The Washington Post is proposing an answer. In short:
Day 1 (arrival in the evening):
- Downtown (Grand Serail > St George Cathedral > M. Amine Mosque > Hariri mausoleum)
- Corniche > AUB > Hamra
- Eat (suggestions: Abdelwahab, Karam, Mayyas or as-Saha )
- Bar-hop in Gemmayze
- Music Hall
Day 2 (all day):
- Breakfast in Chtoura (Man2oush or/and Knefeh)
- Ksara Vineyards
- Baalbak Ruins and Temples
- Back to beirut, dinner in Barometre Hamra.
Day 3 (morning)
- St. Georges Yacht Club
- Brunch in Casablanca Restaurant
- Stroll down corniche, have tea.
- Head to Byblos, Launch at Pepe’s Fishing Club
Not bad.. What would you add? Do you have an alternative itinerary?
Hello, my name is Mustapha and I have been blogging about Lebanese society and politics since February 2005. You can also find me on 
Not bad! i have to add jeita grotto.
I would agree with Jeita… and of course Cafe Younes in Hamra!!!! Loool! There is also the Cedars, Fanar…. so many places…
they forgot the beach’s program
i’d say have a glass of rosé at pepe’s and look at all the cool photos and fossils, but eat elsewhere. i have not been impressed with their food, especially compared to other restaurants around the port.
am sure i’d have lots of other amendments, but that is the first one that springs to mind :)
I feel a little sad that I was there for 7 days and didn’t do half that (granted, I was at a conference, but still).
I took my wife to Lebanon for 3 days in 2007. She is American and it was her first time to Beirut.
Day 1- we arrived in the afternoon and drove to Shimlan to visit family. We had dinner at my uncle’s house then stayed the night Jounieh (we didn’t stay in Beirut b/c this was the time of the “tent city” and didn’t want to expose her to that).
Day 2- Chocolate croissants for breakfast from a neighborhood bakery then to Harissa for sightseeing. After Harissa, we went to Jbeil to see the the citadel and old souk and had lunch in the port afterwards. We had dinner at Cactus in Gemmayze and then did some bar hopping afterwards.
Day 3- We drove past downtown and then I had a meeting at AUB. We toured AUB’s campus and spent the afternoon in Hamra. We grabbed snacks for lunch at Starbucks. Finally, back to Shimlan for dinner at the Cliffhouse (Sakhra) with awesome views of Beirut and the airport. Our plane left at 3am!
@ elie — um, are you MY elie, or his secret twin?! (hint: if yes, we met exactly a decade ago this summer…)
sorry for hijacking the thread, mustapha, but it’s not everyday you recognize an old friend in the comments :)
Yes f, you’re one and only. Ten years ago, wow!
And yes, sorry mustapha for the hijack.
Don’t apologize guys, your serendipitous encounter here is only testimony to my large readership :p