National Museum of Beirut

Lonely Planet review

Once situated on a strategically important intersection of the former Green Line, the must-see National Museum of Beirut has an impressive collection of archaeological artefacts, statuettes and sarcophagi. Every hour, between 09:00 and 16:00 , the museum screens 'Revival,' a fascinating short documentary on how staff saved the collection from the destruction of the civil war and subsequently restored the museum to its former glory.

The easiest way to get to the museum is to either take a 15-minute walk from Sodeco Square along Rue de Damas (part of the former Green Line), or hail a service taxi and ask for Musee or the Hippodrome.

Inside, the exhibits are organised from prehistory to the Mamluk period, and it takes a couple hours to view them at a leisurely pace. Nearly all exhibits are labelled in English, Arabic and French. A floor plan is included in the admission fee, but for more detailed information, invest in a museum guide from the gift shop.

Highlights of the museum's collection include a Neolithic pebble idol from Byblos, possibly dating back as far as 9000 BC, one of the earliest representations of the human form found in Lebanon; the famous gilded bronze Phoenician statuettes, also from Byblos; a series of beautiful, cute white marble baby boy statues from Echmoun, offered to the gods in thanks for healing children; and a collection of Byzantine gold jewellery, found in a jar beneath a Beirut house.