Central Library of Vancouver Among Most Beautiful Libraries in the World

In a city that has few architectural gems, the Central Library (Library Square) is one of Vancouver’s few gleaming gems – and the world has noticed.

The Vancouver Colosseum-inspired building was designed by world renowned architect Moshe Safdie. It combines the old with the new and is the only library in Canada to be ranked as one of the most beautiful libraries in the world.

Here is what Travel + Leisure had to say about the Central Library:

Architect Moshe Safdie’s creation resembles a modern-day Colosseum. You enter the Central Library through a huge skylit concourse, which contains shops and cafés and acts as an urban gathering point. Bridges inside the library connect to reading and study areas in the outer walls. Plans are under way to reclaim two of the building’s top floors from other tenants in order to expand the rooftop garden and make it accessible to the public. Open seven days a week

20 Most Beautiful Libraries in the World

George Peabody Library, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore
The Royal Library Copenhagen, Denmark
Clementinum, Prague
Royal Portuguese Reading Room, Rio de Janeiro
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Central Library of Vancouver, Canada
Musashino Art University Museum and Library, Tokyo
New York Public Library (Stephen A. Schwarzman Building)
Marciana Library, Venice
Trinity College Old Library, Dublin
Stuttgart City Library, Germany
Library of Birmingham, England
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt
Coimbra Library, University of Coimbra–Alta and Sofia, Portugal
Bodleian Library, Oxford University, England
Seattle Public Library’s Central Library
Connemara Public Library, Chennai, India
Austrian National Library, Vienna
Mortlock Wing State Library, Adelaide, Australia
Beitou Branch of the Taipei Public Library, Taiwan

Vancouver Central Library via shutterstock