Szabó Ervin Könyvtár
Stately on the outside, spectacular on the inside, this ornate library is located in Wenckheim Palace, one of the most grand homes in the Palace District when built by a Hungarian aristocrat in the 1800s, and today the city's most beautiful reading rooms. The library moved in in 1931, after the city bought the neobaroque palace. Head straight to the fourth floor to wander the gilded palatial rooms; take a seat in the former Smoking Room with its carved wood panels and ceiling, ornate spiral staircase, and leather-bound books, or find a velvet chair from which to admire the chandeliers, high ceilings, and elegant finishes in the former Ballroom or the Lady of the House's Room. For bookworms, this is a working library and accessible to the public, so make time to peruse the shelves. Purchase a daily card to get access to some of the library databases and in-house resources or check out their calendar for upcoming public events. It's also just worth coming in to appreciate the setting and have a coffee and a cake at the library café. The library is named for Szabó Ervin, who helped develop the public library system in Budapest.
