Bibliothèque nationale de France - François Mitterrand

The Bibliothèque nationale de France at the François-Mitterrand site is the largest of the BnF's four Paris locations, opened in 1996 to designs by architect Dominique Perrault. Four L-shaped glass towers — conceived to resemble open books — frame a sunken timber esplanade at the center of which sits a sheltered courtyard planted with 140 full-grown pines, creating an unexpected urban forest in the heart of the 13th arrondissement. The building was the last of the Grands Travaux, President François Mitterrand's sweeping programme of monumental public architecture, and bears his name posthumously. The collections run to some 15 million documents, from medieval illuminated manuscripts to early printed books; research reading rooms require accreditation, while the general reading rooms are open to all adults. Opening hours run Tuesday to Saturday from 9 am, Monday afternoons only — the library is closed on public holidays.