Libraries are our favorite places on earth. If you’re book-obsessed like us, you know that books make any room beautiful. Some libraries around the world take that beauty to the next level. And the smell of old books? Ahhh. You know what we’re talking about.
To celebrate literary oases, we’ve collected photos of some of the most gorgeous libraries in the world. Sleek and modern or intricate and classic—we love them all and we’d really like to bring our favorite book to these reading rooms and spend the afternoon curled up amidst the books, fellow readers, and sheer, jaw-dropping beauty.
Reading Room at La Sorbonne, Paris

Joe and Rika Mansueto Library at the University of Chicago

Trinity College Library, Dublin

The Indianapolis Public Library

Los Angeles Public Library

Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale

New York Public Library

Biblioteca Vasconcelos, Mexico City

Vatican Library

Featured image: Wangkun Jia / Shutterstock.com