British Library

Free admission . See the Magna Carta , original Shakespeare folios and handwritten Beatles lyrics. Casual cafe on the 2nd floor serving a variety of quaintly food.

The world's third largest library , offering itself as a visiting place for both the scholar and the laytourist. On display through summer 2012: "Writing Britain." Kristin Knox, The Clothes Whisperer

Inspiring exhibitions all year round, a great working place and a pleasant retreat for the curious. If you're into coffee don't miss out on Origin's great selection of espresso & filter coffees .

See the work of conservation and gain an insight into the techniques used to care for our collections on a ‘behind the scenes' tour of the Conservation studios!

One of the highlights of our visit was the Treasures Collection. Handwritten music , Gutenburg and King James Bibles, Shakespeare's First Folio and the Magna Carta , all in one place!

Absolutely beautiful place to visit if u love libraries ! Spend some time reading ❤ or have a bite in the cafe and enjoy looking around. So peaceful

Plan to spend half your day here because once you get in, you'll want to spend hours and hours walking around and learning about different kinds of books/writers.

The King’s Library looks amazing. Loved the Treasures Gallery . Great giftshop and lots of coffeeshops. You could easily spend an entire day here.

You'll never regret spending an hour of your trip at this spectacular library . Jaw-dropping collection of books and historical texts.

Even if you smply visit the British Library for a coffee and pastry at the Peyton & Byrne cafe , its an inspiring space to be surounded by so many great texts. Read more

The British Library is the second largest library in the world: 14 million books and 150 million items.

You can sign up to the reading room . They hold lots of creative thematic exhibits such as the recent ones regarding comic books and, most recently, gothic literature.

The national library of the UK. It has one of the largest collection of books in the world. Great place to study!

Amazing free, quick, and usually not crowded exhibit of the Magna Carta and other unique treasures.

The Treasures of the British Library is a fantastic exhibit ! And they have a nice café to get a pick me up before you're on your way again!

As a librarian from the states , I was blown away. The exhibitions were wonderful and I've never seen so many books together in my life. Great experience.

Visit sir John Ritblat Gallery .. Very interesting things such as Two of the three earliest and most important manuscripts of the entire bible in Greek from the 4th and 5th century

The British Library's exhibition spaces are open late weekly on Tuesdays, from 9.30am-8pm. On show are temporary displays as well as permanent exhibits in the John Ritblat Gallery . Read more

It might not be the first choice on the sightseeing list for first-time London visitors but it's worth visiting. I like Gutenberg.

Be sure to check out all their exhibits : as well as the current exhibition , go read the Magna Carta , check out the philately exhibition and sign up for a damn reader's pass and help improve the world Read more

The exhibits are pretty cool. The bookshop is disappointing. The Alice in Wonderland exhibit was fun!

It's a place of work and pleasure - reading rooms and exhibitions . I always like to swing by the treasures gallery when I'm passing.

There are two excellent cafes in the British Library: a small one outside at the front, and another at the back as you walk up the main stairs. Both make an excellent destination to meet for lunch .

A wonderful place to just hang out, we went to the comic exhibition which was fantastic.

Outside a horrendous building but inside the kind of environment that makes you want to go back to school

A great place to study if you're bored with your uni's library . Electricity sockets available by some tables.

It is free and has an unbelievable collection of ancient and rare books on display. Don't miss it!

Book well in advance for the Harry Potter exhibit ...

The temporary exhibitions are always worth a look, no more so than the current Maps exhibition . Reasonably good for free wifi , but can be patchy. Love the quirky gift shop .

The British Library has a cash machine and a postbox. Both are on the lower ground floor; last collection from the postbox is 4pm Mon-Fri.

There are new seats and sockets up on the second floor by the Humanities reading room !

All libraries need to be visited regularly and this is the mothership.

Always an interesting set of exhibitions on, both free and paid for. Check out their website for details.

The Treasures Room is incredible: handwritten Beatles lyrics on the back of bday cards and envelopes, artifacts from Austen, Shakespeare, a Gutenberg Bible, Magna Carta and more...heaven!!!

Amazing library ! Recommend checking out the "Treasures of the British Library" exhibition - its fascinating!

Best place to get warm and use of the facilities without paying and you don't need to be a member also good to leave luggage for the day as long as its not a big suitcase

Lovely and peaceful , yet there is almost always a hive of activity with visitors working away on laptops.

So cool to see all the old books , including a 1st edition Gutenberg Bible and a 3rd century New Testament piece

The collection is unmatched (150 million items and counting), and the reading rooms (open only to cardholders) are so popular that regular users are now complaining that they can't find a seat. Read more

a palace of knowledge . very busy in the cafe during the week! free wifi allegedly, but seems to need registration or membership

Free wifi , decent toilets and a great cafe . This is my temp office whenever I'm in London

Fantastic place to visit don't miss it

Always nice to look around here and the coffee shops are a great place to have a think.

Quiet and comfortable seats .

Amazing collection of the history of print . As a designer who is obsessed with print and typography, I felt goosebumps!

Preregister online and order your books before you visit. Some are stored in Yorkshire and take 2 days.

If the reading rooms are busy there is always usually desk space in Business and IP floor 2 an the staff can move your books across

Beautiful library , I particularly fancy the Centre for Conservation, fascinating.

Extraordinary place, the comics exhibition is wonderful but so are the regular exhibitions .

Excellent place for a meetup is at the cafe near the back as your walk up the stairs.