Something that generally lacks in traditional guidebooks is where to have a good nap! Especially for a big walker and cyclist like me. Thus I decided to show you my favourite places to have a good nap in Paris. In winter: BNF Mitterrand (other winter nap article here). The National Library of France is one of the big architectural projects planned under François Mitterrand’s presidency. Made of four high buildings in shape of open books, with a conifer garden in the centre of this rectangle, the spaces open to the public are at haut-de-jardin level (first level below ground floor). I don’t advise to go there for books consultation, because you’d have to pay an admission fee, the rooms are very dark, and the BPI is definitely a better choice (see the BPI article). But the corridors all around the garden are freely accessible, with a nice view on this “urban forest”, and above all equipped with very comfortable chairs, ideal for reading a book, using your laptop, chatting, and of course enjoying a well deserved nap! This space also hosts a bookstore and a cafeteria, and exhibitions (some are free) about literature, comics or press are often displayed in the corridors (mostly in French), including the impressive Coronelli globes (see picture). Although not very central, the automatic metro line 14 (never on strike!) will bring you there quite rapidly from the very centre, and it’s a good occasion to visit this modern Parisian neighborhood, recently embellished by the modern pedestrian Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir. Details about this spot (Show on map).jpg)
Image by Frédéric Moussaïan
BNF Mitterrand | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Quai François Mauriac | Chinatown/Denfert | +33153795959
Tue – Sat 09:00 – 19:00, Sun 13:00 – 19:00
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BNF Mitterrand – A nap in an industrious atmosphere
Tags: Art & culture, bnf mitterand, Chinatown/Denfert, library, local, Paris, Relaxing.
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This place was like shock and awe for me. It was great to see and quite an experience for someone who loves architecture–even though I think this place could have been built way better and for less than the $1.3Billion that it cost to build. But…It does look like a place for a good nap! I love it!!!
Hey! No! Don’t knock it. The BNF is superb! I used it a few years ago for my master’s dissertation – I needed to look at 19th century newspapers au sujet de la musique a Paris. The staff were friendly and helpful. I love the place. Also don’t forget the site rue Richelieu.
To Michelle:
Thank you for your comment, and for recording that BNF is, above all, a great library.
If I used a quite unusual approach to speak about this place, it’s for 3 reasons:
1) It’s one of this site’s purposes to look at a city from a “different” angle.
2) I really think it is a great place to have a nap, even if of course, BNF is not only for that.
3) This site is mostly intended for tourists coming to Paris, and I doubt that many tourists would spend half-a-day of their stay in Paris to search books, especially not at the research level where one has to be duly accredited to get in. But of course, it doesn’t mean that BNF is not a great place for people who live in Paris and have time to dedicate to knowledge and research.
Finally, I’d be very glad if this article encouraged people to go to the BNF (for a nap or the exhibitions), and that, once seduced by the place, they continued their visit to the reading rooms.
I cannot let you write that the Bibliothèque nationale is only a place to take a nap. Clearly, you never used it properly!
I am one of those who love it for what it is: a wonderful place to learn and work. Of course, the access is not free (53 euros for the full year if I remember correctly, is that so expensive?). But I spend five or six days a week at the research level (the lower one), and I enjoy it a lot. You have a treasury right at hand, you never wait if you are organised and librarians are very helpful. Of course, you need to learn how to make the best of it. But believe me, one can do better than take a nap at the BnF!
I will not say that everything is perfect. For instance, when the weather is bad, it is kind of an ordeal to get inside…
Michelle J.
good idea ! the corridor in front of the sun is very warm and U can fell aslep in less than 5 min. after go to the swimpool nearby. With a little chance U can invite one of the beautiful french student in the neighborhood !