Literary activities, reading, multilingual libraries

Are you a regular or occasional reader? Are you looking for books in Luxembourg to help you escape into your mother tongue or perfect your reading skills in a foreign language? We’ve put together a selection of libraries and cultural centers for you. You’ll find books and magazines in many languages.

Libraries in Luxembourg

National Library of Luxembourg

Since the end of 2019, the Bibliothèque Nationale de Luxembourg has been welcoming the public to a brand new, ultra-modern building on Avenue Kennedy in Kirchberg. Founded in 1899, the Bibliothèque Nationale de Luxembourg is a public library open to all.

Who can visit the NL?

Any person residing in the Grand Duchy or in the Greater Region can register free of charge at the BNL and borrow books via an automatic terminal.

People who are at least 14 years old can take books home and return them 24 hours a day through a drop-off system outside the building.
Students of a higher education institution accredited by the Luxembourg government can also borrow books. An international loan service allows access to documents not available on the bibnet.lu network, linking 57 libraries in the country.

What books and publications are available at the NL?

You will find more than 200,000 publications referring to the Grand Duchy, as well as more than 20,000 media documents. Since its creation, the BNL is the reference library for scientific works. You’ll also find all publications about Luxembourg, in both print and digital formats.

The BNL also organizes conferences or exhibitions on various subjects. The NL becomes a real cultural meeting place.

Where is the BNL located, which reading rooms?

BNL is located right next to theBibliothèque Nationale streetcar stop. The bright, spacious facilities are ideal for reading.

Visitors have access to numerous reading rooms with computers, scanners and printers, as well as a media library . Access to the precious reserves and other rare works is possible by prior appointment.

Since 1982, a Bicherbus, or library on wheels, has been serving about 100 towns and villages in Luxembourg, once a week.

Free wifi. Restaurant, café and outdoor terrace.
Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday, 10 am to 8 pm, Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm

City-Library of the City of Luxembourg

La Cité-Bibliothèque is the municipal library and media library of the City of Luxembourg. It is located in Rue Genistre.

Who can visit the Cité-Bibliothèque?

The Cité-bibliothèque is open to the public for reading, consulting books and media. Its aim is to promote culture and encourage reading among young and old alike.

Registration with the Cité Bibliothèque is free for all Luxembourg citizens and residents of neighbouring countries. All you need to do is show proof of identity. Registration entitles you to the free loan of 4 books, 2 audio recordings for a period of 1 month, 2 DVDs for a period of 1 week and 2 language methods for a period of 1 month.

Spaces in the Cité Bibilothèque

The City Library offers several sections, including:

• Luxembourgish, French, German and English literature,
• youth section with books for children and teenagers, children’s activities on Saturday mornings
• workroom with dictionaries and encyclopedias, twelve workstations with free Internet access and printer (limited time of 1 hour/day).
• media library with DVDs, Blu-rays in Luxembourgish, German, French and English, audio books, language methods. Possibility of viewing films on site.

Literary Tuesdays

The “Mardis littéraires” offer reading sessions and presentation of their works by the authors. With pre-registration, visitors can meet and talk with their favorite writers.

Library of the 2 city museums

Since 1996, this library has been open by appointment only to researchers, students and museum staff.

The 2 Museums Library boasts a collection of 6,000 art and history books. This library also contains a collection of precious works, including the first book on the history of Luxembourg written by Jean Bertels, Historia de principibus Luxemurgensibus.

Books can be consulted via the a-z.lu computer network by prior appointment with the documentation department.

Conservatory of Music Library

Created in 1906, the Conservatoire de musique library contains over 28,000 books.

There are books on theater, instruments, music history, music philosophy and therapy. The library is located in Rue Charles Martel in Luxembourg.

Municipal libraries

Luxembourg’s communes also have libraries. These offer books for children and adults for their residents.

Contact your local library for details.

Multilingual cultural centers

CID Fraen an gender

CID Fraen an Gender specializes in diversity and inclusion in all its forms. The objective is to fight against all forms of discrimination. Some anti-racism books will also be available.

Located at 14 Rue Beck, CID offers a wide range of educational books on LGBTQ+ and feminist issues.

These include works such as Simone de Beauvoir’s Le Deuxième Sexe and Mona Chollet’s Réinventer l’amour.

