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Bibliothèque Nationale

The city's libraries naturally provide the perfect environment for a quiet moment with a book or a newspaper, and some have beautiful interiors. For English-language books, the collection of the American library is unrivalled. Paris also has a library of films, the vidéothèque (see listing below), where getting out a movie and watching it on the spot is as easy as taking out a book. Some of the collections below require non-residents without a library card to buy day passes (around €3).

American Library in Paris 10 rue du Général-Camou, 7^e tel 01.53.59.12.60, www.americanlibraryinparis.org. Hundreds of American magazines and newspapers and a vast range of books, plus readings and other events. Day pass €11, annual €87. Free internet access in 30-min increments. M° École-Militaire. Tues–Sat 10am–7pm.

Bibliothèque des Femmes Marguerite Durand 79 rue Nationale, 13^e. A feminist library with books, journals, photos, posters and original manuscripts and letters. M° Nationale/Tolbiac. Tues–Sat 2–6pm.

BIFI 100 rue du Faubourg-St-Antoine, 12^e. The Bibliothèque du Film encompasses magazines, books, stills, posters, videos and DVDs. €3 day pass. M° Ledru-Rollin. Mon–Fri 10am–7pm.

Bibliothèque Forney Hôtel de Sens, 1 rue du Figuier, 4^e. Medieval building filled with volumes on fine and applied arts. M° Pont-Marie. Tues–Fri 1.30–8.15pm, Sat 10am–8.15pm.

Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris Hôtel Lamoignon, 24 rue Pavée, 4e. Sixteenth-century mansion housing centuries of texts and picture books on the city. M° St-Paul. Mon–Sat 9.30am–6pm.

Bibliothèque Mazarine Institut de France, 23 quai de Conti, 6^e. History of France and of religion; genealogy. The setting, in a magnificent seventeenth-century building, with fine views across the Seine to the Louvre, is the real lure here. Some identification is required. M° St-Michel. Mon–Fri 10am–6pm.

Bibliothèque Nationale François Mitterrand quai François-Mauriac, 13^e. The elephantine new national library, with two levels, one for the public, the other for accredited researchers. M° Quai-de-la-Gare/Bibliothèque-François Mitterrand station. €3 day pass.Tues–Sat 10am–7pm, Sun noon–6pm.

Bibliothèque Ste-Geneviève 10 pl du Panthéon, 5^e. Reference library with beautiful murals in the foyer and a gorgeous reading room built around an iron skeleton. You need to be keen to get in: you have to register, bringing identification and a photo. RER Luxembourg. Mon–Sat 10am–10pm.

BPI Centre Georges Pompidou, 3^e. The vast Bibliothèque Publique d'Information collection includes the foreign press, videos and a language lab to brush up on your French. Free. M° Rambuteau. Mon & Wed–Fri noon–10pm, Sat, Sun & public hols 11am–10pm; closed Tues & 1 May.

Vidéothèque Forum des Images, 2 Grande Galerie, Porte St-Eustache, Forum des Halles, 1^er tel 01.44.76.62.00, www.forumdesimages.net. For €5.50 (€4.50 for under-30s or over-60s), you can watch any of the four videos or films screened each day, and in the Salle Pierre Emmanuel, make your own selection from thousands of film clips, newsreel footage, commercials, documentaries, soaps and the like, from 1896 to the present day. All the material is connected to Paris in some way, and you can make your choice – on your individual screen and keyboard – via a Paris place name, actor, director, date, and so on. Don't be put off by the laboratory atmosphere. All are welcome, and there are instructions in English at the desk and a friendly "librarian" to help you out. Once you're in the complex you can go back and forth between the projection rooms, the Salle Pierre Emmanuel and a Cyber Café, where the entrance fee gives you half an hour's free Internet access. RER Châtelet-Les Halles/M° Châtelet). Tues–Sun 1–9pm, Thurs till 10pm.