Banque Du Liban Museum, Beirut, Lebanon

5Eden H 5:00 PM Jun 14, 2019

Unique museum with friendly employees
The museum itself is accessed through the security building next-doors. Every employee was incredibly helpful. The guard at security walked me over to the museum, and two employees at the museum offered to give me short guided tours. They were clearly interested in the subject-matter, and were eager to show me the different parts of the exhibit. The exhibit itself was very interesting. There is a complete collection of Lebanese banknotes, some of them (the older ones) really beautiful. You can really study the details of the artwork on a digital display or with a looking-glass. They also provide information about every single banknote. Additionally, they have a less comprehensive but equally fascinating collection of foreign banknotes. The collection ranges a big period, and is arranged mainly in terms of continent. Each continent has a section for countries no longer in existence, which was particularly interesting (where else would these be displayed?). Arab countries are favored in a separate display, which includes banknotes from Palestine - very impressive. Otherwise there is a coin collection and a short history of the central bank, along with several games and displays to engage visitors who perhaps are less interested in history and the artwork of banknotes. Some of them were quite fun, none of them time-consuming. There is also a small gift shop. Overall, I had such a wonderful time at the museum. The exhibit was really interesting, the employees very helpful and showed me around, and all of it was for free. Would definitely recommend!

4dmittleman 5:00 PM Jan 4, 2020

Surprisingly Interesting
Difficult to visit, this museum is worthwhile. Displaying paper money and coins from past eras is an interesting way to illuminate history. There are several exhibits which go beyond the mundane to keep one interested in an often dry subject.