On the longest stairway in the Middle East, 129 steps and 18 landings connect two of Beirut’s most vivid neighborhoods. The historic St. Nicholas staircase climbs from the trendy Gemmayze district up to Sursock, an elegant avenue lined with grand mansions and refined high-rises that reflect the city’s past and present gentry. Both neighborhoods still bear visible traces of the civil war that lasted from 1975 to 1990, yet many buildings—adorned with arched windows, ornamental ironwork and ornate cornices—evoke the lively, cosmopolitan atmosphere that once earned Beirut the nickname “the Paris of the Middle East.”
The staircase opens onto Gourand Road, one of the city’s liveliest streets—locally known simply as Main Street—where boutiques, cafés and clubs crowd the sidewalks. Street-level eateries serve everything from fresh croissants and sushi to pasta, sandwiches, pizza slices and burgers. A short walk west of the steps, the longtime local favorite café Le Chef offers daily specials of homemade dishes that locals often describe as “like my grandmother’s kitchen.” After dark, the street fills with people sipping cocktails and local beer, working on laptops in cozy clubs and dimly lit pubs.
About halfway up the stairs, the Grand Meshmosh café is a popular stop for visitors sampling turnip and fennel soup, eggplant moussaka and slices of dense carrot cake. Higher on the route, My Luxury Outlet sells elegant shoes, bags, luggage and leather goods from brands such as Longchamp, Lancel and Fratelli Rossetti at discount prices.
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At the top of the steps, signs mark the area as “Caractere Traditionnel.” Directly across the street stands the former Maison Tarazi, built in 1908, and a few doors away is the three-story 1912 villa of aristocratic art collector Nicolas Sursock, now a notable museum dedicated to regional and contemporary art. At night, stained glass windows are lit from within, and Sursock’s study—lined with books and mementos—and the ornate Oriental Arab Room, ringed with divans, recall the refined lifestyle that once dominated the neighborhood.
Nearby storefronts offer high-end art and antiques alongside the delicate mini-mosaic rings and brooches of jeweler Nada Le Cavalier. Around the corner at the far end of the street, the grand Metropolis Cinema continues to screen first-run American and international films, maintaining the area’s cultural pulse.