diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index fc360b840..331ca9456 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 ## PyNWB 3.0.0 (Upcoming)
 
 ### Enhancements and minor changes
+- Added `pynwb.read_nwb` convenience method to simplify reading an NWBFile written with any backend @h-mayorquin [#1994](https://github.com/NeurodataWithoutBorders/pynwb/pull/1994)
 - Added support for NWB schema 2.8.0. @rly [#2001](https://github.com/NeurodataWithoutBorders/pynwb/pull/2001)
   - Removed `SpatialSeries.bounds` field that was not functional. This will be fixed in a future release. @rly [#1907](https://github.com/NeurodataWithoutBorders/pynwb/pull/1907), [#1996](https://github.com/NeurodataWithoutBorders/pynwb/pull/1996)
   - Added support for `NWBFile.was_generated_by` field. @stephprince [#1924](https://github.com/NeurodataWithoutBorders/pynwb/pull/1924)
diff --git a/docs/gallery/general/plot_read_basics.py b/docs/gallery/general/plot_read_basics.py
index d800adbe5..b13888ee0 100644
--- a/docs/gallery/general/plot_read_basics.py
+++ b/docs/gallery/general/plot_read_basics.py
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
 import numpy as np
 
-from pynwb import NWBHDF5IO
 
 ####################
 # We will access NWB data on the `DANDI Archive <https://gui.dandiarchive.org/>`_,
@@ -103,14 +102,17 @@
 # read the data into a :py:class:`~pynwb.file.NWBFile` object.
 
 filepath = "sub-P11HMH_ses-20061101_ecephys+image.nwb"
-# Open the file in read mode "r",
-io = NWBHDF5IO(filepath, mode="r")
-nwbfile = io.read()
+from pynwb import read_nwb
+
+nwbfile = read_nwb(filepath)
 nwbfile
 
 #######################################
-# :py:class:`~pynwb.NWBHDF5IO` can also be used as a context manager:
+# For more advanced use cases, the :py:class:~pynwb.NWBHDF5IO class provides additional functionality. 
+# Below, we demonstrate how :py:class:~pynwb.NWBHDF5IO can be used as a context manager 
+# to read data from an NWB file in a more controlled manner:
 
+from pynwb import NWBHDF5IO
 with NWBHDF5IO(filepath, mode="r") as io2:
     nwbfile2 = io2.read()
 
@@ -291,4 +293,4 @@
 # -----------------------
 # It is good practice, especially on Windows, to close any files that you have opened.
 
-io.close()
+nwbfile.get_read_io().close()
diff --git a/requirements-opt.txt b/requirements-opt.txt
index fa6a18806..8934de4f0 100644
--- a/requirements-opt.txt
+++ b/requirements-opt.txt
@@ -6,3 +6,6 @@ oaklib==0.5.32
 fsspec==2024.10.0
 requests==2.32.3
 aiohttp==3.10.11
+
+# For read_nwb tests
+hdmf-zarr
diff --git a/src/pynwb/__init__.py b/src/pynwb/__init__.py
index 32f9ed4d9..acd76a4e6 100644
--- a/src/pynwb/__init__.py
+++ b/src/pynwb/__init__.py
@@ -531,6 +531,71 @@ def read_nwb(**kwargs):
 
