Batroun (البترون‎ al-Batrun in Arabic) is a small coastal city in northern Lebanon, located 50km northwest of Beirut. The city has been settled at least since Phoenician times; a remnant of that era is the large, 225m long Phoenician wall along the coast. In Greek times Batroun was called Botrys. In 551 AD a large earthquake destroyed the city and created the large natural harbour.
Batroun is not as famous as Byblos or other UNESCO sites in Lebanon, but has an attractive historic core with many old buildings and several churches. It is a major tourist centre with many hotels and restaurants. Besides the Phoenician wall, among the sights are the picturesque Our Lady of the Sea (Sadiyat al-Bahr) Greek Orthodox church. Overlooking the harbour is the St Stephen's Christian Maronite Cathedral, which was completed in 1860. The Our Lady of Nourieh monastery is a 17th century Greek Orthodox Marian shrine located 6km north of Batroun on a 287m high cape overlooking the Mediterranean sea.
How to get to Batroun
Batroun can be reached by car (50 km, about 50 minutes), bus or shared taxi from Beirut. It can be easily visited as a daytrip from Beirut.
Accommodation
There are a number of hotels in Batroun, mostly of the mid-range resort type. The city is popular with tourists.
01 Sawary beach hotel 02 St Stephen cathedral 03 St Stephen cathedral at dusk 04 St Stephen cathedral 05 St Stephen cathedral
06 Harbour 07 Auberge de la mer hotel 08 St Stephen cathedral 09 St Stephen cathedral 10 Saydet Al Seha church
11 Phoenician wall 12 Our Lady of the Sea church 13 Chandelier in Our Lady of the Sea church 14 Our Lady of the Sea church
15 Phoenician wall 16 Our Lady of the Sea church 17 Our Lady of the Sea church 18 Clock tower of Our Lady of the Sea church
19 Coast with rocks and Phoenician wall 20 Phoenician wall 21 Phoenician wall
22 Phoenician wall 23 Harbour 24 St Stephen cathedral
25 Harbour 26 Pelican 27 Pelican 28 Statue of sponge diver
29 Harbour 30 Old town alley 31 Saydet Al Seha church 32 Our Lady of Nourieh monastery 33 Our Lady of Nourieh monastery
34 Our Lady of Nourieh monastery 35 Lebanese coastline 36 Our Lady of Nourieh monastery 37 Our Lady of Nourieh monastery
38 Our Lady of Nourieh monastery 39 Our Lady of Nourieh monastery 40 Our Lady of Nourieh monastery 41 Our Lady of Nourieh monastery
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