The white façade
And double staircase.
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A modern and contemporary art museum in an elegant white mansion in Achrafieh, built in 1912 by Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock, who willed it to become a museum. It passed to the city of Beirut at his death in 1952 and opened as a museum in 1961. The house blends Italianate and Ottoman influences, with arched windows, stained glass and a double staircase, and is one of the few villas of its era left in Beirut. The collection holds more than 800 works, paintings, sculpture and prints from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The mansion was badly damaged in the Beirut port explosion of 4 August 2020 and reopened after restoration in May 2023. Alongside the permanent collection it hosts changing exhibitions of Lebanese and international artists. Entry is free, Wednesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. Non-flash photography for personal use is allowed in the galleries unless a sign in an exhibition says otherwise. Rue Sursock itself, with its old mansions, is worth a stroll.
And double staircase.
In the windows.
Always changing.
Rue Sursock, Achrafieh, Beirut
Yes, entry is free per the museum's website; it opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm.
