British Library Building

The lowdown

The British Library is the largest national library in the world by number of items, and although the reading rooms need a free reader pass, the building itself is open to everyone for nothing. Its red-brick bulk hides a calm, generous public interior that most people walk past on their way to the trains.

At its heart rises the King's Library, a six-storey glass tower holding the leather-bound book collection of King George the Third, glowing gold in the middle of the building. Around it are free exhibition spaces, cafes and acres of seating where students and workers settle in for the day.

Outside, the piazza is a public square in its own right, with a giant bronze of Newton bent over his compasses and benches in the sun. Pair it with the free Treasures gallery inside, where Magna Carta and Beatles lyrics live, for one of the best free days in north London.