By prior appointment, it is possible to consult the historical works of the Women’s Liberation Movement in Luxembourg.

CITIM Third World Training Center

Here you will find books about the world and in particular the countries or authors of the southern countries to better understand the world and the differences in the world. The CITIM is located at Rue Adolphe Fischer in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg Center for Architecture

Rue de la Tour Jacob in Luxembourg, Le Luca offers over 8,000 books on the built environment and architecture.

Here you can consult monographs by Le Corbusier, as well as books on the history of architecture and design. The Luxemburgensia section offers studies of local architects.

Circulo culturale e recreativo Eugenio Curiel ASBL

At 107 Route d’Esch in Luxembourg, you will find more than 8,000 volumes, mainly in Italian, but also in Portuguese, Spanish and Luxembourgish. These books deal with different subjects, including current events and politics.

Circulo Cultural Antonio Machado ASBL

The Circulo Cultural Espagnol Antonio Machado offers a wide range of activities to promote Spanish culture in Luxembourg. There’s also a book library and a Spanish media center. The Centre culturel Antonio Machado is located in Luxembourg-Gare

Find the libraries of the different cultural centers and associations present in Luxembourg on the community pages of the Just Arrived Ambassadors Clubwebsite.

See also the cultural centers in Luxembourg

Search, consult and reserve books online

Several Luxembourg libraries are affiliated to the bibnet.lu network, coordinated by the Bibliothèque Nationale du Luxembourg. You can search for, consult or reserve documents on the a-z.lu website.

You will have access to the catalog of works held by the different libraries, cultural centers, schools and universities, private or public libraries belonging to this network.

Reading and cultural workshops for children

Introduce your children to literature and the pleasure of reading by taking them to libraries and reading workshops from an early age.

Children discovering the world at CITIM

Every first Saturday of the month, the CITIM, Third World Information Center, proposes to read a story about a Third World country and its inhabitants to children. Your children will be able to discover the world as part of the “Children discovering the world” theme. The entrance is free, it is better to reserve in advance. The program is available one week in advance on the CITIM website.

Mother-tongue reading workshops with the “Il était une fois” association

With the aim ofpromoting theintegration of foreigners in Luxembourg, the association “Il était une fois ” allows immigrant children to maintain contact with their mother tongue. For this purpose, different cultures and languages are honored during the activities proposed by the ASBL, especially during the reading workshops. For more information, visit www.iletaitunefois.lu

“Raconte moi encore…” a fairy tale

Since 2007, “Raconte-moi encore…” has been offering story readings in Luxembourg. Sylvie Beythan-Oryd brings her characters to life and captivates her audience with the use of musical instruments, dolls and puppets. An adapted decor gives even more magic. With games and crafts, she knows how to involve children in the illustration of her stories. The chosen themes are diverse, seasonal or adapted to a particular universe. More information is available at www.racontemoi.lu.

You canalso join the reading workshop of the Cité-Bibliothèque municipale de Luxembourg, on Saturday mornings from 10:30 to 11:30.

Used books, read eco-responsibly

Book cabinets or “Bicherschaf

The book closets are accessible to all, adults and children, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, free of charge and without registration. Book boxes are becoming increasingly popular in Luxembourg. Some communities are recycling old telephone booths into self-service bookstores.

Interested parties can borrow one or more books and read them on site or at home. The aim is to put them back in the cupboard after reading. The reader can also keep the selected books and replace them with others.

You’ll find these book cabinets in many communes, including Luxembourg :

• Place de Gand – Luxembourg-Belair
• Place du Théâtre – Luxembourg-Centre
• Place Laurent – Luxembourg-Limpertsberg
• PLace Quartier Stuff – Luxembourg Kirchberg
• Rue Léon Kauffman – Luxembourg Cents

Book recycling

Waste collection centers also offer recycling corners where people can drop off unwanted items. You can find books for adults or children, toys,… Everyone can then help themselves.

Don’t hesitate to drop off any books you don’t read any more – school books, novels, …

Used books online – deposit and sale

A young resident of Luxembourg has launched The Green Library, an online second-hand book deposit and sale site. This brand-new concept has already won over many people.

So why not you? An excellent way to get rid of books you’ve already read for good, and acquire new ones at a lower cost.