Beirut, Beiteddine Palace & Deir el Qamar Small-Group Tour

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. 8:30 AM — Hotel pickup, Beirut Your professional guide meets you at your Beirut hotel and the morning begins immediately — Pigeon Rocks and the seafront are just minutes away.

   Passes by

2. Pigeon Rocks & Beirut panoramic tour Begin at Beirut's most iconic natural landmark — the towering Pigeon Rocks rising from the Mediterranean at Raouche — before a guided panoramic tour through the city's most celebrated landmarks. Your guide narrates the history, the architecture, and the stories behind each stop as you move through Beirut's most historically charged streets.

   3 h

3. Arrive at one of the most magnificent palaces in the Arab world — built by Emir Bashir II between 1788 and 1840 as a statement of Lebanese cultural ambition and political power. Three grand interconnected courtyards decorated with hand-cut geometric tilework, carved cedar-wood ceilings, and painted reception halls open before you. Beneath the palace, an underground museum houses Lebanon's finest collection of Byzantine mosaics — floor panels of extraordinary colour and detail. Today the palace serves as the summer residence of the Lebanese President and hosts the internationally celebrated Beiteddine Art Festival. Your guide brings the full story of Emir Bashir and his remarkable palace to life.

   1 h

4. Drive down to Deir el Qamar — meaning "Monastery of the Moon" — one of the most enchanting and best-preserved villages in Lebanon and the country's first capital under the Ma'an dynasty. The central square is framed by honey-stone mansions dating to the 17th and 18th centuries, a Druze palace, and public buildings that speak of former political importance. A mosque and a church stand metres apart in the same square — the quiet, enduring coexistence that defines Lebanon at its most harmonious.

   30 min

5. Fakhreddine Mosque & Saydet el Tallé Church Visit the 17th-century mosque of Fakhreddine II — the visionary Druze emir considered one of the founding fathers of modern Lebanon — before climbing to the hilltop Maronite church with sweeping views over the Chouf valleys below. Two places of worship, metres apart, centuries of shared history between them.

   15 min

6. Lunch in Deir el Qamar — included A generous Lebanese mountain lunch at one of Deir el Qamar's traditional restaurants — stone-vaulted dining rooms and terraces serving mezze spreads, grilled meats, and fresh bread with Chouf valley views. Fully included in your tour price — nothing extra to pay.

   1 h

7. Return to Beirut — approx. 5:00–6:00 PM Mountain drive back to Beirut with drop-off at your hotel — completing a full day that moved from the capital's iconic streets to the grandeur of a mountain palace to Lebanon's first capital, with every ticket and every meal already taken care of.

   Passes by

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 8 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Beirut

• Its from-price is 18% below the median of the 25 city tours we list in Beirut.
• It is longer than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 5 of 25.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Beirut

Beirut is Lebanon's capital on a Mediterranean headland, a Phoenician port city with Roman remains and mountains rising close behind.

Beirut juts into the Mediterranean on a rocky headland, with the snow-streaked peaks of Mount Lebanon rising behind. Founded by the Phoenicians, it became the Roman city of Berytus, famed for its school of law, and the remains of Roman baths lie in the city centre. The Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque, with its blue domes, and the nearby churches of St George show the mix of faiths.

Top-ranked sights in Beirut: Jeita Grotto, Our Lady of Lebanon (Notre Dame du Liban), Byblos (Jbeil).

See all 442 experiences in Beirut