Beirut, Place des Martyrs and other Lebanon Things to Do Tips

At the end of the war the Martyrs Statue was the only recognisable feature of the pre-war days at the Martyrs Square downtown Beirut, once the bustling place of Beirut.
Nowadays a lot of rebuilding activities in downtown Beirut are done, but also still going on.
In west Beirut the Hamra street became the main shopping street of Beirut. Here and in the area around you can find a lot of varied shops, cafes and restaurants.
It's nice to walk along the Corniche and to have a look at the Pigeon Rocks at the western end. Here are also nice cafes and restaurants with terraces.

For more information see my Beirut page.

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From Jounieh you can take the telepherique (cable car) or the twisting road up into the mountains to Harissa. Both options are rather breathtaking.
In Harissa you can find the statue of the Virgin of Lebanon.
Beside the statue is the modernist concrete Maronite Cathedral with it's special silhouet, which can be seen from Jounieh at clear days. Beside the statue is also an old Orthodox church and chapel.

For more pictures and information about Harissa have a look at my Beirut page in the ''off the beaten path'' section.

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Directions: Jounieh is at the coast 20 KM north of Beirut

Byblos is known as the world's oldest continually inhabited town. According to the Phoenician tradition Byblos was founded by the God El, who surrounded his city with a wall. The massive Early Bronze Age city walls (2800 BC) reflect this belief. The ramparts at the picture are also of the 3th millenium BC , but from after 2500 BC. Six different constructions have been discovered forming a 25 M thick wall.
At the beginning of this millenium Byblos developed into the most important timber shipping centre of the on the eastern Mediteranean coast. The historic harbour of Byblos (Jbail in Arabic) in town, just a short walk from the ruins, is still unspoiled and very picturesque, a popular place for a visit.

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Directions: 40 KM north of Beirut

The archaeological site of Byblos lies south of the town, beautifully located at the Mediterranean Sea.
From the crusaders castle at the entrance you have a nice overview of the site.
At the first sight the site maybe doesn't look very interesting, but take your time to walk around and to discover the remains of different times and cultures (Phoenician, Roman, Greek and Crusader).
Ruins to be seen:
Temple of Baalat Gebal, thew oldest temple of Byblos (4th millenium BC), Temple of Resheph (3th millenium BC) and Obelisk temple, Roman colonnade of six standing columns (300 AD), Roman Theatre, Royal Necropolis and early settlements.

The site is open daily from 8 am to sunset.
Entrance costs LL 6000.

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Directions: 38 KM north of Beirut.

The most dominant monument at the archaeological site of Byblos, is the Crusader Castle at its entrance.
The castle is built in the 12th century AD by the Franks, constructed with large blocks. The castle is about 50 by 45 M and surrounded by a deep moat of 10 M wide.
It's allowed to climb to the roof via a staircase, allthough there are no rails. So be careful, but the views from here to the site are marvellous.
The castle has still three original towers at the corners. Afterwards the castle is partly destructed and rebuilt by the Mamelukes and the Ottomans.

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Directions: 38 KM north of Beirut

After having explored the archaeological site it's worth to visit the old town of Jbail.
So you can have a look at the Ottoman alleys, the medieval souqs, the waxmuseum with historical scenes and the Church of St. John the Baptist.
After we strolled around in the old town, we ended up at a terrace in the picturesque ancient harbour for a drink and a salad.

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In the north of Lebanon Tripoli is the 2th largest city of the country. There are two main parts of the city, Al-Mina and the Old City.
Al-mina is the harbour area with a lovely Corniche, nice restaurants and good streetfood.
The Old City has some medieval monuments. Worth to visit are the citadel of Raymond Saint Gilles and the old mosques, like the Taynal Mosque and the Great Mosque.
Very special are the old Khans of Tripoli like the Khan el-Khayattin, Khan-Saboun and the Khan al-Aksar.

For more pictures and information have a look at my Tripoli page.

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The 50 KM long Kadisha Valley starts at the coast near Batroun, but the most interesting and scenic part of this Holy Valley of the Maronite Christians is the higher 20 KM section.
We explored the Valley from Bcharre at the upper end of the Valley. Along a steep winding road at the south side of the valley we went deep down to the bottom of the gorge.
Here we visited some monasteries, like the Deir Mar Elisha and the Deir Qannoubin, made some nice walks and enjoyed the spectacular natural scenery with steep cliffs and waterfalls.

For more pictures and information see my Bcharre page.

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The area a few KM east of Bcharre is home for the famous cedars of Lebanon.
The Lebanese cedars are allready mentioned in the Old Testament. Nowadays only a small grove of cedar trees is left, while in the former days larger parts of the Lebanon mountain range were covered with cedars.
In The Cedars you are allowed to walk between the very old trees along fenced paths. When we visited the Cedars end April, there was still some snow between the trees.
The Lebanese cedar is the symbol of Lebanon and is part of the national flag.

For more pictures and information see my Bcharre page in the ''off the beaten track'' section.

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Bcharre (at 1400 M) is the maintown of the Kadisha Valley. In town are three large churches and a statue of the Lebanese poet and painter Khalil Gibran at the place of the ruins of his former house.
Bcharre lies at the upper end of the Kadisha Valley, at the north edge of the gorge.
We stayed a few days in Bcharre, a good starting point to visit the Cedars, the Kadisha Valley, the Gibran Museum, the Kadisha Cave and villages like Hadchit and B'kaa Kafra.

For more pictures and information see my Bcharre page.

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Directions: North east of Beirut at a three hours ride.