National Museum of Beirut

One of the main museums in this old city is the National Museum of Beirut. The museum's collection started after World War I, and it was formally opened in 1942. The National Museum of Beirut is one of the best places to visit in Beirut, Lebanon, and is home to around 100,000 items that were uncovered in the country and its neighboring regions. There are around 1300 antiquities on display, from from the prehistoric era through the Mamluk era in medieval times. The most famous ancient Phoenician artifact in the magnificent museum is a marble tomb that depicts a Phoenician ship. Because of its rich history and culture, the museum draws a large number of visitors each year.

The National Museum of Beirut is an architectural wonder with a basement, two stories, and a terrace made of Lebanese ochre limestone. The museum displays artifacts from prehistory and the Ottoman Empire, including those from the Bronze age, Iron age, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Mamluk periods. Starting on the upper floor will offer you a better understanding of Lebanese history and allow you to distinguish between Seleucids and Phoenicians, so take the right steps to move chronologically onward.

Two magnificently carved sarcophagi from Tyre, dating from the second century AD, are also interesting on the ground floor. One of them shows inebriated cupids, while the other shows the legend of Achilles. A standout is the eerie collection of human-faced sarcophagi from Saida and an intriguing reconstruction of a 2nd-century AD collective tomb from Tyre, complete with wall paintings depicting mythological scenes, both of which are located in the atmospheric and exquisitely presented basement (easily missed; look behind the stairs).

Address: 805 Rue 17, Beirut, Beirut
Phone: +961 1 426 703
Opening hours: 9 am - 5 pm
Rating: 4.5/5.0, 1501 Tripadvisor reviews
Website: http://museebeyrouth-liban.org/en