Spring is Beirut’s best season. Skies are clear and the mountains are in flower across Lebanon’s capital.
While it’s still pleasantly cool at night, it’s often warm enough to hit the beach by day, making this the nicest time of the year to wander a city that is constantly in flux.
Here are seven reasons to visit right now.
By design
Lebanon’s architects and designers are some of most talented in the region. Beirut Design Week (May 19-26), an eight-day smorgasbord of exhibitions, lectures, open studios and cocktail events is the perfect, effervescent introduction both to Beirut and its creative crowd.
Art attack
Between the reopening of the Beirut Art Center and the dozen or so major galleries that have opened in the last five years into the mix and you have the makings of a top-tier art hub.
Walk this way
You can learn far more about Beirut from an hour pounding the pavement than from every guidebook on Amazon. Join the guided tour offered by Arab Center for Architecture (from $26) arranges themed walks that cover specific neighborhoods, architects and building trends in Beirut and beyond.
Time for dinner
The Hussein Hadid — nephew of the late architect Zaha — offers a private dining experience in his own kitchen upon request (from $125 per person).
Dress up
For those in search of Hollywood glamor, homegrown superstars Starch Foundation, which supports both clothing and product design.
Hot ’hood
Head to hipster central, the Mar Mikhael neighborhood. A pocket of old Beirut, it has more cafes, bars and restaurants than you’ll know what to do with, plus a smattering of designers and an excellent bookstore, Kalei, and cocktails at Villa Clara (from $165), Beirut’s best boutique hotel, is a 10-minute drive away.
Let’s dance
Beirut is a city where women in heels shimmy on tabletops. Come summer, you can party until dawn at outdoor megaclubs like Pier 7. More intimate weekend parties include the more alternative Salon for Wednesday night jazz and the Bar Farouk event, a cabaret that channels the best of pre-civil war Beirut’s musical stars, at Metro Al Madina.