This historic Melbourne library has just ranked among the ten most beautiful in the world
More than 200,000 votes were cast in the 1,000 Libraries Awards 2025, with the results tallied to crown the world's ten most beautiful bookish spaces. According to readers, State Library Victoria is the world's seventh-most beautiful for 2025. Melbourne's beloved house of books boasts the most popular front lawn in the whole city, and its magnificent, six-storey domed La Trobe Reading Room has wowed visitors since it opened way back in 1854. Now, the Neo-Classical building occupies an entire city block, with 23 interconnected buildings housing more than 2 million books. You could spend the rest of your life there and barely make a dent in your reading list.
Notably, this isn't the first time that our state library has gained global acclaim – back in 2024, it ranked among the world's most popular libraries, and earlier this year, it ranked as the third best library in the world.
Our city's reading palace wasn't the only Aussie library in the spotlight. While the Library of Trinity College Dublin took out the top spot, Australia's very own State Library of South Australia was voted as the second most beautiful library on Earth.
It's no wonder that Adelaide's leading library is consistently ranked among the world's prettiest. The grand bibliotheca showcases yesteryear features, with the likes of a glass-domed lantern roof, wrought iron-balustraded balconies and a marvellous clock that ticks above the hall.
Aside from the architecture, the State Library of South Australia itself holds more than 4 million items, including books, manuscripts, maps and special collections. There's even a lovely little café, so you can easily spend a whole day reading and roaming the aisles. If you're planning a visit, just a heads-up that the Mortlock Chamber is closed until September for carpet repairs.
The ten most beautiful libraries in the world for 2025:
The Library of Trinity College, Ireland
State Library of South Australia, Australia
Abbey Library of St. Gallen, Switzerland
Duke Humfrey's Library (University of Oxford), UK
Admont Abbey Library, Austria
Cuypers Library, Netherlands
State Library Victoria, Australia
The Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading, Brazil
Wiblingen Abbey Library, Germany
Sainte-Geneviève Library, France
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Time Out
16 hours ago
- Time Out
This historic Melbourne library has just ranked among the ten most beautiful in the world
Melbourne is overflowing with cosy cafés and magical secret gardens where book lovers can bury their noses in a good read. But for true bookworms, nothing beats the hush of a library – where you have access to an unending supply of reading materials. These literary dens are more than just houses of books, though. Around the world, architects have designed libraries so incredible that they might just pull your eyes away from the page. And our city is turning both pages and heads, with one of the world's most beautiful (and distracting) libraries located right here. More than 200,000 votes were cast in the 1,000 Libraries Awards 2025, with the results tallied to crown the world's ten most beautiful bookish spaces. According to readers, State Library Victoria is the world's seventh-most beautiful for 2025. Melbourne's beloved house of books boasts the most popular front lawn in the whole city, and its magnificent, six-storey domed La Trobe Reading Room has wowed visitors since it opened way back in 1854. Now, the Neo-Classical building occupies an entire city block, with 23 interconnected buildings housing more than 2 million books. You could spend the rest of your life there and barely make a dent in your reading list. Notably, this isn't the first time that our state library has gained global acclaim – back in 2024, it ranked among the world's most popular libraries, and earlier this year, it ranked as the third best library in the world. Our city's reading palace wasn't the only Aussie library in the spotlight. While the Library of Trinity College Dublin took out the top spot, Australia's very own State Library of South Australia was voted as the second most beautiful library on Earth. It's no wonder that Adelaide's leading library is consistently ranked among the world's prettiest. The grand bibliotheca showcases yesteryear features, with the likes of a glass-domed lantern roof, wrought iron-balustraded balconies and a marvellous clock that ticks above the hall. Aside from the architecture, the State Library of South Australia itself holds more than 4 million items, including books, manuscripts, maps and special collections. There's even a lovely little café, so you can easily spend a whole day reading and roaming the aisles. If you're planning a visit, just a heads-up that the Mortlock Chamber is closed until September for carpet repairs. The ten most beautiful libraries in the world for 2025: The Library of Trinity College, Ireland State Library of South Australia, Australia Abbey Library of St. Gallen, Switzerland Duke Humfrey's Library (University of Oxford), UK Admont Abbey Library, Austria Cuypers Library, Netherlands State Library Victoria, Australia The Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading, Brazil Wiblingen Abbey Library, Germany Sainte-Geneviève Library, France
Metro
2 days ago
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I swam with whale sharks at Australia's hidden gem reef
