London – Libraries are more than collections of books; they are living monuments of history, architecture, and cultural memory. The 2025 1000 Libraries Awards, voted on by more than 200,000 participants worldwide, has unveiled its list of the most beautiful libraries across the globe.
The initiative, founded by Vincent Phan, began as a blog before evolving into a global community of readers and travelers. “Our purpose is essentially to promote libraries and bookstores from all around the world and make sure that they are still relevant in our age of internet and digital technology,” Phan shared with CNBC Travel.
At the top of the list is The Library of Trinity College Dublin, Ireland’s largest library and home to the priceless 9th-century Book of Kells. Its iconic Long Room, lined with over 200,000 volumes, is both a sanctuary of scholarship and a tourist attraction.
In Australia, the State Library of South Australia captivates visitors with its Victorian-era Mortlock Chamber, while State Library Victoria in Melbourne dazzles with its cathedral-like La Trobe reading room, an octagonal hall that holds 32,000 books.
Switzerland’s St. Gallen Abbey Library, one of the world’s oldest, preserves medieval manuscripts within a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Meanwhile, Austria’s Admont Monastery Library, the largest of its kind, impresses with its Baroque frescoes and monumental scale.
Northern Europe also shines. The Cuypers Library at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum houses centuries of art historical knowledge in a neo-Gothic setting, while Oxford’s Duke Humfrey’s Library preserves rare manuscripts donated by royalty, steeped in scholarly tradition.
In Brazil, the Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading in Rio de Janeiro holds the largest collection of Portuguese literature outside Portugal, combining cultural heritage with stunning 19th-century design. Germany’s Wiblingen Monastery Library enchants with its Rococo interior, adorned with statues and vivid artworks.
Completing the list, the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève in Paris’ Latin Quarter stands as an architectural marvel, with its soaring iron arches and luminous design, symbolizing both the weight and lightness of knowledge.
Together, these ten destinations illustrate that libraries remain vital not only for the books they preserve, but for the inspiration they embody. They are spaces where history, architecture, and human curiosity converge—reminding us that the pursuit of knowledge is as beautiful as the places that shelter it.
