Metropolis Sofil Cinema

Beirut


Metropolis is Beirut's only art-house cinema, a refreshing breeze in the stale world of corporate franchises. Open since the 1960s, the cinema stayed open during Lebanon's civil war and serves as a geographical landmark (ask any taxi driver to go to 'Sofil' and he'll know exactly what you mean). Catch film festivals sponsored by European embassies (happily, these usually have free admission), as well as the occasional highbrow Hollywood feature.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Beirut attractions

1. Sursock Palace

0.1 MILES

One of the last remaining Beirut manor houses from the Ottoman era, Sursock Palace stands behind high gates across from the Sursock Museum (the Sursock…

2. Sursock Museum

0.11 MILES

This privately owned contemporary-art museum is housed in a 1912 mansion located in one of Achrafiyeh's most attractive streets. After a major facelift…

3. Beit Beirut

0.65 MILES

Conceptualised as a museum dedicated to the memory of Beirut, Beit Beirut started off as the stately home of the Barakat family in the 1920s and was then…

4. Mohammed Al Amin Mosque

0.7 MILES

Now the city's major landmark, this huge, striking amber-coloured blue-domed mosque near Martyrs Sq was opened in 2008 and has four minarets standing 65m…

5. Maronite Cathedral of St George

0.75 MILES

The neoclassical facade of this late 19th-century cathedral, next to the Mohammed Al Amin mosque, was inspired by the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in…

6. Cardo Maximus

0.77 MILES

The 'cardo maximus' was the principal north–south street of a Roman city, and you can see the evocative remains of Beirut's cardo maximus between the city…

7. St George Crypt Museum

0.77 MILES

When a bomb fell on the Orthodox cathedral in 1975, the only silver lining was that it revealed these ruins beneath. Though the area is small, an…

8. St George Greek Orthodox Cathedral

0.79 MILES

This was built in 1767 and is one of the oldest buildings in the city. In 1975, during the civil war, a bomb fell here and unearthed the ruins of a…