Two to three days covers the main sights. Walk the Corniche to Pigeons' Rock, spend a morning at the National Museum and an afternoon at the Sursock Museum, then explore the cafés of Gemmayzeh, Mar Mikhael and Hamra. Add extra days for trips to Byblos or the mountains.

Pigeons' Rock stands just off Raouché, on the western tip of Beirut, where the Corniche reaches its highest point above the sea. Cafés and restaurants on the clifftop stretch of Avenue de Paris look straight out at the two limestone stacks, which makes it the city's favorite sunset spot.

Yes. Arabic is the official language and Lebanese Arabic is what you hear on the street, but many Beirutis also speak French and English, often mixing all three in one conversation. Shop signs and menus usually appear in Arabic and English, and often in French as well.