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Beirut
Capital and largest city of Lebanon

Beirut

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon.

Plan a trip to Beirut→From Damascus

As of 2025, Greater Beirut has a population of 2.4 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the twelfth-largest city in the Levant region and the sixteenth-largest in the Arab world. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast. Beirut has been inhabited for more than 5,000 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world.

Get in

Getting to Beirut

  1. 01
    Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport
See

Worth seeing

Beirut was once the self-proclaimed "Paris of the Middle East". It still has an outdoor cafe culture, and European architecture can be found everywhere. Many Beirutis (as well as other Lebanese) speak French, English or both, to varying degrees, along with Arabic. Each district has its own sights and places to visit.

  1. 01
    National Museum of Beirut

    The museum in South Ashrafieh has artefacts ranging in date from prehistoric times to the medieval Mamluk period mainly dealing with Lebanon's archeology and history.

  2. 02
    Sursock Museum

    The museum in Ashrafieh exhibits contemporary and modern art.

  3. 03
    The Silk Museum - Bsous

    This might be good if you are into the silk industry.

Do

Things to do

There are many things to do in Beirut. Check the different districts to find out what each has to offer. Meanwhile, here are a few highlights: Bet on an Arabian thoroughbred every Sunday in the Beirut Hippodrome, officially called Hippodrome Du Parc De Beyrouth. The hippodrome is home to popular horse races, attracting a dedicated betting crowd (often old taxi drivers).

  1. 01
    Ramlet Al-Baida

    There is one at least one public beach though, right here.

Eat

Where to eat

Lebanese cuisine is a mix of Arab, Turkish and Mediterranean influences, and enjoys a worldwide reputation for its richness and variety as well as its Mediterranean health factor. Olive oil, herbs, spices, fresh fruits and vegetables are commonly used, as well as dairy products, cereals, fishes and various types of meat.

How locals move

Getting around Beirut the local way

  • Get inPublic transport There are regular public minivans (usually every five-ten minutes) that go to the Downtown area and to the Charles Helou Station from the airport.
  • Get aroundService [ser-vee-s] are shared-taxis, the same taxis as above but shared between four or more people.
  • Get aroundThe OCFTC that operates a fleet of blue and white city-buses, and the LCC with a fleet of red and white minibuses; Bus fares cost either LL500 (OCFTC bus 24) or LL1000.

From Wikivoyage: Beirut, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0), Wikimedia Commons.