Things to do in Beirut
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Beirut
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Warm without August humidity, terraces open, hiking at its best and country green in spring.
Sea still swimmable, golden light, crowds gone. October is the connoisseur's Beirut.
Peak life and peak heat, festival season. Mountains are the escape from coastal humidity.
Cool wet winter in the city, except ski season late December to March and a food and museums break.
What's on
- Baalbek International Festival July-August
Concerts staged inside the Roman acropolis. Dates announced late and security dependent.
- Beiteddine Festival July-August
Opera, Arabic music and dance in the palace courtyard in the Chouf.
- Byblos International Festival July
Summer festival by the harbour castle in Byblos.
Best things to do in Beirut
National Museum of Beirut
Phoenician sarcophagi and Roman mosaics in a restored building on the old Green Line.
Beirut Corniche
Five kilometres of seafront promenade where the whole city walks, fishes and gathers.
Pigeon Rocks
Two offshore limestone arches that are Beirut's postcard and its sunset ritual.
Gemmayzeh
Restored houses, galleries and wine bars around the St Nicholas Stairs, best on foot.
Mar Mikhael
Small standing bars, record shops and designers in old workshops, lively into the night.
Sursock Museum
Modern Lebanese art in a 1912 Italianate villa, with cafe, shop and esplanade.
Martyrs' Square
The central square and statue at the heart of the Downtown circuit.
Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque
Blue domed mosque dominating Martyrs' Square, visited outside prayer times.
Where to stay in Beirut
Gemmayzeh / Saifi / Achrafieh edge
first trip, all-round base
Restaurant and bar streets, Sursock and Downtown on foot, calmer residential streets.
Hamra
value, longer stay, food and wandering
Mixed lived in west side with cheap eats, AUB and the Corniche at Manara nearby.
Ain el-Mreisseh / Minet el-Hosn / Raouché
sea view, full service, resort format
Corniche front big hotels with pools, spas and concierge depth, at a view premium.
Badaro
quiet residential alternative, repeat visitors
Leafy streets by the Pine Forest with its own cafe and bar street, below Achrafieh prices.
Think twice about
- Southern suburbs (Dahiyeh)
Named in US and UK advice as very dangerous. Do not base, wander or book airport adjacent listings here.
- Palestinian refugee camps including Shatila and Bourj el-Barajneh camp
Named in US advice as very dangerous. Not a sightseeing destination.
- Downtown as a base
District empties at night and restaurants close early. Visit in a morning, sleep in Gemmayzeh or Saifi.
- Port-front / Karantina highway edge and Dora sprawl
No neighbourhood and nothing walkable, with heavy traffic stranding you in taxis.
Best restaurants in Beirut
Em Sherif Restaurant
Set menu recreation of a grand Lebanese home table, course after course with live music.
Tawlet Beirut
Daily buffet by a different village cook, from farmers market produce, lunch only.
Liza Beirut
Refined Lebanese classics in a restored 19th century Achrafieh mansion.
Mayrig
Armenian Lebanese cooking including mante, cherry kebab and soujouk in Gemmayzeh.
Babel Bay
Lebanese seafood at full ceremony, fish chosen whole and cooked to order by the marina.
El Soussi
Lebanese breakfast of eggs with awarma, foul, fatteh and labneh near the Corniche.
Barbar Hamra
Hamra fast food institution since the 1970s for shawarma, falafel and juices, open very late.
Falafel Sahyoun
Falafel fried to order, crisp and herby, wrapped with tarator and pickles by the museum.
Outdoor things to do in Beirut
Jeita Grotto
Two levels of limestone caverns, walked above and boated through below.
Our Lady of Lebanon, Harissa
Shrine above Jounieh Bay reached by Teleferique gondola, with the coast's best panorama.
Byblos Archaeological Site
Crusader castle, Phoenician ramparts and necropolis in one of the oldest inhabited cities.
Club Thermique
Tandem paragliding over Jounieh Bay with Lebanon's first paragliding club, since 1992.
Baalbek Temples
Temple of Jupiter columns and better preserved Temple of Bacchus at unmatched Roman scale.
Anjar Archaeological Site
Eighth century Umayyad planned city, utterly different in mood from Baalbek.
Château Ksara
Lebanon's oldest commercial winery, founded 1857, with Roman caves and a proper tasting.
Cedars of God
Protected ancient cedar grove at around 2,000 metres, with snow into spring.
Best hotels in Beirut
Le Gray Beirut
Design hotel benchmark with rooftop pool and bar and mosque and sea view.
InterContinental Phoenicia Beirut
Grande dame facing Zaitunay Bay with famous pool terrace and deep concierge help.
Albergo Beirut
1930s mansion boutique hotel with around 30 suites and rooftop pool in Achrafieh.
Kempinski Summerland Hotel & Resort Beirut
Resort format inside the city with private beach, marina and multiple pools.
Arthaus Beirut
Boutique hotel in a restored mansion and art house concept on Rue Gouraud.
Saifi Suites
Contemporary serviced suites on a quiet street walkable to Gemmayzeh and Downtown.
The Smallville Hotel
Design forward hotel at mid range prices in Badaro, with gym and pool deck.
Hamra Urban Gardens
Contemporary Hamra option with garden and pool, the facilities pick in Hamra.
Is Beirut expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | LBP 4,500,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | LBP 11,600,000 a person |
| Splurge | LBP 31,300,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- MusicHall Beirut: a few days ahead
- SKYBAR Beirut: a few days ahead
- Iris Beirut: a few days ahead
- Jeita Grotto: a few days ahead
- Our Lady of Lebanon, Harissa: a few days ahead
- Byblos Archaeological Site: a few days ahead
- Club Thermique: a few days ahead
- Baalbek Temples: a few days ahead
- Em Sherif, Beihouse, Liza at weekends, MusicHall and rooftops, and top hotels in festival weeks.
- Club Thermique early in the stay for weather roll over, Mzaar rooms on winter weekends, drivers for Baalbek or Cedars days.
- Almost every venue confirms faster by WhatsApp than by website form.
Is Beirut safe?
- Lebanon's security situation is severe and fast-changing. Re-check current advice the week and day you travel.
- Stay in central and northern quarters, the north coast and Mount Lebanon. No Dahiyeh, camps or south of the Litani trips.
- Standard travel insurance is commonly invalidated by travelling against government advice. Specialist cover is needed.
- Never photograph soldiers, checkpoints, the airport perimeter, Dahiyeh, camps or the port silos at close range.
- Lebanon denies entry with evidence of travel to Israel. Get specialist advice before booking if that is in your passport.
Beirut travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Downtown as a destination in itself, and Zaitunay Bay dining beyond Babel Bay.
- Packaged Cedars plus Baalbek in one day tours and Gemmayzeh pub crawl packages.
- Carpets and antiques at Downtown Souks prices when Bourj Hammoud and Byblos reward the same eye.
Getting around Beirut: public transport and more
- Walk inside quarters and ride between them. Uber and Bolt operate, with cash payment in the app where offered.
- Private driver for day trips is 80 to 120 dollars a day, agreed in dollars in advance through a hotel or operator.
- Airport is 15 minutes with no traffic and an hour with it. Use a pre-booked transfer or official taxi desk.
Who Beirut suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Beirut your trip
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