Stepping out of tiny Exmouth Airport, I felt like I'd flown into another world. I'd arrived from the skyscrapers and shopping malls of Perth into a striking landscape where red-sand gorges tumble into turquoise seas. Exmouth is considered the gateway to Ningaloo Reef, a lesser-known — but incredibly important — coral reef off the coast of Western Australia. While the Great Barrier Reef is one of those natural wonders you learn about in primary school, I'd never heard of Ningaloo. It's much smaller than its more famous cousin, but stretching for about 300km, it's the world's largest fringing reef, meaning it sits closer to the shore. It's home to a staggering number of marine species, any one of which you'd be lucky to glimpse in your lifetime — from humpback whales and mantarays to whale sharks. Fuel your wanderlust with our curated newsletter of travel deals, guides and inspiration. Sign up here. It's also, unsurprisingly, one of the best places in the world for snorkelling. There are no sprawling resort hotels in this part of Australia. The most popular choice is glamping, and the preferred footwear for locals seemed to be none at all. It feels gloriously empty and very… Australian? Scary spiders included. Every year, from March to July, Ningaloo Reef welcomes a different kind of visitor: between 300 and 500 whale sharks, who pass through the area on their migration south through the Indian Ocean. Despite their size (they're bigger than elephants), these gentle giants primarily eat plankton and krill, and aren't dangerous to humans. As a result, animal lovers flock to the reef to swim alongside them. I arrived harbour-side for my bucket-list swim with trepidation, but the team at Live Ningaloo, the only small group tour operator on the reef, put me at ease. The crew reminded me of Crush, the sea turtle from Finding Nemo (it's a compliment, I swear). So chill and tanned, with sting-ray tattoos and bracelets that I can only assume were bought at a vintage market in some corner of paradise. But despite the Aussie 'give zero f*cks' vibes, they know their stuff: these guides are marine scientists who explain how the swim will play out, with military precision. The tour keeps conservation at its heart and disturbances to sharks at a minimum. The buildup is tense. Planes overhead search for the animals, and radio down when they spot one. When they do, it's all systems go. Flippers and snorkels go on, and we get into formation, jumping into the water. I'm hanging off every word of our guide, Katie, bobbing on the surface, with no real concept of what's to come. Then, she instructs us to put our heads underwater. I'm holding my breath (despite my snorkel), staring into the abyss. At first, it's eerily still, and then, like some kind of mirage, a whale shark, the world's largest fish, emerges from the depths, spots glistening in the reflected sunlight. And suddenly, you're swimming. You're completely present — so aware that you must keep up with this creature, so as not to miss a second in its company — while also finding the moment so staggeringly hard to believe, it almost feels like a dream. Your time with the whale shark ends at its choosing, when, despite its massive size, it elegantly swims out of sight into the deep blue. We were lucky enough to share a handful of swims with the sharks, before toasting a glass of champagne on board, spotting humpback whales in the distance. As a travel writer, I'm meant to be able to put incredible experiences like this into words, but I'm not sure any sentence I write would do it justice. Another guide (and expert photographer) Justin Bumpstead summed it up best: 'You never know what you're going to see out in the Ningaloo. Every day is different. It's special.' From the sky to the sea, 50 shades of blue hit you when you arrive in Exmouth. However, if you edge inland, you're treated to an altogether different, though equally breathtaking, terrain. Exmouth sits on the north edge of Cape Range National Park, home to 50,581 hectares of unspoilt canyons, gorges and ochre-toned desert, that hugs 50km of shoreline. An easy way to experience the park is a hike to the iconic Yardie Creek, one of its many deep canyons. About 2km from the nearest entrance, you'll spot kangaroos, emus and black foot wallabies (a threatened species) as you climb higher. The gorge itself is a breathtaking sight. A river seems to slice through two vertical red cliff faces, before opening out into the sparkling blue ocean. If you squint, you might even see whales breaching in the distance. Boat tours are also available if you prefer to see the creek from the water. It was truly a sight to behold, and worth the 5am start. Sixteen tents sit among the dunes at Sal Salis, the waves of the Indian Ocean crashing in the distance. There's no WiFi or phone signal here. Guests are encouraged to go off grid: chat to each other, read a book in your hammock or take part in one of the daily scheduled activities, from hikes (such as the trip to Yardie Creek) to kayak tours. And with the reef just a few metres from shore, snorkelling is encouraged. This is indeed luxury accommodation: delicious meals featuring locally sourced ingredients are served on long communal benches with Australian wine pairings (as well as heavily stocked, self-service bar). If it's on the menu, opt for the bugs (not as alarming as it sounds, it's slipper lobster). The tent has a large double bed and earth-toned decor, in keeping with the landscape. The outdoor en-suite bathroom is dreamy first thing in the morning; picture yourself showering to the soundtrack of the ocean. There's no getting away from the fact that you're still camping, albeit in luxury. There's a three-minute shower policy to preserve water, and with Australia famously home to a party of the Earth's most poisonous insects, I always felt ever so slightly on edge, especially while using the 'nature loo'. I was meticulous about keeping my suitcase firmly zipped up with all my belongings inside, so as not to find a giant spider hiding in my trainers (I'm still traumatised by the one I found in the sink). There is no aircon (which was perfectly fine during August, Australia's winter), and just a torch for when night falls, which I'll admit, did creep me out a bit. Despite all this, Sal Salis gifted me with moments I'll never forget. As you walk back from dinner, you do so under a sky packed with stars. And, if you listen carefully as you fall asleep, you can hear humpback whales whistling in the distance. It's a remarkable place to stay. 