MIM Mineral Museum

MIM holds around two thousand mineral specimens from some four hundred and fifty species, assembled by one collector over decades and given a purpose-built museum under the Saint Joseph University campus. It is generally counted among the better private mineral collections in the world, and the display is designed for looking rather than studying: dark rooms, individually lit cases, and specimens chosen for crystal quality. A fossil section covering Lebanon's Cretaceous marine deposits sits alongside it.

What you actually see

• The mineral cases - around two thousand specimens individually lit in dark rooms.
• The crystal quality - specimens selected for form rather than rarity alone.
• The Lebanese fossils - Cretaceous fish and marine life from local quarries.
• The display design - a museum built specifically around the collection.

When to go

Year round; the museum is indoors and climate controlled. It closes on some weekdays and university holidays. Mornings are quietest.

Honest expectations

It is a specialist subject and visitors with no interest in minerals may find two thousand cases repetitive. Photography is restricted. The campus location makes it awkward to combine with other sights.

Nearby

Central Beirut is a short drive away, and the Sursock Museum is in Ashrafieh.