Barcelona - a literary paradise
If you like to travel and happen to be a book lover, Barcelona is the ideal place for you
By Fabiola Chirinos
11/07/2016
Imagine that you are spending your holidays in the city, enjoying your stay at a tourist apartment and suddenly you want to look for books and do some non-stop reading. What can you do? Well, you could go to one of the 231 public libraries in Barcelona where you’ll find a broad range of books to satisfy your literary passion.
Many of the libraries in the city are considered the most beautiful in Europe. Why should it be otherwise, when almost all of them have amazing structures ranging from the gothic style to Catalonian post-modern architecture? From the Santa Creu I Sant Pau Library, located in the city’s ancient hospital, and built between the 15th and 16th centuries, to the more modern ones like the Sofia Barat or Can Roses libraries.
If you want to spend one or more days in the Catalonian capital and are planning on going to some libraries besides those mentioned previously, you may want to visit:
The Biblioteca Sagrada Familia, which has different reading groups, has a huge catalogue of books about different topics and even an area for children. It opens on Sundays, in summer as well as in winter. It’s a place for you to visit.
The Biblioteca Jaume Fuster is another option for your reading journey. It covers an area of 5026 m2, which makes it one of the biggest libraries in the city. Regarding architecture, the building won the Promotion of Arts and Design 2006 [Fomento de las Artes y del Diseño, FAD] award, one of the most prestigious awards given in this part of Spain.
Another place you should visit is the Biblioteca Popular de Francesca Bonnemaison, which is very popular and recognized in the whole city, due to the fact that it was the first one to be exclusively dedicated to women. Besides, it has a small theater in which plays are presented throughout the year.
Barcelona is known as a city of literature, well-cultured and making efforts to promoting and developing the arts of knowledge and thinking. With all of these opportunities to nourish your intellect, it’s no wonder that Barcelona is a world reference regarding universities and libraries. So, now you know where to go, if you are interested in enjoying a good book during your holidays.