Local Food in Byblos: A Day Trip Through Lebanon’s Old Port
Eight thousand years of history, a harbour full of fishing boats and a seafood lunch to match. Here is how to eat your way through Byblos in a day.
- Region
- Byblos (Jbeil), Mount Lebanon
- Time needed
- A full day
- Best time to visit
- April to June, September to November
Byblos (Jbeil in Arabic) is about 40 km north of Beirut and one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns on earth: people have lived on this headland for around 8,000 years. It is also one of the most pleasant places in Lebanon to spend a day eating. The old town is small and pedestrian, the harbour is lined with seafood terraces, and the hills behind it are full of producers making wine, honey and goat cheese.
This guide is built around meals, with the ruins, souk and harbour fitted in between. It works as an easy day trip from Beirut.
What to eat in Byblos
- Man’oushe and ka’ak: breakfast flatbreads with za’atar, cheese or kishk, and sesame ka’ak bread from street carts.
- Seafood mezze: fried calamari, shrimp, sea bream and red mullet by the harbour, with tahini sauce, fried pita and lemon.
- Classic mezze: hummus, tabbouleh, moutabbal, fattoush, kibbeh and grilled halloumi.
- Knefeh and booza: warm cheese knefeh in sesame bread for breakfast or dessert, and stretchy Lebanese ice cream with mastic and pistachio.
- Local wine: from the Byblos and Batroun hills, a short drive away.
A suggested day
Morning: breakfast and the ruins
Arrive early, park near the old town and have man’oushe or a cheese knefeh from one of the bakeries around the souk. Then head to the Byblos archaeological site when it opens. In one walk you pass Bronze Age temples, the Obelisk Temple, Persian fortifications, the royal Phoenician tombs, a small Roman theatre facing the sea and a Crusader castle. Climb the castle first for the view, then walk down through the layers. The Ahiram sarcophagus, carved with the oldest known Phoenician inscription, was found here; it is now in the National Museum in Beirut.
Midday: the old souk
Walk back through the restored old souk, with its stone arches and small craft shops. Memory of Time sells fish fossils from the nearby hills, and Gibran’s Lebanon stocks Lebanese books and design. Look into the 12th-century Crusader church of St John Mark on the way down to the port.
Lunch: seafood at the harbour
The small harbour, with its fishing boats and old Crusader tower, is the natural place for lunch. Pepe’s Byblos Fishing Club has served seafood here since 1962 on a terrace overlooking the boats, and it is part of the town’s story. For something more modern, Feniqia serves contemporary Lebanese food in a refined setting, and Locanda a la Granda offers a terrace and its own beer. If you want a hotel table, Byblos Sur Mer has seafood dining by the water, within walking distance of the ruins.
Afternoon: up to the hills
Drive 20 minutes inland to Ghalboun for a tasting at Domaine St Gabriel, a family winery on land first settled in 1926. On the way back, stop for ice cream in the souk.
Evening: sunset at the port
Return to the harbour for sunset, when the old stones turn orange and the town fills with families out for a walk. In summer, check the programme of the Byblos International Festival, which stages concerts beside the castle and ruins.
Short on time?
If you only have half a day, skip the winery and keep it simple: breakfast in the souk, one hour in the archaeological site, then a long seafood lunch at the harbour. That covers the three things Byblos does best. With children, the castle ramparts and the boats in the harbour usually win, and the pedestrian lanes of the old town are easy with a stroller in the lower part, though cobbles get rough higher up. Couples should stay for sunset instead: once the day-trippers leave, the harbour becomes one of the most romantic spots on the Lebanese coast, and the walk back through the lit souk is the perfect end to the day.
Food to take home
The Byblos district is a good place to stock your pantry. Adonis Valley, an organic farm in Fatri, makes honey, tahini, pomegranate molasses and tomato paste. Up in Annaya, Goût Blanc makes goat labneh, halloum and French-style goat cheese. Both are perfect for a mezze at home.
Where to stay
For a night by the sea, Byblos Sur Mer is a quiet, romantic hotel close to the ruins, and Aleph Boutique Hotel sits in the historic centre. L’Hôtel de Mon Père is a family-run boutique hotel with 17 rooms.
Practical tips
- The archaeological site has little shade. Visit early, bring water and wear a hat from May to October.
- Harbour restaurants fill up on summer weekends. Book lunch, or eat early.
- Seafood is often priced by weight. Ask before you order so there are no surprises.
- The old souk is pedestrian and cobbled, so wear flat shoes.
Nearby
- Batroun: 20 minutes north, for lemonade and wine. See our Batroun food guide.
- Nahr el Kalb: on the way back to Beirut, cliffs carved with inscriptions by armies over 3,000 years.
- More Byblos: our family guide to Byblos covers what to do with kids.
