What are the best locations to visit in Lebanon? If you’re hoping for a trip to Lebanon, where should you take off? Lebanon is an amazing little country with so much to see!
The great news is that Lebanon is a small country. So compact that it’s feasible to root in Beirut the entire time and take day trips all over the country. The best and precious thing about Lebanon is its cultural diversity. The population is about 45% Christian and 50% Muslim, with 18 identified religious groups. There’s an ample Armenian population, too, and people with ancestries all over the Middle East and the world. Accordingly, there are portions of Lebanon that feel very European, and parts of Lebanon that feel very Central Eastern. Territories where you can default to French and locates where you’ll need to know a few phrases of Arabic.
Here are the picks for the best places to visit in Lebanon
1. Beirut: Beirut is one of the best, most enthusiastic, most thrilling cities in the Middle East. Because it’s much more liberal than other Middle Eastern towns, there is a big party scene, from the crazy beach clubs to the roof-retracting lounges. But beyond the nightlife, you have centuries of chronology and different civilizations coming together. Lebanon’s land boundaries are closed, so the simplest way to get to Beirut is to fly.
2. Byblos: known as Jbeil in Arabic — is skillfully one of the most wonderful places to visit in Lebanon. This coastal village north of Beirut looks like it could be a coastal town in Montenegro with its teal waters, palm trees, sandstone old town, and mounts rising in the background. You might heed that the word “Byblos” is associated with books — well, there’s a reason for that. Byblos was a trading headquarters for papyrus, importing it from Egypt and shipping it throughout the Aegean, allocating the earliest books.
3. Tyre: Tyre, also known as Sour (pronounced soor), was one of the most valuable cities on the Mediterranean. Today, this city in southern Lebanon is home to find Roman ruins perched up against the sea, a fascinating and walkable small town, extremely friendly people, and fresh flowers bursting out in every direction The tyre is one of Lebanon’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites, appointed for its ancient ruins, history as a Phoenician city, founding of cities like Cadiz and Carthage — and their accomplishment of inventing purple dye!
4. Harissa: Harissa is residence to one of the most famous sights in Lebanon: the Our Lady of Lebanon statue, seated on a mountaintop, appearing to look over the nation. Come to Harissa and you, too, can celebrate this Lebanese voyage site — and stunning views at 650 meters above ocean level. The Sanctuary here was established to honour the Virgin Mary — and assists as a place for peace-gathering workshops and recreations between Christians and Muslims, and denominations within Lebanon’s 18 religious groups. The most amusing way to get to Harissa is to take a cable car to the height! It leaves from the coastal city of Jounieh.
5. Baalbek: Get prepared to glimpse some of the best Roman ruins of your life! Baalbek is home to some of the best ruins ever seen, the way that amazes you into stillness. The hierarchy alone is mind-boggling. Baalbek is the ruins of the city used to be known as Heliopolis, the City of the Sun. The four temples here — devoted to Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, and Bacchus, after Roman gods — are some of the vastest persisting temples of the Roman Empire. You can also observe the two of the biggest stone blocks in antiquity: the Stone of the Pregnant Woman, clocking in at 1,000 tons, and a block completely known as the megalith, clocking in at 1,650 tons!