Beirut

Beirut, Lebanon's capital, sits on the Levantine coast of the eastern Mediterranean and layers Ottoman townhouses, French Mandate-era apartment blocks, and postwar brutalist concrete into one of the Middle East's most architecturally complex urban fabrics. The 1975–1990 civil war left deep scars — the former Green Line dividing east and west Beirut can still be traced through gaps and ruins embedded in otherwise rebuilt neighborhoods. The reconstructed city center around Martyrs' Square sits alongside Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhael, districts packed with vintage shops, design boutiques, and antique dealers. The Corniche seafront promenade runs along the water with views of the sea and, on clear days, the snow-capped Lebanese mountains behind the city. Beirut's culinary scene — mezze, fresh seafood, Levantine pastries — is considered among the finest in the Arab world, and its nightlife, from underground clubs to rooftop bars, has survived wars, explosions, and economic collapse to remain one of the region's most resilient.