The Lebanese people have had to adapt to the political turmoil. Beirut is easily the party capital of the Middle East. The city features many different and distinct nightlife neighborhoods, like Gemmayze (close to Martyrs' Sq), Uruguay street in Down Town district, mostly full of bars and restaurants such as Gatsby, NU and Uruguay Bar which are trendy bars featuring outdoor terraces, or the Mar Mekhael Street which features nightclubs and bars. Lebanon is also known for it's open-air nightclubs such as Y Cocktail Bar, Sky Bar, White, and Iris. Greater Beirut is a sleepless city, as the great majority of it open 24 hours a day.

Lebanese nightclubs are widely diverse, as one can find both the "oriental" and "occidental" style, and in some cases, a mix of both.

 

Lebanon also has a huge beach party scene having exquisite beaches and beach resorts such as Oceana, Laguava or Edde Sands and Janna Sur Mer. However, these places are not cheap, and can be very expensive, especially for the budget traveler.

 

Hike

• Lebanon Mountain Trail (LMT) - 350-plus km national hiking trail extending from Al Qobaiyat in the north to Marjaayoun in the south. The Trail is not well marked and it is recommended that you get a guide because you will get lost. The guides can be expensive but it is worth talking them down on price. If you do decide to go alone, the country side is populated and you are never very far from people. This is by far the best way to see wild Lebanon!

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Ski

Lebanon has six ski resorts with groomed slopes, catering to skiers and snowboarders of all levels. Beyond the ski-able domains await you kilometers of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails waiting to be explored; Lebanon has something for everyone. Each of the ski resorts has a different flavor.

Wine-tasting[

Lebanon is one of the oldest sites of wine production in the world and today enjoys a burgeoning industry producing award-winning wines for export throughout the world, mainly in the UK, Europe and the United States. Wine Tasting is an absolute must with any visit to Lebanon.

 

Lebanon fosters exquisite cuisine ranging from a mezza of vegetarian dishes such as tabouleh, fattoush, and warak anab to delicious dips like hommos and moutabal.

Must haves include Lebanese barbeque such as shish tawouk (barbequed chicken) - usually consumed with garlic, lahm mishwe (barbequed meat), and kafta (barbequed seasoned minced meat).

A full meal at an Arabic restaurant can cost as little as 15 us dollars depending on where you go, though more expensive options can also be found.

 

Lebanese "fast food" is also available as sandwiches offered in roadside shops, such as shawarma sandwiches (known in other countries as doner - or gyros in Greece). Shawarma, as opposed to doner is seasoned with tarator sauce based on sesame oil, vegetables and is rolled in lebanese thin bread. One popular place to eat Lebanese "fast food" is at BarBar Restaurant in Hamra . Various barbequed meat sandwiches are also available, and even things such as lamb or chicken spleen, brains, lamb bone marrow or lamb testicles can be served as sandwiches.

Breakfast usually consists of manaeesh which looks like a folded pizza, most common toppings are zaatar (a mixture of thyme, olive oil sesame seeds), jebneh (cheese) and lahm bi ajin (minced meat). Some new trendy places such as "zaatar w zeit" and "Leil nhar" experiment with new toppings, such as "halloum and bacon". Both places stay open 24 hours a day and partygoers often go there for a bite at 4 in the morning.

Another traditional breakfast food is knefeh, a special kind of breaded cheese that is served with a simple syrup in a sesame seed bread. It is also served as dessert.

Lebanon is also very famous for its Arabic sweets which can be found at leading restaurants. The city of Tripoli, however, is THE city for Lebanese sweets. Many critics refer to it as the "Sweet Capital" of Lebanon, the Hallab Sweets Palace (Abdul Rahman Hallab - Kaser El Helou 1881) is the place to visit when making a trip to Tripoli.

If taking a trip to the Bekaa, the restuarants known as the El-Wadi restuarants in Zahle serve exquisite Lebanese food. In Beirut, Abd el-Wahab in the "Monot" area also serves excellent Lebanese food in a traditional setting.

 

Lebanon's wines have an international reputation. Grapes have been grown since antiquity, and the vineyards, largely in the Bekaa Valley, produce the base wine for distillation into the national spirit Arak, which, like Ouzo, is flavoured with aniseed and becomes cloudy when diluted with water. Arak is the traditional accompniment to Meze.

But the grapes have also historically been used to make wine. This used to be predominantly white and sweet, but the soliders and administrators that came to administer the French mandate after World War One created a demand for red wine, and large acreages were planted especially with the Cinsault grape. Over the last 20 years these have been supplemented with the most popular international varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

Wineries often offer wine tasting and are very welcoming. The highly individual, old fashioned, Chateau Musar, is based at Ghazir, 15 miles north of Beirut, and trucks in the grapes from Bekaa. In Bekaa itself, wineries include the large Kefraya, Ksara, the oldest winery of all, Massaya, a fashionable new producer in Tanail, and Nakad in Jdeita, which like Musar has stuck with an idiosyncratic old fashioned approach. Kefraya, in the West Bekaa region, also has a nice restaurant attached and the region itself is beautiful to pass through.

 

The vast majority of Lebanese are friendly, and most tourists experience no problems. Nevertheless, tensions with neighbouring Israel can erupt (but are usually confined to South Lebanon), and as such travellers should follow the independent press while in the country. Furthermore, the spillover from the current civil war in Syria has caused Lebanon's economy to significantly deteriorate; travellers must be wary while visiting Lebanon as the situation between both Lebanon and Syria is highly unpredictable.

Currently the Syrian border is also somewhat unstable, with Syrian troops reportedly crossing the border. There has been shelling and border crossings at Wadi Khaled, Al Qaa and Aarsal which travellers should probably avoid.

Tripoli is the scene of frequent deadly clashes between the Wahabbi populated Bab al-Tabbaneh and the Alawite populated Jabal Mohsen neighborhoods in the north part of the city. These clashes include small arms, RPG and even mortar fire. While these clashes are usually confined to the north of the city, Tripoli has seen attacks in other parts as well and should be considered unsafe and thus avoided.

There was a major clash between the Army and Wahabbi militants in Sidon between 23-25 June 2013 that left some 50 people dead (however only two were civilians), but the militants were defeated and since then the city has seen no further incident.

The historical attraction town of Baalbek has seen a few minor incidents without casualties, but can still be considered safe to visit.

Like in any country, it is preferable to be accompanied when visiting certain locations. In general, the Israeli borders and any Palestinian refugee camps should be avoided, while lone tourists in Hezbollah areas like southern Beirut may arouse suspicion.

Organised criminal activity is endemic in the Beqaa Valley. Most of it is connected to the drug trade, but kidnappings involving foreigners have occurred. Travelling in groups is advisable in this part of the country.

Visitors should always register with their respective embassies once they enter Lebanon and keep up-to-date regarding any travel warnings regarding Lebanon. Automobile accidents are also a big problem in major cities like Beirut, so take care driving. Motorcycles will sometimes swerve in front of you; numerous motoring laws do not apply to motorcycles.