         return nwbfile
 
+@docval({'name': 'path', 'type': (str, Path), 'doc': 'the path to the nwbfile'}, 
+        is_method=False)
+def read_nwb(**kwargs):
+    """Read an NWB file from a local path.
+
+    High-level interface for reading NWB files. Automatically handles both HDF5 
+    and Zarr formats. For advanced use cases (parallel I/O, custom namespaces), 
+    use NWBHDF5IO or NWBZarrIO.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    path : str or pathlib.Path
+        Path to the NWB file. Can be either a local filesystem path to an HDF5 (.nwb) 
+        or Zarr (.zarr) file
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    pynwb.NWBFile
+        The loaded NWB file object.
+
+    See Also
+    --------
+    pynwb.NWBHDF5IO : Core I/O class for HDF5 files with advanced options.
+    hdmf_zarr.nwb.NWBZarrIO : Core I/O class for Zarr files with advanced options.
+
+    Notes
+    -----
+    This function uses the following defaults:
+    * Always opens in read-only mode
+    * Automatically loads namespaces
+    * Detects file format based on extension
+
+    Advanced features requiring direct use of IO classes include:
+    * Streaming data from s3
+    * Custom namespace extensions
+    * Parallel I/O with MPI
+    * Custom build managers
+    * Write or append modes
+    * Pre-opened HDF5 file objects or Zarr stores
+    * Remote file access configuration
+
+    Examples
+    --------
+    Read a local NWB file:
+
+    >>> from pynwb import read_nwb
+    >>> nwbfile = read_nwb("path/to/file.nwb")
+
+    
+    """
+    
+    path = popargs('path', kwargs)
+    backend_is_hdf5 = NWBHDF5IO.can_read(path=path)
+    if backend_is_hdf5:
+        return NWBHDF5IO.read_nwb(path=path)
+    else:
+        from hdmf_zarr import NWBZarrIO
+        backend_is_zarr = NWBZarrIO.can_read(path=path)
+        if backend_is_zarr:
+            return NWBZarrIO.read_nwb(path=path) 
+        else:
+            raise ValueError(f"Unsupported backend for file: {path}")    
+    
+
+
 from . import io as __io  # noqa: F401,E402
 from .core import NWBContainer, NWBData  # noqa: F401,E402
 from .base import TimeSeries, ProcessingModule  # noqa: F401,E402
diff --git a/tests/integration/hdf5/test_io.py b/tests/integration/hdf5/test_io.py
index 1e6ed0593..f17a7217a 100644
--- a/tests/integration/hdf5/test_io.py
+++ b/tests/integration/hdf5/test_io.py
@@ -613,7 +613,7 @@ def test_read_nwb_method_file(self):
             io.write(self.nwbfile)
             
         import h5py
-        
+
         file = h5py.File(self.path, 'r')
         
         read_nwbfile = NWBHDF5IO.read_nwb(file=file)
diff --git a/tests/integration/io/test_read.py b/tests/integration/io/test_read.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a70489d4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/io/test_read.py
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+from pathlib import Path
+import tempfile
+
+from pynwb import read_nwb
+from pynwb.testing.mock.file import mock_NWBFile
+from pynwb.testing import TestCase
+
+import unittest
+try:
+    from hdmf_zarr import NWBZarrIO  # noqa f401
+    HAVE_NWBZarrIO = True 
+except ImportError:
+    HAVE_NWBZarrIO = False
+
+
+class TestReadNWBMethod(TestCase):
+    """
+    Test that H5DataIO functions correctly on round trip with the HDF5IO backend
+    """
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.nwbfile = mock_NWBFile()
+
+
+    def test_read_nwb_hdf5(self):
+        from pynwb import NWBHDF5IO
+        
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
+            path = Path(temp_dir) / "test.nwb"
+            with NWBHDF5IO(path, 'w') as io:
+                io.write(self.nwbfile)
+            
+            read_nwbfile = read_nwb(path=path)
+            self.assertContainerEqual(read_nwbfile, self.nwbfile)
+            read_nwbfile.get_read_io().close()
+            
+    @unittest.skipIf(not HAVE_NWBZarrIO, "NWBZarrIO library not available")
+    def test_read_zarr(self):
+        # from pynwb import NWBZarrIO
+        from hdmf_zarr import NWBZarrIO
+
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
+            path = Path(temp_dir) / "test.nwb"
+            with NWBZarrIO(path, 'w') as io:
+                io.write(self.nwbfile)
+            
+            read_nwbfile = read_nwb(path=path)
+            self.assertContainerEqual(read_nwbfile, self.nwbfile)
+            read_nwbfile.get_read_io().close()
\ No newline at end of file