• See the neo-Ottoman campus of the American University of Beirut in Hamra, which was founded in 1868 (website: www.aub.edu.lb). Achrafieh, in East Beirut, is the other centre and home to the Université St Joseph and an increasing number of smart shops and expensive restaurants.

• Witness the spectacular number of modern buildings and office blocks springing up in Beirut's Central District.

• Capture the old Beirut in the city's old souks (covered markets) that are being reconstructed in an authentic way. The Turkish bath at Al-Nouzha provides another glimpse of antiquity, whilst the Beirut National Museum is constantly updating its interesting collection (website: www.beirutnationalmuseum.com).

• See the Pigeon Rocks in Raouche, an increasingly popular district with a lively seaside promenade on the western tip of Beirut. The huge formations stand like sentinels off the coast.

• View the provincial charm of Lebanon's second and most Arabian city of Tripoli (website: http://tripoli-city.org). Its old medieval centre at the foot of the Crusader castle has many mosques, including the Al-Muallaq Burtasiyat Madrassa, Al-Qartâwiyat Madrassa, Great Mosque and Taynâl.

• Spot the green turtles and rare birds on the Island of Palm Trees, listed by UNESCO as a nature reserve, just off Tripoli.

• Behold Byblos, reputed to be the oldest town in the world (website: http://whc.unesco.org). Excavations have unearthed artefacts dating back to Neolithic times as well as from Canaanite, Phoenician, Hellenistic, Roman and Crusader periods. Fishing boats and pleasure craft ply the old harbour.

• Glimpse the sea castle built of stone from Roman remains in the small port city of Sidon. See one of the best-preserved temple areas of the Roman world that is still in existence in Baalbek, near the Syrian border. The columns of the Temple of Jupiter soar behind the complex of several temples.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.