When in Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale de France
One of the lesser known but equally popular touristic spots one can visit in Paris is the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF). Nestled in between the streets of 5 Rue Viviene, and 58 rue de Richelieu, it is easily accessible by lines 3 (bourse) 1 and 7 (Palais-Royal-Musée du Louvre), or 7 et 14 (Pyramides).
The building has been in construction for 12 years. Before that, it was only exclusively accessed by researchers, teachers, and students since 1916.
The more popularly and accessibly known location of the French national library is in the 13th district named Bibliothèque François Mitterand. A stop at the metro line 14 is aptly named after this extension. Contrary to Richelieu’s architecture, BFM has modern architecture, facing the Seine River. The four buildings are said to form four open books. It has iconic steps that go down to the docks of the Seine, more popularly frequented by students from nearby campuses as a place to hang out.
The Richelieu library was formerly known as the Bibliothèque de Roi. The newly renovated structure has different access depending on the purpose of the visit. Access to the garden and oval room free visits is via rue Viviene. For visits to the museum and exposition, fees are posted on their website.
The 20,000 collections of comics, dictionaries, history, and philosophy, to name a few, in the oval room (otherwise known as the Oval Paradise) that towers over three floors can only be consulted on-site. You can enjoy these numerous resources on the benches, tables and couches in the reading room. When we visited on a Sunday, we even saw readers comfortably squatting on the floor (thankfully, out of way and not disrupting usual traffic).
Whether you go there for a quick stop or to hang out an entire day to appreciate its grandeur, Bibliothèque Richelieu is surely a worthy visit when in Paris.
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Tucked away in the 8th arrondissement, the Chapelle Expiatoire sits quietly at 29 Rue Pasquier, inside the Louis XVI Square. Constructed by Louis XVIII, on the site where King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were initially buried after their gruesome executions during the French Revolution, the chapel serves as a reminder of the tumultuous events that unfolded in the late 18th century.