Whether you're in Beirut for business, pleasure, a family holiday or a romantic get-away the Phoenicia Hotel is by far the best address in town.

"The best people-watching on the planet" or the place to get "a taste of that Sixties hedonism"... the luxury beach resort Edde Sands in Byblos.

Often referred to as the "Switzerland of the East" Lebanon should definitely be the next stop on your skiing itinerary.

If you live in or have visited the UK in the last couple of months you may have noticed a red wine with a distinctively simple white and gold label on the shelves of Marks & Spencers; picking it up you might be surprised to find it´s from Lebanon.

Whilst Bacchus (or Dionysus) was known as the god of wine, his temple now brings music-worshippers from all over the world together once a year in June/July at the Baalbek International Music Festival.

Along with other, more famous natural wonders like Australia´s Great Barrier Reef, Tanzania´s Kilimanjaro and the Dead Sea between Jordan and Israel, Lebanon´s Jeita Grotto also made it onto the list of finalists for the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

There´s a good reason why Byblos lays claim to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the world: once you get there you won´t want to leave either.

Everyone knows that the falafel is Egyptian right? But then why are the Israeli´s and Palestinians fighting over it? And what does Lebanon have to do with it?

Take advantage of the fact that Beirut can be enjoyed on foot and spend a day feeling the city´s energy on the streets.

...just pop a 500 Lebanese Pound coin (equivalent to 25 euro cents) into any one of them and see if you also have a date with lady luck.