The Biblioteca Nacional, in San Borja east of Miraflores, moved in 2006 from a cramped colonial building in the centre to a brutalist concrete pavilion designed by Peruvian architect Franco Vella Zardín. The building's pleated facade and sunken reading-room courtyards are worth a visit on their own; inside, rotating exhibitions on Peruvian literature and printing history are open to the public.
The collection of more than 5 million books includes incunabula and one of the earliest surviving copies of the Crónica del Perú of Cieza de León. Most visitors come to use the reading rooms; tourists can ask at reception for a brief look at the exhibition spaces and main atrium.