Discovering Beirut: Your Ultimate Guide to Lebanon’s Capital City
Why visit Beirut?
Beirut is a lively, cosmopolitan city that has it all. Whatever you enjoy whilst travelling, Beirut will be able to offer you this. From the fascinating museums showing off Lebanon’s vast ancient history to the beautiful luxurious restaurants and bars that Beirut has to offer. It has a fabulous night life as well a beautiful coastline, you will not be disappointed with your visit here.
How to get to Beirut?
Beirut has an international airport located in southern part of Beirut. From Beirut airport you can take a taxi using Uber or Bolt but be aware you will need cash for this journey so you could either pay in dollars or LBP and if you don’t have any LBP or only have high value dollar notes then you should pre-book a taxi. I used booking.com for this and it cost $7 which is incredibly cheap and I was able to pay online before I landed in Beirut so this meant there was no stress with not having the right currency or amount of cash.
A lot of taxis will charge tourists $20 to get to the centre of Beirut from the airport so pre-booking a taxi is the cheapest option.
Beirut is well connected with the rest of Lebanon so you will be able to easily get a bus from any city or town back to Beirut.
How to travel around Beirut?
Beirut is a large city which is not easy to walk around. There are long distances between different parts of the city and the pavements are not well maintained in some places so the best way to travel around is to use a taxi either from the street or using things like Uber and Bolt.
Be aware there are certain parts of Beirut you should avoid such as the southern suburbs of Beirut due to the presence of the Hizballah which are a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and has a history of carrying out global terrorist attacks. You should check what your local government advises you in terms of safety in this region of Beirut.
Top things to do:
Mohammad Al Amin Mosque
Mohammad Al Amin Mosque is a beautiful Sunni Muslim mosque located in downtown Beirut. It’s commonly referred to as the blue mosque because of its famous blue dome. This is the biggest mosque in Lebanon with construction starting in 2002. The design is in the style of Ottomans’ monumental architecture and this mosque has a 48 metre high blue dome and 65 metre high minarets. The mosque is a dominant feature of Beirut’s City Centre skyline so it’s hard to miss and perhaps one of the most beautiful mosques in Lebanon so you should definitely not miss out on seeing this colossal structure.
National Museum of Beirut
This museum has collections totalling 100,000 objects most of which are antiquities and medieval findings from excavations. There are 1300 artefacts on display ranging from prehistoric times to the medieval Mamluk period. The collection began after World War I and was opened in 1942. The museum stood on the front line that separated the warring factions in the 1975 Lebanese Civil War. If you are interested in learning about the ancient history of Lebanon then this is a great place to start and it has lots of interesting artefacts for you to come and see.
Zaitunay Bay & The Waterfront
Zaitunay Bay is the perfect place to come and enjoy the luxuries Lebanon has to offer from opulent bars and restaurants to the cute cafes with a spectacular view of the promenade and the Mediterranean Sea. You can also take a stroll along the waterfront and take in the splendid views the promenade has to offer of Beirut’s skyline and the surrounding mountains. You may even spot the locals fishing along the promenade as you take a walk down here.
Memorial of the Beirut Explosion 2020
On the 4th of August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate (fireworks) stored in the Port of Beirut exploded. This caused at least 218 deaths and over 7,000 injuries. The explosion caused $15 billion in property damage and left 300,000 homeless. The TNT which was stored in the warehouse didn’t have proper safety measures in place and when it exploded it was felt all across Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Israel.
A year after the deadly explosion in Beirut, a Lebanese artist named Nadim Karam unveiled a towering sculpture at the site of the explosion. It stands 82 feet tall and weighs 35 tonnes and is made from steel salvaged from Beirut’s port after the blast. This artistic piece of work represents a giant holding out a flower and is in memory and gesture towards the sadness that marks the people of Beirut. As well as the memorial you can also see the ruins of the former warehouse where they were housed.
Pigeon Rocks
The Pigeon Rocks are located in Raouche and are 60 metres high and located off the shore. These rocks were formed in the prehistoric era by geologic movement. This is a well-known spot in Beirut for being a very romantic spot, especially at sunset.
The rocks are easily accessible for photos from the sidewalk and you can also take boat trips around and through the rocks if you fancy. There are also restaurants which overlook the Pigeon Rocks so you can enjoy a nice drink and meal whilst enjoying the sensational view.
Street Art
Whilst wandering around the streets of Beirut be sure to look out for all the wonderful street art around the city. You can see the street art wherever you go so don’t worry you will definitely come across the street art. A lot of the art depicts the struggles of the Lebanese people so it is without a doubt worth finding the different pieces of art around the city.
Where to stay:
Budget – The Grand Meshmosh Hotel – This friendly hostel offers a free breakfast as well as being in a bougie area in Beirut. It has a nice restaurant and bar downstairs and offers rooms with beautiful city views.
Medium – Viccini Suites – This 3 star hotel offers clean and spacious rooms which have a nice decor and is located in a fabulous spot in the heart of Beirut.
High – Sodeco Suites – This fabulous hotel has an excellent location with stunning views over Beirut. It also offers a gym, bar, and modern rooms.
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