The towers of the Bibliothèque nationale de France(François Mitterrand site) can be seen from the Seine during a stroll through the Parc de Bercy, overlooking the library's premises. Opened to the public in 1996, the site became the first building to use wire cloth as interior decoration.
Designed byarchitect Dominique Perrault, the BnF is made up of four glass towers, the four "Bnf towers" in the shape of open books. Each tower is placed on one of the corners of the esplanade, giving the building a cubic appearance and a reference to the national library. Each tower reaches a height of 79 metres, and each has a name: the tower of time, the tower of laws, the tower of numbers and the tower of letters.
BnF François Mitterrand, the huge Parisian library ideal for revision, but not only
In the 13th arrondissement, it's impossible to miss these 4 immense buildings overlooking the banks of the Seine: designed to resemble an open book, the four towers of the François Mitterrand library offer a place to read, work in silence, do research and consult hundreds of thousands of documents. [Read more]
In fact, with several hundred thousand documents, the BnF's collections are among the largest in the world. There's also a restaurant and café on site, and the library is very popular with students during exam periods (or all year round).
Good news: if you'd like to find out more about the BnF François Mitterrand site, guided tours are available on Wednesdays and Sundays at 3:30pm. Tickets cost €9 full price and €7 concessions, and reservations are strongly recommended.
Location
BnF - Site François Mitterrand
Quai François Mauriac
75013 Paris 13
Official website
www.bnf.fr
BnF François Mitterrand, the huge Parisian library ideal for revision, but not only
