Biblioteca Palafoxiana

This was a beautiful place to visit. The tour itself is maybe 15 minutes. The docents were amazing. They were kind and answered all our questions. I enjoyed seeing how well they took care of the books and the building. It really demonstrates how much they appreciate their history. I would absolutely recommend to take a visit here.

Biblioteca Palafoxiana is absolutely worth a visit. The current exhibition adds a really interesting layer to the experience (note that all descriptions are in Spanish), but, the library itself is amazing — floor-to-ceiling shelves packed with very old books, some dating back centuries. You don’t need a tour but it would be helpful to explain some facts - or you can do your research beforehand. You can buy tickets when you arrive. It’s a beautiful place that makes you appreciate the history and knowledge preserved here.

Interesting old library with historical significance. Although it's described as the first public library in the Americas accessible to anyone who wished to study, remember that at those times there was racial segregation and only white spiniards could live in the city of Puebla.

This library is basically just the one room but it's a beautiful room. When you leave this room, turn left because there is an exhibition that you can enter with your library ticket which shows the 20 most influential books housed in this library in honor of the 25 years the library has been a UNESCO world heritage.

Outside it is listed as the House of culture, Casa de la cultura. This place is beautiful. Make sure to also see the separate museum.

This review is after a 2nd visit to Biblioteca Palafoxiana. Since our first visit to just the library, they have added an amazing exposición to the library. Unclear if all or part of this is permanent, but i certainly hope it is permanent so many more can continue to experience this amazing museum. This collection of literary works was truly AMAZING. The added expo highlights a portion of this incredible, now antique book collection featuring very early publications of Cervantes, Copernicus, Newton and more. There is also a separate section about the man himself, Palafox. This place is a must see. If you are real into this kind of stuff, plan on 1.5 hours to tour the library and full exhibition (if its still there).

This library is very picturesque, but that's about it. You have to pay a fee to enter, and you cannot touch anything. You also can't go upstairs.

Looks good from outside, didn't go in... I feel libraries should not charge to go in. Cool building.

This is the oldest and first library to open to the public in Latin America. A must visit. It is really small but there are other rooms that exhibit the origins of poblanos and a couple of art galleries.

During the Day of the Dead, this library open with a lot display from the kid of the school. This display is unique to see. The display is in the courtyard of the building. It has two floors of display. The courtyard display dead dog coming back to home. It is beautiful decorated. Then follow each booth on the hallway. The display includes soccer, ancient spirits, rock stars, pets, giant skull, La Salle - the famous artist for day of the dead creatures, movie stars, and more. The displays are very detail. Visit need 1.5 hour to finish. At the end, there are vendors selling local souvenirs. My wife got two set of earrings. One of them is the human skeleton, the other is dog skeleton.

Beautiful library!! Unfortunately, the tables and chairs are roped off and you can't touch the books otherwise I would spend the whole day there! At best you can spend 20 minutes there!

If you love books and old historic interiors then this is the place for you. You are only allowed to look but can't touch anything. There are three floor levels of books completely filling the library but you can only walk on the first floor. The entrance fee is very inexpensive so it's worth a quick visit.

I like this library because it is very classical. This is very picturesque inside. I recommend visiting here for the architectural digest quality of the interior. It has an early copy of the constitution of Mexico. This library has very old books. Unfortunately, it is hard to see what is in these books so this is more about experiencing what a library used to look like. The employees could be a little more friendly. I also think the bathrooms could have better ventilation or more clean.

One of the oldest libraries in the Western Hemisphere! This place is amazing- it's tucked back in the corner of the Cultural Center, a big two story building behind the church on the Zocalo of Puebla. When you enter the library, you get a sense of history about this place. The walls are lined with book shelves, all the way around the room, about the size of a football field. Wooden ladders take readers up several levels of shelves to see books behind chicken wire so you don't grab them. Visitors may not handle the books. I was surprised to see just how old this place is! It predates the Dewey Decimal System, so they have their own way of sorting the books, with little signs above the shelves describing the content of the handwritten vellum covers of the books. These books are ancient- many of them are Jewish in origin, with Spanish copies of the Torah, and Jewish hymns. I was stunned to see how the old books are displayed! Some of the books are hundreds of years old, but they're left propped open to some random page, sitting in the sunlight just fading away in the light. The books are not climate controlled, or kept free from people sneezing on them. Some chicken wire keeps visitors' hands off of them. At the end of the library, there's a big painting of St. Thomas Aquinas, the scholarly saint. It really is inspirational. Along the length of the library are several globes showing the surface of the Earth, as well as the cosmos. Interesting! This place is so old, the floor has been worn away with indentations from all the readers' feet scuffling along while they had their noses in the books. There's an admission fee to get into the library. Tickets can be purchased just outside the entry of the library, on the second floor. There's a restroom downstairs. On the way out, we asked if they had a copy of Harry Potter. They didn't have it. If you're into libraries, or old books, this is your place.