The Fakhreddine II Palace, also called the Beit Faqra, is the larger of the two princely buildings on the Midan, dating from the early seventeenth century. The sandstone facade with its long row of triple-arched windows is the calling card of Deir el Qamar — every photograph of the town has it in the background somewhere.
Inside the palace runs a small museum of Lebanese folklore and Fakhreddine-era objects: weapons, costumes, household tools, and a few period illuminated manuscripts. The internal courtyard with its fountain is the best feature; you can still feel how the palace organised summer ventilation through stone screens and cross-breezes.
A short walk away is the smaller Younes el-Maani palace, often included on the same ticket, with similar architecture on a domestic scale.