Books

If you're not passing by for one of Art Lounge's visual art exhibitions, film screenings or club nights, it's still worth dropping in to peruse their large selection of art books, lifestyle magazines and other hard-to-find titles - including some limited editions.

The first and largest public library in Beirut. In addition to books in Lebanon's three favourite languages (Arabic, French and English), this library stocks books in Armenian, German, Tamil and Ethiopian. A small fee will get you a library card, good for a lifetime of book borrowing, or just walk in and read a book on the premises.

Owned by Antoine Abi Heina, an expert in antique books and manuscripts, this library houses a collection of rare 16th-20th century books. Call for an appointment beforehand if you want a chance to explore Heina's collection of historical documents, antique books, and Islamic texts and manuscripts.

Brush up on your Arabic at this well-known Hamra bookshop that carries Arabic books only. Spend an afternoon browsing the shelves, and stock up on novels, biographies, history books, and more.

This mid-sized bookshop is the perfect one-stop shop for all your school supplies. Here, they sell a wide selection of stationary, including pens, pencils, notebooks, binders and note cards, in addition to art supplies, books, newspapers and magazines.

Art Lounge, beneath River Bridge, next to Adam's Factory and Naggiar, Quarantina. Driving manuals and Lebanese drivers clearly have a love-hate relationship. Celebrated the launch of 'Driving in Lebanon: A User Manual' by Joumana Medlej. The illustrator combines comic strips and diagrams for a realistic guide to handling the country's roads (and obstacles).

Located in Jesuit Public Garden, this public library offers pleasant indoor and outdoor reading space, to enjoy the diverse collection of books and journals housed on its shelves. Although there's no wifi, there is free access to the Internet available on the library computers.

This neighbourly bookshop specialises in children books in French, English and Arabic, and even carries a selection of educational toys. While your child browses, check out the small adult section carrying new releases and best sellers. If you don't fancy buying, borrowing novels and even certain magazines is always an option.

Other branches available. This cosy bookshop carries a reasonable collection of novels, dictionaries, biographies, cook books, newspapers, magazines, maps and travel books. All titles sold are in French, English or Arabic.

Located in the heart of downtown Beirut, with everything from political biographies to children's books stocked on its shelves, Librairie el Bourj has something for everyone.

Other branches available. This well-established chain is a book lover's haven, with a large range of titles in Arabic, French and English. Magazines, maps, postcards and newspapers also for sale. If you can't find the book you're looking for, their friendly staff will happily order for you, or you can try their online store.

Founded in 1947, this Lebanese bookshop specialises in children's books. Let your kids pick their way through the colourful covers of the Arabic, French and English books laid out just at their eye-level.

Comic books, novels, textbooks, children's books and cookbooks, all in French and Arabic are on offer at Stephan. The Achrafieh branch also has a small selection of English books.

Dedicated to the well known journalist, the museum exhibits personal artifacts and documents, and holds over 10,000 articles he published in the Al Nahar newspaper. The museum also includes a public library with more than 3,000 political, historical and philosophical books of particular interest.

This public library is a gem of a Bibliotheque tucked behind Monot Theatre. As well as the standard collection of fiction and non-fiction books, this library also prides itself on its fine selection of books on film, theatre, art and architecture.

Specialising in art, design, architecture and photography books, Papercup also offers a huge array of local and international magazines. Homemade cake, Victorian tiles and a sliding ladder make it easy to spend hours rummaging amongst their well-stocked shelves.

This cafe/bar with an intellectual attitude caters to many of Beirut's writers, film lovers and literati. The place boasts a large library and reading room, stocked with an eclectic selection of books in several languages. Customers can borrow books free of charge; just leave your contact information with one of their friendly members of staff. Free wifi and delicious Lebanese mezze also available.

This library caters specifically to the blind and those with poor vision. Check out cassette tapes and/or CDs to take home and listen to, or take advantage of the wide selection of large-print and Braille books.

Spend hours in this massive store, that sells everything from music, movies and computers, to books, newspapers, maps and even clothing. One of the largest selections of English books in Beirut.

This public centre boasts its own library, book club, cine club, multimedia centre, auditorium, Wi-Fi computer lab and a literary cafe. Aimed at 18-35 year olds, the centre's open to everyone with as many as 30,000 books available for public borrowing.