Lebanon

Beirut

Why visit? Food, friendly people, weather, the sea, the history, the mix of Arab, Mediterranean, Christian, Muslim, French… Beirut is cosmopolitan…

As of December 2022, take cash USD only. Exchange on the street (Dec 2022 rate was 30,000 LBP per USD). Your Airbnb will be charged in USD online, your hotel will be charged the same way OR charged in the hotel in USD. A very very few restaurants (and the hotel) accept foreign credit cards and charge in USD. Do not use cards if they charge in LBP, as you will get the “official” bank exchange rate which is completely disconnected from reality (1500 LBP/USD at that time).

Where to stay? Gemmayzeh borders Downtown Beirut on the east. Many AirBnbs, try to get one with a sea view and balcony. Here, the main drag is Gouraud Street, and this street turns into Armenia Street as it enters the Mar Mikhael area to the east – Mar Michael is my favorite walkable area for restaurants, bars, clubs nearby (later at night). East of that, gay bar Madame Om, gay club Posh (Fr-Sa-Su only).

Site of explosion in the port, just north of Gemmayzeh along the water https://goo.gl/maps/miYbHnwrtJMbWxE36

On the west side of Downtown is Zaytuna (Olive) Bay, with a new-looking complex of upscale restaurants, good place to have dinner.

Downtown itself is now basically an outdoor shopping mall. There was a souq here but it was destroyed during the Civil War. On the north edge are good restaurants like Kalila

to the west of Downtown is the old 1950s–1990s business district, Hamra. This was the “Muslim Downtown” during the Civil War.

Achrafieh is a good area a mile to the south, but less walkable. There is an ABC mall here with restaurants and shops. This and Gemmayzeh served as the “Christian Downtown” during the Civil War.

Outside Beirut

1) Baalbek amazing Roman and mysterious very old (I believe 12500+ years) base, ancient ruins, 2h from BEY and drive is worth it to see mountains and Bekaa Valley – combine with Umayyad ruins at Anjar and wine at Ksara;

2) Byblos/Jbeil old town and seaside resort (45m from BEY),

3) Tyre/Sour seaside city, UNESCO Phoenician ruins, (1h45), you can combine with Sidon town with crusader castle;

4) Jeitta Grotto (cave) 30m,

and there are other destinations like Qadisha Valley or Tripoli the #2 city