Beirut

New 7 Wonders Cities

Beirut is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on the Mediterranean coast, a Phoenician port known to the Romans as Berytus, where a famous law school flourished in late antiquity. Its layers of history include Roman baths, Ottoman mosques and churches, French mandate boulevards and modern towers, often within a short walk. The city has endured war, economic collapse and the devastating port explosion of August 2020, and has rebuilt repeatedly, shaped by a mix of Christian, Muslim and secular communities and a diaspora far larger than its resident population. Visitors in calmer periods have found a city of cafés, bookshops, galleries and seaside promenades, where the Corniche, the white Raouche or Pigeon Rocks and the hillside neighbourhoods of Gemmayzé and Mar Mikhaël invite wandering. The National Museum holds remarkable Phoenician and Roman collections, the Sursock Museum shows art in a villa, and the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque and nearby churches stand close together. Lebanese food, from mezze to fresh seafood and bakeries, is a reason to travel in itself. Conditions are volatile: several governments have advised against travel to Lebanon or parts of it, and flight access and road safety can change at short notice, so this profile is a story rather than an itinerary. Consult your own government’s current advice, travel insurance conditions and local sources before considering a trip, and be ready to change plans.