| Tips and photos of unusual, out-of-the-way Beirut attractions, posted by real travelers and locals. Beirut Map |
 | Beirut Off the Beaten Path | Tips 1 - 10 of 29 |  |
 welcome to Beirut harbor by MrBill
The normal price from the harbor to downtown is about $3 or about $10 per hour to rent a taxi. Of course, they will try to cheat you into paying multiples of this. You have to be firm.
However, we were able to walk all over the downtown and to the beach and along the promenade without taking a taxi. We only took one taxi, and that was to take us to the far end of the beach front and then back again to the ship. We negotiated $5 thinking it would take about 30 mins., but it only took about 20 mins. actually. He still wanted more money, but we only gave him the $5 and he did not make a fuss.
It helps if you speak French. Not everyone speaks English, so a few words parlez vous la francais is appreciated and makes getting around easier.
By the way, pay a fair price for your taxi. The dollar you try to save maybe someone else's daily wage or profit, and these people are not well off compared to your average tourist, so be fair and it will be appreciated. Leave a Comment
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 -- taken from
sursockpalace.com by miso80
A lot of effort was placed to keep this place standing during the different wars that Lebanon went through..but today, it stands beautiful as ever, with the sursock family living there..and sometimes renting the palace and its gardens out to people who wish to make lavish dinners, weddings and parties.
To have a look at Sursock before you go..check out its website. Leave a Comment
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 interior church by sachara
But at the end you will reach the statue of the Virgin of Lebanon with outstretched arms, welcoming you.
We visited the modernist Maronite cathedral just beside the Virgin.
The interior of the church is built in a way, that your attention goes up and towards the window, where you have a dim look at the Virgin outside. Leave a Comment
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 Orthodox church by sachara
Just beside the modernist Maronite church and the statue of the Virgin of Lebanon is an old and impressive Greek Catholic church and chapel.
There couldn't be a larger contrast than between the modernist and this old church. Leave a Comment
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"So that they may have Life and have it more abundantly" - this is the motto that's engraved on AUB's main gate, as you walk through it on Bliss St...I obtained my B.S. from this university, and I'm currently finishing up my M.S. as well. Its been said to be the most reputable university in the Middle East..however, the reason I write about it here, is not because of its standard of education (although if you get a chance to study here..dont miss it ;-) ) But I write about AUB because it is probably one of the greenest spots in Beirut..it has also got one of the most beautiful views of the Beirut Corniche and the mediterranean Sea.
In order to get into AUB, however, you must ask for permission. upon entering the main gate, you can ask the security how that is to be done. You may also, call and ask beforehand, and there are guides that actually take you around AUB and show you the different departments and landmarks within the university.
Take a camera and a light spirit, some comfortable shoes..and be ready to go around one of the best spots in Beirut!
(Will be adding more pictures VERY soon) Leave a Comment
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Reminiscent of 9-11, there is a place where you are welcome to pay your respect to the murdered ex-prime and his bodyguards and the nurse, buried right in the city center, a place that is sheltered under a tent and has an exhibition about the reconstruction of some of Beirut’s buildings for which the former prime minister aid out of his own private pocket, near the cafes. The victims are buried in the center not because they died there—they died closer to Ain Al Mresse, the corniche area, but because the former prime minister helped to rebuild the city center and hung out there a lot.
When I went with my new friend, they still had (some…) of the silver footsteps glued to the ground leading to the restaurant where he took his last meal. I didn’t take a photo of the hole torn into the ground, near the Regis, out of respect—hated the tourists getting thrills out of ground zero—but you’ll see some Beirutis slow down in their cars or stop just to memorize the people who died. The impact was so great that it shattered many windows of nearby buildings Leave a Comment
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 by sacharaLeave a Comment
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When you see the immaculately clean streets, the flowers growing in between avenues on those islands near the corniche you realize: Someone is doing some serious cleaning and gardening here. At night, I saw a guy who looked pretty South Indian to me do some sweeping: Bingo, he was from Tamil Nadu. Another day I chatted with a homesick Sri Lankan maid, who was about to go to a photoshop to send her little daughter and family at home her photos. She hadn’t seen her kid for 3 years. Her sister had been hospitalized because of the Tsunami disaster. These people come to Lebanon to make and save the money they otherwise never would—like 100 Dollars a month, which is an okay live-in housekeeper salary in the Middle East, if you don’t have any other expenses. (“Normal” Beirutis live on salaries more comparable to Western standards). They both didn’t look very happy—Think about the likely status of Hindus and Buddhists “multiple Gods and idolatry” (even though you find statues of “Mary-in-a-birdcage”, just like Shiva &Co. in India, at every corner) in a relatively modern, though predominantly monotheistic country doing the lowest work.
The Sri Lankan and I wanted to stay in touch, but when I gave her my home number—she said she didn’t do e-mail—it turned out she had thought I lived there. Later I read some articles about the situation of live-in maids: Pretty scary, if you ended up with a loony boss.
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The (many) Steps of St Nicolas connect rue Gouraud in Gemmayzé with the parallel rue Sursock up a steep hill in a quaint residential part of Beirut. It is advisable to go down the steps, rather than up as I did, unless you want the exercise! When I visited Beirut in June 2006, the Steps of St Nicolas were celebrating an arts festival during which many local artists exhibited their work right on the steps. Unfortunately, I visited in the evening when all the artists had packed up for the day.
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