Beirut in four hours — properly. Eleven landmarks, one private vehicle, one knowledgeable local driver, and a city that rewards every visitor who takes the time to look at it carefully. From the limestone sea stacks of Pigeon Rocks to the deliberately unrepaired Civil War facade of the Holiday Inn — Beirut's geography, history, religion, and resilience on display in a single half-morning.
Mediterranean seafront and marina. A grand mosque and an ancient cathedral sharing the same square — four centuries of coexistence in one view. The square where Lebanon's modern political history was made three times in twenty years. Roman baths in the middle of a rebuilt downtown. Glass floors in a shopping centre revealing Phoenician ruins beneath your feet. A city that has been continuously inhabited for 5,000 years and destroyed and rebuilt so many times that its ruins have ruins. Back at your hotel by early afternoon with the day ahead.