Bibliothèque nationale de France

Bibliothèque nationale de France

The Bibliothèque nationale de France is one of the most important libraries in France. Its origins trace back to the royal library established during the reign of Charles V. It made significant progress under Louis XIV and, after several transformations, eventually became the national library of the French Republic. It currently has multiple locations, the most prominent being the François Mitterrand site in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, which houses approximately 30 million documents along with a digital library project.

The new building of the French National Library, known as the François Mitterrand National Library, is located by the Seine River in the southeastern part of Paris. This is just one of the seven sites of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. This mega-library, decided upon by former French President François Mitterrand and completed in 1997, covers an area of 7.8 hectares with a total floor space of 350,000 square meters. It features four towering, glass-and-steel structures shaped like open books, facing each other, connected by a wooden plaza as large as eight football fields. At the center lies a lush green grove, surrounded by two floors of reading rooms, including two main ones each the size of two football fields.

The library offers a general reading room with 2,000 seats and a scholars' reading room with 1,500 seats. It houses a collection of 11 million books, over 300,000 periodicals, 2,000 specialized resources, and 15 million precious prints, among others. In addition to reading areas, the new building also includes an audiovisual room, a large conference hall, six smaller meeting rooms, and facilities for hosting various cultural events such as concerts, seminars, and exhibitions throughout the year. Moreover, the library provides other services such as restaurants, cafés, specialty shops, and bookstores.

National Library of France

Must-visit reason: One of France’s most important libraries

Continent where the attraction is located: Europe【Europe】

Country/Region where the attraction is located: France[France]

Province/State where the attraction is located: Île-de-France Region [Ile-de-France Region]

City where the attraction is located: Paris [Paris]