Beit Beirut Beirut

Beirut's museum of memory

Samira from Beirut

About Me I am a reflective wanderer who turns her encounters into stories to be told during her walking guided tours in Beirut. I am passionate about discovering hidden gems, attending art exhibitions, having oral history conversations about the recent history of Beirut, and discovering specialty coffee shops. Why Beirut? Beirut is the city that all the Arab countries have...
""Beit Beirut", or the Yellow Building, has been standing since 1924. It survived the Civil War and is now used as a center for exhibitions & events..."

Beit Beirut, or the Yellow building, has been standing since 1924 when a Lebanese couple, Nicolas and Victoria Barakat, assigned the Lebanese architect Youssef Afandi Aftimos to design the building.

After surviving the Lebanese Civil War that lasted for 15 years (1975-1990), the Lebanese architect, Dr. Mona Hallak, fought for the building to not be demolished and to be turned into a museum and an urban cultural center. Unfortunately, it is not a museum yet, knowing that there is not a single museum that discusses the Lebanese Civil War. It will stay open as a center for art exhibitions and cultural events.

As you pass by Beit Beirut, you will see the neon sign "Photo Mario" in the Arabic language, with some portraits of unknown faces. This non-stop exhibition shall always be part of the museum, because Photo Mario was the studio of a neighbourhood photographer located on the building's ground floor.

The city of Beirut needs a space that talks about the Lebanese Civil War in an objective manner. It makes it harder for Beit Beirut to come to life because there are various narratives from several political parties about the war that is shaping our current country's state.

002-building
Art & culture
017-plant-1
Relaxing

This week 25% off

with the code fall25

*on our yearly membership

Beirut Spotter Samira

About Me I am a reflective wanderer who turns her encounters into stories to be told during her walking guided tours in Beirut. I am passionate about discovering hidden gems, attending art exhibitions, having oral history conversations about the recent history of Beirut, and discovering specialty coffee shops. Why Beirut? Beirut is the city that all the Arab countries have always needed, whether culturally, politically, architecturally, or artistically. This city is a melting pot of almost all ethnicities and those who wander its streets would feel so, just as authors ...

About this spot

Damascus Street

LBP

free

71028969

Oct 30, 2025

Our Beirut City Guide

Find your way with 179 Insider Tips from our Local Spotters

Discover hidden gems and all our locals’ favourites! Get full access to our Beirut guide.

Loved it? Join us!

Loved this Spot?Join your international community. Share your favs and become part of our international community!

Nice place right!? There’s so much more to discover:

Discover all other hidden gems in Beirut

Praliné

Coffee and pastry shop

We entered the shop and were greeted by an affable gent who suggested we try out some sweet bites displayed on a black platter. And we did. Delicious!

024-burger-1
Snacks

by

Marie-Chantale

Sundberg

Nov 21, 2025

Salata

Healthy Food Restaurant

A healthy lifestyle requires freshly concocted dishes with seasonal vegetables and ingredients that are preferably sourced locally. This is what the concept of Salata is all about.

020-coffee-cup-1
Coffee & tea
021-spoon-and-fork-1
Restaurants

by

Marie-Chantale

Sundberg

Nov 21, 2025

Falafel Joseph

Best Falafel In Town

Falafel Joseph broadened his menu and opened a "restaurant" a couple of hundred meters away. The restaurant serves one of the tastiest chicken shawarma in town!

024-burger-1
Snacks

by

Marie-Chantale

Sundberg

Nov 21, 2025

Gemmayze Roman Bath

In a modern building!

What you will be able to see is the bath's infrastructure, which includes fired clay or terracotta with some other mosaics that are still preserved.

002-building
Art & culture

by

Samira

Ezzo

Nov 20, 2025

Moon's

Coffee with Van Gogh

For your afternoon coffee or late-night chit-chat, this dreamy place is a definite go-to as it overlooks the beauty of Gemmayze's historical buildings.

020-coffee-cup-1
Coffee & tea
024-burger-1
Snacks

by

Tala

Ladki

Nov 20, 2025

Karma

Night Club in Gemmayze

Karma is your spot if you are in this hip part of town! Good mood and happy vibes to commercial music every night make this pub a destination not to be miss.

028-beach-bar-1
Bars
029-guitar-instrument-1
Music

by

Marie-Chantale

Sundberg

Nov 20, 2025

Luna's Kitchen Beirut

Condo & Kitchen

If you feel like playing some board games with friends, reading a book while sipping on your coffee, and delighting your palate with some food on the side, then Luna's kitchen is the right place for you.

020-coffee-cup-1
Coffee & tea
021-spoon-and-fork-1
Restaurants
024-burger-1
Snacks

by

Marie-Chantale

Sundberg

Nov 20, 2025

Persian Cup

A Hidden Gem

Their specialty dessert, Persian love cake, is a concoction of cardamon, pistachio, and zest of lemon. It tasted as delicious as it looked.

020-coffee-cup-1
Coffee & tea
021-spoon-and-fork-1
Restaurants
024-burger-1
Snacks

by

Marie-Chantale

Sundberg

Nov 20, 2025

Terghale

Coffee & Shisha

I usually stop by Terghale for fresh juice and my friends mostly order shisha or coffee, and we can spend hours here sitting and reading in silence.

020-coffee-cup-1
Coffee & tea
024-burger-1
Snacks

by

Marie-Chantale

Sundberg

Nov 20, 2025

L'Appartement

Bistro Bar

Make sure to try the beetroot carpaccio and the tomato bruschetta as snacks. Their signature cocktails are delicious and I also fancy their minted lemonade.

028-beach-bar-1
Bars
020-coffee-cup-1
Coffee & tea
024-burger-1
Snacks

by

Marie-Chantale

Sundberg

Nov 20, 2025

Emotions

Pâtisserie & Artisan Glacier

My favorite treat at Emotions is the "chausson au citron" - lemon turnover, which tastes simply yummylicious: not too lemony or sour, not too sweet, not too small.

020-coffee-cup-1
Coffee & tea
024-burger-1
Snacks

by

Marie-Chantale

Sundberg

Nov 20, 2025

Micelli's

Pizza

With their creative combinations and delectable thin dough, their menu is surely going to offer you an interesting array of choices. From classic options to the sweet and sour assortment.

021-spoon-and-fork-1
Restaurants

by

Marie-Chantale

Sundberg

Nov 20, 2025

Heading to Beirut?

179 Insider Tips from our local Spotters

Authentic Stories by Real People

Escape the Crowd & Travel Slow 🐌

... for just €9.99

Beirut app Home
Beirut app Home
Beirut app Map
Beirut app Home

0 Insider Tips from our local Spotters

179 Insider Tips

✓ Escape the Crowds

✓ Find Spots nearby

✓ Authentic Stories

... for just €9.99

City guides by those who know the city in and out!

Our Locals' Favorite Art & culture

Our team loves Beirut

Get to know our other Spotters from Beirut

As featured on:

New-York-Times
the-guardian
mashable
the-sunday-times
[paywall_activator]
false
0
false
7316
Made with the 💚 of 496 Spotters.
Filters