SYDNEY, Aug. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The 1000 Libraries has announced the winners of its 2025 competition following a two-month voting period that recorded over 200,000 votes from book lovers worldwide.
Most beautiful library, Trinity College Dublin, in Ireland
Most beautiful bookstore, Boekhandel Dominicanen, in Maastricht, Netherlands
Most beautiful book café, Minoa Pera, in Istanbul, Turkey
Trinity College Dublin’s Library claimed first place in the Most Beautiful Libraries category, while Boekhandel Dominicanen in the Netherlands won Most Beautiful Bookstore, and Minoa Pera in Istanbul, Turkey, took the top spot for Most Beautiful Book Café.
Voting ran from May 15 to July 15, 2025, with participation from librarians, students, tourists, and literary enthusiasts across six continents. The competition nominated 19 libraries, 19 bookstores, and 16 book cafés from exceptional venues worldwide.
Why Ireland won
Trinity College Dublin’s victory highlights the appeal of historic libraries that combine architectural grandeur with literary significance. The library’s Long Room, often compared to the Hogwarts library from Harry Potter, features dark polished shelves and a stately aesthetic that creates what the awards described as “an aged and dignified atmosphere.”
The library serves as Ireland’s largest library and houses the famous Book of Kells alongside thousands of other rare manuscripts. Its 65-meter length and busts of famous literary figures contributed to its appeal among voters seeking spaces that “capture the beauty of libraries old and new.”
Other category winners
Most Beautiful Bookstore: Boekhandel Dominicanen in Maastricht, Netherlands, won first place. The bookstore operates in a restored 13th-century Gothic church featuring vaulted ceilings, original frescoes, and a steel bookcase installation.
Most Beautiful Book Café: Minoa Pera in Istanbul, Turkey, claimed the top position. Part of the Minoa Books chain, it features modern design with stone flooring and sells over 45,000 Turkish and English books across multiple floors.
Complete winner lists
TOP 10 MOST BEAUTIFUL LIBRARIES:
- Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- State Library of South Australia, Australia
- Abbey Library of St Gall, Switzerland
- Duke Humfrey’s Library (University of Oxford), United Kingdom
- Admont Abbey Library, Austria
- Cuypers Library (Rijksmuseum), Netherlands
- State Library Victoria, Australia
- The Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading, Brazil
- Wiblingen Abbey Library, Germany
- Sainte-Geneviève Library, France
TOP 10 MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOKSTORES:
- Boekhandel Dominicanen, Netherlands
- Shakespeare and Company, France
- El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Argentina
- The Gently Mad Bookshop, United Kingdom
- Word on the Water, United Kingdom
- Dujiangyan Zhongshuge, China
- Eterna Cadencia, Argentina
- Daunt Books, United Kingdom
- Albertine Books, United States
- The Last Bookstore, United States
TOP 10 MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK CAFÉS:
- Minoa Pera, Turkey
- The Used Book Café at Merci, France
- Halle Saint-Pierre, France
- Péniche L’Eau et les Rêves, France
- Cafebrería El Péndulo Polanco, Mexico
- Ampersand Café & Bookstore, Australia
- Ler Devagar, Portugal
- Maison Assouline, United Kingdom
- Bibliotheque NYC, United States
- Livraria Funambule, Brazil
Global reach reveals diverse winners
The competition’s international scope produced winners spanning multiple continents, from Europe’s historic monastery libraries to South America’s converted theaters and Asia’s modern architectural marvels.
Vincent Phan, Founder of 1000 Libraries, said: “These places represent the enduring power of the written word in our digital age. Visitors now want destinations that offer visual beauty, local storytelling, and intellectual engagement. Each winner offers something unique: breathtaking historical architecture, innovative modern design, and that intangible quality that makes you want to lose yourself among the stacks, while serving as crucial ‘third places’ where bookish communities flourish.”
Notable geographic diversity included Switzerland’s 612-year-old Abbey Library of St Gall, Argentina’s El Ateneo Grand Splendid housed in a 1919 theater, and China’s Dujiangyan Zhongshuge with its mirrored ceiling creating infinite reflections of bookshelves.
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1000 Libraries is the world’s largest online community of book-lovers (1.5M+) dedicated to the art of literary travel, celebrating the world’s most beautiful libraries, bookstores, book cafés, book towns, and book‑inspired destinations.
At the heart of our platform is the 1000 Libraries Magazine – an ad‑free, reader‑friendly publication delivering weekly stories on literary culture, the bookish lifestyle, and the joy of reading. Every piece is freely accessible and written to inspire an enduring appeal for physical books in the age of digital technology.
Founded and led by Editor-in-Chief Vincent Phan, 1000 Libraries is on a mission to inspire a global resurgence in book culture through content created for book-lovers, by book-lovers.
