So, Conde Nast has published its Readers’ Choice awards and Beirut has made it as one of the world’s 25 best cities, tied with Seville in Spain and ahead of the traditional cities Lebanese people adore: Venice, Paris and of course, Barcelona.
Here’s what the small caption said, and I couldn’t help but shake my head in silence at the “Paris of the Middle East” bit
The capital of Lebanon has “much to offer the adventurous traveler.” Find “exotic cuisine and cocktails” at the “most exclusive clubs in the world” in what one reader calls “the Paris of the Middle East.” This city offers a “tapestry of sects, religions, and lifestyles that provide a feast for the mind of the intellectual.”
Anyway, if you were wondering who else made the list, here they are. We’re the only Arab city and Middle Eastern city by the way, so mabrook! =P
1. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
2.= Budapest, Hungary
2.= Florence, Italy
4. Salzburg, Austria
5.= Charleston, South Carolina, United States
5.= San Sebastián, Spain
7. Vienna, Austria
8. Rome
9. Siena, Italy
10. Québec City
11.= Cape Town, South Africa
11.= Bruges, Belgium
13. Vancouver, Canada
14. Kyoto, Japan
15.= Prague, Czech Republic
15.= Kraków, Poland
17.= Victoria, Canada
17.= Sydney
17.= Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States
20.= Seville, Spain
20.= Beirut, Lebanon
22.= Paris
22.= Melbourne, Australia
24.= Venice, Italy
24.= Barcelona, Spain
I know it’s sorta hard imagining we’d make a list and be considered better than Paris, Melbourne, Venice and Barca, but come on, this was made my world travelers, and if I am anything close to that, I know I love the cities that are off-course, not the traditional tourist traps. So, it would make sense for lotsa folks to choose Beirut, after all, it is super-tiny, super-complicated, super-diverse and super-notorious when it comes to average folks, especially those in the Western Hemisphere of out Earth.