'No wukkas?' I asked Justin, during our whale shark swim. 'What does that mean?' 'No f*cking worries,' came the reply, with a smirk. 'When you're out in the Ningaloo, what have you got to worry about?' More Trending He had a point. From the gorges that seem to slice through the Earth, to the gentle giant whale sharks, the sheer scale of this part of the country certainly puts life into perspective. Both exhilarating and impossibly laid-back, a trip to Ningaloo Reef is one you'll never forget. A king wilderness tent at Sal Salis costs from £1261 per night based on two sharing (two night minimum stay).This includes all food and beverages along with daily tours and activities. costs from £1261 per night based on two sharing (two night minimum stay).This includes all food and beverages along with daily tours and activities. The Life on Ningaloo tour with Live Ningaloo runs from August to October and costs £380 per person for a swimmer spot (allowing you to get in the water). This includes lunch, complimentary tour photographer and snorkelling equipment. runs from August to October and costs £380 per person for a swimmer spot (allowing you to get in the water). This includes lunch, complimentary tour photographer and snorkelling equipment. For more information about Journey Beyond and the experiences and attractions they operate in Australia visit their website. Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: I took my family on a digital detox holiday and something extraordinary happened MORE: Europe's highest capital city has no airport or trains and could fit into London 121 times MORE: My unconventional Notes app hack is a lifesaver for holiday packing
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
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American visits UK but it's not England she falls in love with
Sierra Noelle visited the UK this summer and she had a few things to say about it. You may be surprised to learn that her new favourite place isn't actually in England An American tourist's visit to the UK has left viewers absolutely gobsmacked after her heartfelt reaction proved utterly priceless. Sierra Noelle chronicled her travel escapade online, and she certainly had plenty to share about it following her memorable expedition. She delivered her verdict to her TikTok audience, and it's left people completely stunned by her unfiltered honesty, as it appears Wales truly caters to all tastes, and she was bursting to share her impressions, leaving Welsh people utterly charmed by her glowing tribute to their homeland. In her video, Sierra confessed that Wales had been occupying her thoughts constantly since her return stateside. It seems Wales has a talent for capturing hearts based on her video. It's not the first time Americans have shared their travel tales from Wales either. Sierra revealed: "I have one more thing to say. I keep looking back at my photos from my trip to Wales, and it physically pains me that I am so far away it, and I don't know when I'm going to go back. "But, guys, Wales is so cool. Everyone is so nice there and it's so pretty. Castles are really cool. Everyone needs to go, but be respectful and don't mess it up and be nice to the sheep." In an earlier post, Sierra disclosed how she'd become completely smitten with Wales during her inaugural summer visit. She's now so besotted that she worries it's transformed into her "entire personality." Sierra gushed about the medieval castles, explaining these historical treasures simply don't exist back in America. She considers them absolutely "amazing" to wander through. In total, she managed to explore around eight castles, such was her fondness for them. Despite her enjoyable experience, she recommended that prospective visitors seek travel advice from locals for a more enriching Welsh adventure. Her exploration was evidently a joyous one, and she's clearly eager to return, even if it might not be possible in the near future. Since sharing her experiences, thousands have tuned into her clips, with many leaving their thoughts in the comments section. One viewer responded: "As a Welsh person, this is so lush to see someone talking about Wales, which people don't speak about enough. We have the most castles in any country on earth and also have some of the best beaches. "Also, Welsh people have been voted the friendliest in the UK. I'm so happy you visited and enjoyed." Another chimed in with: "As a Welsh person, I love this. I feel like Wales is so unknown/underrated both in and outside of the UK. Wales is awesome. Glad you enjoyed." A third commenter added: "As an Aussie who lived in Wales for seven years, I can't recommend Wales enough. The landscape is so amazing and beautiful." Meanwhile, another viewer shared: "I love hearing people be excited about the so many castles. Taken for granted when you live here. My local castle is Conwy."
