Beirut recommendations

[kαλοκαλοκαιρι]

I will ( I hope) be going to Beirut for 5 days or so at the start of September and would love your recommendations for things to do there.

I don’t anticipate having a lot of time outside of the city but I will be spending 2 ish days in the Beqaa Valley for a wedding so if there’s anything standout to see on the way between the 2, this would also be Fab.Thanks!

*More fool me for thinking this went without saying as evidently I was wrong. To spell it out - I’m obviously not going to be going in September if the Zionist/Hezbollah insanity boots off to another level. And I am also not planning to go tomorrow. I am keenly aware of the current situation - my partner is Lebanese and it is his sister’s wedding we’ll go to, but he has no interest in the Beirut part of the trip and I wanted to source my own independent recommendations. Thanks to those that replied politely!!

There is a fairly long period of time between now and the end of September (100% fault on me for writing start for some reason in my previous post- apologies!)and every chance that the escalation will dampen down by then, as it has many times previously. Personally, I don’t find it insensitive to consider that life, to a large degree, does and will probably, go on, until it doesn’t. So i’ll continue to make my plan, until I know for sure I can’t. Everyone is allowed an opposing view. have a nice day!

• [Post edited at OP's request to add the last two paragraphs]

Are you sure about going? Just saw this on the BBC.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80xxeqel5po

Ok, might not be a good idea

Is this a wind up?

My only recommendation for Beirut is to avoid at all costs.

The Americans have just advised all their citizens to leave.

I've been to Lebanon and love it. But you shouldn't go now.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/lebanon

Advice is don't go. You likely won't be insured if you go against FCDO advice.

Such a shame, it's a beautiful country and the people are really lovely.

I’m assuming this is a wind up, and a pretty crass one at that given what people there are facing.

In the unlikely event it’s not a wind up I think my advice would be not to go, and I say that as someone who has been to Beirut a couple of times and loved it.

Yeah really funny….

There are British helicopters there to get British citizens out.

Let me dig up my old Beirut Lonley Planet guide for you. I think it's in the study next to my Mogadishu travel guide and solo trekking for women in Afghanistan book.

I’ve just cancelled my planned trip to Byblos and Beirut. I presume you’ve been living under a stone or else you’re taking the piss…

I am off to Gaza soon, does anyone have a recommendation of a decent cocktail bar?

Yeah, does sound like you’re a piss taker tbh and as Igotjelly said, there are people living that are facing an appalling situation. I was lucky enough to visit during a period of stability. It was amazing and the people are so friendly. I feel so sorry for them.

Loads of things to do in Beirut and around, but now is honestly not the time to do it. Get back to us when things have calmed down and I can give you some nice suggestions.

More fool me for thinking this went without saying as evidently I was wrong. To spell it out - I’m obviously not going to be going in September if the Zionist/Hezbollah insanity boots off to another level. And I am also not planning to go tomorrow. I am keenly aware of the current situation - my partner is Lebanese and it is his sister’s wedding we’ll go to, but he has no interest in the Beirut part of the trip and I wanted to source my own independent recommendations. Thanks to those that replied politely!!

There is a fairly long period of time between now and the end of September (100% fault on me for writing start for some reason in my previous post- apologies!)and every chance that the escalation will dampen down by then, as it has many times previously. Personally, I don’t find it insensitive to consider that life, to a large degree, does and will probably, go on, until it doesn’t. So i’ll continue to make my plan, until I know for sure I can’t. Everyone is allowed an opposing view. have a nice day!

Thank you, I hope my follow up post clarifies a little.I absolutely wouldn’t be going tomorrow, even if it was possible, but I very much appreciate the kind way you posted this reply. Have a nice evening :)

Thanks ever so much, I’m hoping by that time they will have calmed down in terms of the country as a whole. I’ll certainly come back and ask you!

it certainly wasn’t intended to be insensitive.Agree that especially in the South, people are (and have been since October and before ofc) experiencing horrible things at the hands of Israel. We can only hope that this escalation will be short.

Apologies if it came across that way for sure though.Have a nice evening.

Yeah, this is really not the time to be planning to enter a possible warzone. Insensitive at best, inflammatory at worst...

Well I wouldn't hold out much hope for the next few months, sadly nothing but a full scale war is going to satisfy Israel I suspect. I would put all plans aside and just hope and pray for sanity.

Even if you did manage to book a flight to take you there in two months, there’s every chance it won’t be going by that point. Lebanon has frequently been on the edge of chaos in recent decades, but IMHO right now it’s closer to all-out war than at any point since 2006. If you went against consular advice - and then also went to the Beqaa Valley, which has been on the ‘inadvisable’ Foreign Office list for many years, given that Baalbek is a Hezbollah stronghold - I can’t imagine they’d be too motivated to help you get out of the situation.
But let’s be optimistic that this all blows over, or maybe someone else has found this thread in ten years’ time and there is peace in the world: in Beqaa you should obviously focus on the Roman ruins of Baalbek (don’t forget that huge chunk of rock on the outskirts that used to be under a rubbish heap), and on the way there you could drop in to the Chateau Ksara winery for a tasting. A bit of a diversion south would take you through the Chouf cedars. We combined Baalbek with a trip to Aanjar, close to the Syrian border, but then we’re real archaeology fans - it might not be for everyone.
I haven’t been back to Beirut since before the August 2020 explosion so don’t know what has reopened since then. The two best areas for a good social vibe are Hamra (feed cats in AUB!), walk along the Corniche to Pigeon Rocks at sunset, there’s my fave cafe ever, Cafe Younes, and the bizarre building The Grudge, which doesn’t seem to be in any tourist guides. Then to the east there’s Mar Mikael and Gemmayze, sadly much closer to the explosion. Aaliya bookshop and cafe seems to be open again now, which is good. The National Museum and the Sursock are both wonderful if art and ancient history are your thing. People rave about ‘Le Chef’ because of Anthony Bourdain but frankly we found the food there underwhelming. Tawlet Mar Mikael is way way better quality. Beirut Souks very underwhelming - it’s a big sterile mall.
Sorry for the random nature of this…

@LadyGreySpillsTheTea - Thank you ever so much, I really appreciate your time replying here - and will make careful note of your Beirut recommendations. I don’t think I’d be doing too much travelling around Bekaa due to time pressure tbh and we won’t go as far as Baalbek, but I have been previously and really enjoyed it. Your travels around the archaeological sights sound extremely interesting :)

For sure, I dont take your comments re security or even the possibility of being able to go - lightly at all. I’m very lucky in that I’m able to travel with someone local to the area and stay with family which I think makes/ has made previously a big difference. I suppose potentially the fact that I’m living with some Lebanese influence day to day means that I’m maybe viewing it more from their ‘business as usual’ perspective and didn’t necessarily think to put that context across in my original post. So I can understand why people might have thought I was taking the piss/a bit of a twat.

The insurance thing is a pain but again understandable, and I will just have to splash out on some specialist bits I think. I would dearly love to be able to be at the wedding if it’s remotely possible - and to FINALLY visit Beirut properly! Despite flying into the city on three occasions since being with my partner, and also visiting when I lived in Damascus (many moons ago obviously, in happier times) - this is the first time I will have spent more than a few hours there!

Thanks again and take care :)

No worries, I don’t think you’re a twat or taking the piss, we just all need to be a bit realistic right now that Lebanon is more vulnerable than most countries to airlines pulling out. But going to a family event with a Lebanese person is hugely different to choosing a random destination for a two-week holiday, and I‘m not sure some British people realise that.
Lebanon is such a beautiful country with incredibly hospitable people, it really does not deserve to suffer all it has been through in the last century. Every time I‘ve entered or left the country the border police have asked me the routine question ‘why are you coming?’or ‘what did you think of Lebanon?’ and I tend to reply my line about beautiful country and people, but add that it’s also a very complex country, and people seem to respect that judgement because it would be naive to pretend there aren’t any issues, even for tourists. Any country where you have to double-check what kind of private generator your accommodation has and how many A/Cs it supports is going to be complicated. Talking of which, you have the app that tells you when the electricity is going off in Beirut? I found that invaluable. And never, never used public wifi without a vpn because you will get hacked.
I hope it all works out for you. Are you in Greece or Cyprus perhaps, looking at your username?

@LadyGreySpillsTheTea I’ll say again that I’ve really appreciated and have enjoyed reading your nuanced messages. I’m about to leave any stable internet access for a few weeks and on reflection, I’ll happily admit I was naive in thinking I could post this and come back after August to read the replies, and not realise how it might appear out of context at the current time.

It’s funny - I also messaged a couple of friends from Lebanon to say I will (hopefully) come - and their replies, whilst obviously saying they hope the situation will allow the visit, only expressed the positive sentiments you talk about, and suggestions galore, with none of the exasperation I caused here! so definitely I think the context counts. Yes, you’re correct about the part of the world I’m in (Greece :)). Thanks again for all the helpful tips. I’ll come back in 2 months and update you if the situation allows. And fundamentally, above all, let’s hope for a kinder time ahead for this beautiful place and people.