Biblioteca Vasconcelos on Postcard

"A detour to the centrally located yet way-off-the-tourist-track neighborhood known as Buenavista leads to one of Mexico City’s most dazzling 21st-century landmarks, the Biblioteca Vasconcelos, a gorgeous public library. The structure,by Alberto Kalach and Juan Palomar, has the public entering a pyramid-style form, on an almost subterranean level, that opens up, cathedral-like, into a soaring space lined on either side by cantilevered book stacks that float nobly above it all. Dramatic artworks contribute to the overall temple-of-knowledge feeling that is, in fact, quite moving. More beautiful yet could be just how busy the library is, filled with eager students and bookworm families alongside (no joke) groups of teens always practicing pop-music dance routines in the library’s lateral gardens."

The Best Things to Do in Mexico City

test

@goop

"This massive public library is absolutely striking and worth the journey for anyone with an interest in architecture. Designed by Alberto Kalach, amazingly, the bookshelves actually form part of the building's structure, so that the individual book spines fill the space with thousands of colors. A Gabriel Orozco whale skeleton hangs in the lobby and there's a well-manicured botanical garden outside, just a couple more reasons why this space is so awesome to hang out in, regardless of whether you're checking out a book."

The Mexico City Guide

test

@victoire_loup

A library with quite interesting design, and you can stop by the mariachi plaza on your way there.

Mexico City

test

Andrew Daily

Google

Super cool architecture for a library. The upper levels aren’t for the faint of heart when it comes to heights. It’s a beautiful building with every book topic you can think of. Free entrance but security checks your bags on the way out. Public restrooms are free also inside. Ample lounging areas and work stations. The neighborhood around it isn’t the safest. If you are not familiar with the area, I wouldn’t stray too far from the train station.

Aleksei Malenkin

Google

Incredible place! Architecture, the old feeling of library which I did not experience science university. You can read books, magazines, and comics here. Thete is also a small section of foreign literature in native languages. Therea ate facilities to come here with kids. There is a nice garden where you can seat jn peace and read the chosen book. On the weekend, there was a game for families on the first floor - kids were happy:) And one more thing - on the first floor there was an exhibition of local arts. Very interesting and insightful. I strongly recommend this place for solo visits, friends, and families.

P W

Google

Biblioteca Vasconcelos is a strikingly modern library in the Buenavista neighborhood. It is dedicated to José Vasconcelos, the philosopher and former president of the National Library of Mexico. There are seven floors accessible by elevator and stairs. Well organized and labeled shelves of books by subject matter. So many sitting spaces with tables and chairs. Staff readily available for questions and security personnel to do what they always do. Nice garden spaces with trees and plants outdoors. Restrooms. Vending machines outside

Alberto Rascon

Google

One of the largest and most striking libraries in Mexico. There are plenty of great spots inside to take pictures and many more areas to study, read, or do some work. Elevators and restrooms are plentiful, although the elevators are very slow. Restrooms are generally clean. There is security checking bags when exiting the library, which feels a bit intrusive. It might be better to have security tags on the books if they are that concerned about theft.

Aaron hoo

Google

Spend hours wondering around taking photos of this amazing Tesseract that reminded me of the climax in INTERSTELLAR (2014). For an amateur photographer like me, I was sort of overwhelmed by the countless opportune moments to capture the light and shadows because there are seven levels to this place. Loved every minute of it.

David Rubio

Google

Amazing choice of books. It's a nice place to have a quiet reading time. The view from every angle is amazing. Also, there's a balcony on the sides, an immaculatent view. 100/10 💯 recommend to go when visiting Mexico City. Amo CDMX🫠

Iris Villegas

Google

Beautiful place to spend the afternoon reading a book. 7 floors with an amazing view. If you are afraid of heights just take the elevator rather than the stairs. They have computers everywhere to help you find the book you need.

Michael Barton

Google

This is a free public library that you don't need a ticket for. Food and drink isn't allowed inside. Inside you'll find what looks like a Jedi temple! The books are layered on shelves hanging down from the ceiling. You can easily spend time here photographing the library as much as you could studying. It's worth a visit just for the architecture. Security inside is tight and will check bags.

Andrew Daily

Google

Super cool architecture for a library. The upper levels aren’t for the faint of heart when it comes to heights. It’s a beautiful building with every book topic you can think of. Free entrance but security checks your bags on the way out. Public restrooms are free also inside. Ample lounging areas and work stations. The neighborhood around it isn’t the safest. If you are not familiar with the area, I wouldn’t stray too far from the train station.

Aleksei Malenkin

Google

Incredible place! Architecture, the old feeling of library which I did not experience science university. You can read books, magazines, and comics here. Thete is also a small section of foreign literature in native languages. Therea ate facilities to come here with kids. There is a nice garden where you can seat jn peace and read the chosen book. On the weekend, there was a game for families on the first floor - kids were happy:) And one more thing - on the first floor there was an exhibition of local arts. Very interesting and insightful. I strongly recommend this place for solo visits, friends, and families.

P W

Google

Biblioteca Vasconcelos is a strikingly modern library in the Buenavista neighborhood. It is dedicated to José Vasconcelos, the philosopher and former president of the National Library of Mexico. There are seven floors accessible by elevator and stairs. Well organized and labeled shelves of books by subject matter. So many sitting spaces with tables and chairs. Staff readily available for questions and security personnel to do what they always do. Nice garden spaces with trees and plants outdoors. Restrooms. Vending machines outside

Alberto Rascon

Google

One of the largest and most striking libraries in Mexico. There are plenty of great spots inside to take pictures and many more areas to study, read, or do some work. Elevators and restrooms are plentiful, although the elevators are very slow. Restrooms are generally clean. There is security checking bags when exiting the library, which feels a bit intrusive. It might be better to have security tags on the books if they are that concerned about theft.

Aaron hoo

Google

Spend hours wondering around taking photos of this amazing Tesseract that reminded me of the climax in INTERSTELLAR (2014). For an amateur photographer like me, I was sort of overwhelmed by the countless opportune moments to capture the light and shadows because there are seven levels to this place. Loved every minute of it.

David Rubio

Google

Amazing choice of books. It's a nice place to have a quiet reading time. The view from every angle is amazing. Also, there's a balcony on the sides, an immaculatent view. 100/10 💯 recommend to go when visiting Mexico City. Amo CDMX🫠

Iris Villegas

Google

Beautiful place to spend the afternoon reading a book. 7 floors with an amazing view. If you are afraid of heights just take the elevator rather than the stairs. They have computers everywhere to help you find the book you need.

Michael Barton

Google

This is a free public library that you don't need a ticket for. Food and drink isn't allowed inside. Inside you'll find what looks like a Jedi temple! The books are layered on shelves hanging down from the ceiling. You can easily spend time here photographing the library as much as you could studying. It's worth a visit just for the architecture. Security inside is tight and will check bags.

Biblioteca Vasconcelos

Biblioteca Vasconcelos

Photos

Highlights

You might also like