Beirut City Guide
In partnership with We Design Beirut, our guide highlights the city’s most acclaimed restaurants, hotels, and creative spaces, helping you navigate the Lebanese capital like a local.
Beirut is a city of unremitting reinvention and fortitude; its vivacious spirit and optimism carried through the coastal breeze. From palm-fringed walks along the Corniche to Ottoman-style villas housing glamorous restaurants and artisanal crafts, Beirut radiates strength, style and cultural depth. You’ll find warm hospitality, pulsing nightlife and the best shawarma you’ll ever taste.
Renewal ignites creativity, evident in Beirut’s enthralling art spaces that range from community-driven galleries to studios that reflect Lebanon’s rich craft heritage.
Those in the know experience Beirut as a welcoming and enlightened city that belies the travel advisories, regional troubles and geo-politics. The spirit of resurgence shines in its neighbourhood venues and in groundbreaking annual events like We Design Beirut. For those ready to explore this magical city, here is what Roadbook recommends.
Hotels
From Ottoman grandeur to intimate guesthouses, Beirut’s thoughtfully designed hotels exemplify Lebanon’s famously warm hospitality.
Bars and restaurants
Beirut’s buzzing nightlife scene reflects the city’s undeterred spirit, from speakeasies hidden behind unmarked doors to restaurants that spill onto mood-lit gardens.
Essay
“Spend a week in the haze of Beirut’s exoticism, hedonism and unassailable spirit” – a native writer pens an ode to the Lebanese capital
Creative spaces
Beirut’s resurgent arts scene brings together heritage, artisanship and innovation, from studios preserving centuries-old craft to contemporary galleries for emerging Arab talent
