Experts' Choice Award Real Gabinete Portugues de Leitura
What the experts agree on
This stunning 1837 library houses 350,000+ Portuguese volumes in a breathtaking four-story manueline space crowned by stained glass, creating a cathedral-like atmosphere that draws both serious scholars and curious tourists.
Michelin Guide 2 Stars
" In an ambience reminiscent of a church, with the light filtering through the delicately coloured stained-glass windows, the studious scholars attempt to work in the midst of the tourists." Full review
Fodor's "This evocative library, known as the Royal Reading Room, contains the largest collection of Portuguese literature outside of Portugal." Full review
Frommer's "This is a temple to books. The interior is four stories tall, capped with a stained-glass cupola and stuffed with over 350,000 volumes, many of them from the 17th and 18th centuries." Full review
Lonely Planet "Built in the Portuguese manueline style in 1837, the gorgeous Portuguese Reading Room houses over 350,000 works, many dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries." Full review
Afar Magazine "The Real Gabinete is a public library—but not the kind you find every day. This neo-Gothic pile, erected by Rio’s dynamic 19th-century Portuguese community, holds 350,000 valuable..." Full review
Time Out "With over 350,000 volumes, it’s the largest and most valuable collection of Portuguese works outside Portugal. This uniquely beautiful neomanueline-style library instantly transports..." Full review
+55 21 2221-3138
Rua Luis de Camoes, 30, Centro, Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro
