d’architecture assisteront la veille des festivités, le 13, à la table ronde sur le projet de rénovation du site Richelieu, signé par l'architecte Bruno Gaudin, en sa présence (19h). A ne pas manquer.
Discover the reserve of researchers and discover these *superbly renovated spaces.** Welcome to the BNF Richelieu, which is opening wide its doors for two days, after a (partial) renovation of six years. The visit is worth the detour and is enhanced by performances of the Padox, half-human, half-beasts in latex. First the projections, nighttime readings (the 14th, until 10 pm), presentations on the heritage works (from 2 pm to 6 pm), conferences and the presentation in 10 minutes by researchers on their research topics (from 4 pm to 6 pm). Architectural enthusiasts will be present the night before the festivities, the 13th, at the round table on the renovation project of the Richelieu site, designed by the architect Bruno Gaudin, in the architect's presence (7 pm). Not to be missed.*
For those who aren't able to visit this weekend, but would enjoy some armchair traveling, check out this link from the BNF on the renovations (in English) with several photos:
http://www.bnf.fr/en/bnf/renovation_work_richelieu/a.discover_renovated_spaces_richelieu.html
Address: 58, rue Richelieu, 2nd arrondissement
Nearby metros:
Bourse (line 3)
Palais-Royal (lines 1 & 7)
Pyramides (lines 7 and 14)
http://www.bnf.fr/en/bnf/address_transport/s.address_transports_rich.html?first_Art=non
Follow-on to Kim's post about the BNF - about six years ago I took a Paris Greeters tour with a woman whose partner had been instrumental in the installation of a computerized catalog for the BNF concurrent with a massive effort to move books out of the basement of Versailles to the newish National Library building. She toured us through the new building and told fascinating stories. I found the building both atttractive and interesting when accompanied by the stories. We didn't go into the stacks but apparently it's not hard to get permission (according to her; I haven't verified this.)
From behemoth to small - on the same trip, we enjoyed a day on the grounds of the Salem monastery in Germany on Lake Constance that included, music, crafts demonstrations, wine tasting and a tour of its well-stocked library. No idea about how to gain longer access to the library, but it was beautiful. Same idea but less well-known than St. Gallen - monks saving and creating knowledge for centuries.
A beautiful bookstore we visited was once a Dominican church in Maastricht, Netherlands. http://mymodernmet.com/merkx-girod-selexyz-dominicanen-maastricht-bookstore-church/
