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The century-old main branch of the NYPL is about as regal a setting for reading—either on your laptop or those old dusty things called books—as you’ll find in the city. Two massive Tennessee-marble lions, dubbed Patience and Fortitude, flank the main portal and have become the institution’s mascots. Once inside, check out the cavernous Rose Main Reading Room, spanning almost 300 feet and outfitted with chandeliers and stunning ceiling murals. (Though it’s a classy setting in most instances, it’s also where Bill Murray uttered, “Are you, Alice, menstruating right now?” and “Back off, man, I’m a scientist” in Ghostbusters.)
Free guided tours (at 11am and 2pm) stop at Rose Main Reading Room and the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room, which offers free internet access. Lectures, author readings and special exhibitions are definitely worth checking out. And definitely don't miss the permanent Polonsky Exhibition, featuring a true treasure trove of more than 250 unique and rare items culled from the library's various research centers—we're talking Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence, the stuffed animals that belonged to the real-life Christopher Robin and inspired the Winnie-the-Pooh stories, and more.
RECOMMENDED: Full guide to New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building