restaurant
Le Chef, Gemmayzeh
A tiny Gouraud Street diner serving Lebanese home cooking off a blackboard of daily specials, open over fifty years and through the civil war. Rebuilt after the 2020 port blast destroyed it.
7 km · about 15 min drive
AsiaLebanonMount Lebanon
Baabda
Mount Lebanon, Lebanon · Asia
About Baabda
Baabda works well as a base: 10 minutes from Aley, 15km from Jeita Grotto.
Baabda is in Mount Lebanon, Lebanon, with about 9,000 people. The nearest town is Aley, about 6 km away.
Baabda (Arabic: بعبدا, romanized: Bʿabdā) is the capital city of Baabda District and Mount Lebanon Governorate, western Lebanon. Baabda was also the capital city of the autonomous Ottoman Mount Lebanon that existed from 1861 to 1918.
Baabda is home to the Italian, Japanese, Jordanian, Polish, Ukrainian, Romanian,Read more
Indonesian, Spanish and other embassies. It is also home to the Ministry of Defense and other administrative offices.
Baabda is also known for its Seraglio.
In 1956, Baabda Palace was built in Baabda as the official presidential residence, on a hill overlooking Beirut. It remains the residence of the president of Lebanon. The first president to reside there was Charles Helou from 1964 to 1970.
From 1988 to 1990, Lebanon's interim prime minister, Michel Aoun took up residence in the Baabda Palace surrounded by loyal soldiers. During the War of Liberation, Syrian forces attacked it on October 13, 1990, forcing Aoun to seek shelter in the French Embassy in Baabda. Eight days later, Dany Chamoun, son of former President Camille Chamoun, was assassinated with his family in their apartment in the city.
Where to Stay in Baabda
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Baabda?
Within an hour or so of Baabda: Le Chef, Gemmayzeh (7 km), Tawlet Souk el Tayeb (7 km), Jeita Grotto (15 km), Beiteddine Palace (16 km).
Where is Baabda?
Baabda is in Mount Lebanon, Lebanon, about 6 km from Aley.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 9,000
- Continent
- Asia
- Country
- Lebanon
- Region
- Mount Lebanon
- Timezone
- Asia/Beirut
- Coordinates
- 33.8339, 35.5442
Tags
Worth the detour from Baabda
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
restaurant
Tawlet Souk el Tayeb
A Mar Mikhael kitchen where a different village cook takes over each day, laying out a buffet of her own region's dishes and talking diners through them. Part of the Souk el Tayeb farmers' network.
7 km · about 15 min drive
natural wonder
Jeita Grotto
A spectacular system of two interconnected limestone caves with the world's longest stalactite, explored by foot and underground boat.
15 km · about 30 min drive
landmark
Beiteddine Palace
Emir Bashir II's early-19th-century palace in the Chouf, built over thirty years with carved cedar ceilings, inlaid marble and a museum of Byzantine mosaics in the stables. Still the president's official summer residence.
16 km · about 30 min drive
ancient ruins
Byblos (Jbeil)
One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world with Phoenician temples, a Crusader castle, and a charming ancient harbor.
34 km · about 40 min drive
castle
Sidon Sea Castle
A 13th-century Crusader fortress built on a small island connected to the Lebanese mainland by a narrow causeway, guarding the ancient port of Sidon.
34 km · about 40 min drive
landmark
Batroun
An ancient Phoenician coastal town with a natural sea wall, medieval churches, and a vibrant nightlife scene in a charming old quarter.
48 km · about 55 min drive
waterfall
Baatara Gorge Waterfall
A meltwater cascade drops roughly 90m past three stacked natural limestone bridges into a 240m chasm near Tannourine. The bridges are the reason to come, and the falls only run in spring.
48 km · about 55 min drive
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