The Top 10 Things To Do And See In Beirut

Beirut Central District is the name given to the city’s geographic, administrative and commercial center. Perhaps more significantly, it is an area which urban landscape speaks volumes of the country’s recent history. Much of the area surrounding Nejmeh Square, and the 1930s clock tower standing in its center, is testimony to the city’s post-war reconstruction efforts overseen by Solidere, one of the grandest urban uplift projects anywhere in the world. Straying only a couple of blocks from here you reach the ruins of the Roman Baths, and for a chance to witness the scars still visible from some of the civil war’s most intense fighting, head to Martyr’s square, itself in an ongoing process of redevelopment.

Hamra Street, or as it known locally, Rue Hamra, is one of Beirut’s most important streets and commercial centers. From the sixties to the nineties it was home to intellectuals, journalists and artists frequenting a string of theaters and sidewalk cafes. Today it bears the marks of a shift in identity, aligned with western retail outlets, hotels and coffee shops, and also attracts large numbers of youths in its bars and clubs. A stroll through the entrance of René Moawad Garden situated on the same street makes for a quick shift in the pace of daily life on this busy street.

The word corniche knows few better referents than the one in Beirut. Encircling the city’s promontory for nearly 5 kilometres from St. George Bay to its end at Ramlet al-Bayda, this seaside promenade – first designed during the French Mandate period – gives extensive insights into the life of the city. Here’s the chance to spot Beirut’s wealthiest sitting at upscale cafés and in luxurious cars, with a backdrop of the Mediterranean sea on one side and the summits of Mount Lebanon on the other. A visit isn’t complete before reaching one of the city’s most famous landmarks, the Pigeon’s Rocks belonging to Raouché neighborhood.