Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve

The Sorbonne’s magnificent library is featured in Martin Scorsese’s film Hugo, which I love for its wonderful homage to the cinema and to the pioneering director Georges Méliès. The gorgeous, vaulted-ceiling reading room is where Hugo discovers that Méliès invented special effects. The library is one of the oldest in Europe and was one of the first buildings to mix metal and stone in the early 19th century. It was quite revolutionary.