Beirut by Foot

Zaitunay Bay, formerly known as Saint George Bay, is a bay with a yacht club. It was built on 20,000 m2 of prime waterfront land and extending along the waterfront of Beirut’s high-end street. It’s a bustling destination offering a promenade by the marina, retail stores, restaurants & cafes.

This abandoned Holiday Inn Hotel is one of Beirut’s war landmarks. It was basically built around 1971 and 1974 and designed by both Lebanese and French architects. This hotel remains untouched, abandoned, empty, decades after the war, and remains a reminder to the Lebanese population about the horrors of war.

Beirut souks connect all portions of the city center. They are bordered by up-market office, residential, and hospitality neighborhoods, and have convenient vehicle and pedestrian access, and are located near the hotels and waterfront districts. The development, which is hailed as one of the region’s most important commercial areas, raises expectations and provides impetus for the revitalization of the Lebanese capital and its center as a desirable regional and worldwide business, retail, and leisure destination.

The souks department store is a five-story edifice near the waterfront in Beirut’s Souks complex. The structure, built by the late Zaha Hadid and her colleagues, features a cinema complex and an entertainment annex created by other architects and was nearing completion when the fire broke out.

From all the civilizations which crossed and stayed in the Lebanon, the Romans where one of the most important. The Roman Baths located in the downtown of Beirut are a must-go spot, they were discovered in 1968 and have been renovated and preserved.

Place de l’Étoile (also known as Star Square) is a square in the center of Beirut that is surrounded by important political and religious buildings. It was a focal point for the redevelopment of downtown Beirut by the French Mandate throughout the 1920s and 1930s; This urban project has transformed the heart of Beirut into a Parisian-Haussmannian-style plaza.

A stunning cathedral located in the heart of Beirut, it has a small underground archaeological museum with a number of artifacts and antiquities dating back to the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, medieval and Ottoman periods.

In the capital, Beirut, near Martyrs’ Square, a mosque was erected similar to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Turkey, named the Mosque of Muhammad al-Amin. It contains several blue domes, and was built in 2008, influenced by the Ottoman design.

Originally the Church of St. John, the Crusaders built the Great Omari Mosque in the 12th century. In 1291, the Mamluks turned it into the city’s Great Mosque. The mosque was damaged during the Lebanese Civil War and was rebuilt in 2004.

Martyrs’ Square, historically known as “Al Burj” or “Place des Cannons”, is the historical central public square of Beirut. The statue honors the martyrs who were slained by the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Located in the heart of downtown Beirut, Saifi Village is one of Beirut’s top art destinations with galleries, antique shops, design studios, and specialty shops dotted with its picturesque streets. It’s a beautiful colorful street that catch your eye during your visit to Beirut.

The saint Nicolas stairs, also known as L’escalier de saint Nicolas or L’escalier de L’art, is located between Saint Nicholas Church on Rue Sursock and Rue Gouraud-Gemmayze in Ashrafieh, Beirut. The 125 steps and 500 meters span of the staircase make it a famous tourist site in Beirut due to its proximity to the Sursock Museum and the Orthodox Archbishopric of Beirut in Rue Sursock.

Samir Kassir garden, located in Beirut downtown near El Bourj building, offers a model for meditation. It contains a bronze statue of Samir Kassir as a commemoration of the late journalist and political activist, two historic Ficus trees provide shade at the center of the space, and a reflecting pool with water cascading over its edges marks the border with the street.

The Municipality was built in 1924-25 by the Lebanese architect Youssef Aftimos. Damaged and abandoned during the Lebanese Civil War, it was restored by the year 2000. The building dated back to the ottoman and was used as a saray for the administrative activities and turned into the municipality nowadays.