Downtown is the heart of Beirut, it has been restored after the civil war. there are banks, institution, coffee shops, restaurants, churches, mosques and ancient roman and others ruins.
It is definitely a place to be when you visit Beirut.
The service of the restaurants is remarkable, and when the weather is nice it is very good to stay outside.
All sorts of events happens near by some how!! so it is the center of life in Beirut.

It's the heart of Lebanon. Beirut was destroyed and rebuilt 7 times. whenever, there's an excavation we discover new ruins, and statues. Beirut now is newly rebuilt but it has kept the same ancient architecture. It's ranked among the best cities in the world.
You can for a walk along the cobbled streets where you can find restaurants from all over the world. You can eat Suchi and Spaghetti and have a Narguile. You can find Mosques and churches which dated to centuries ago. You can buy antiques and clothes designers. It's a cosmopolitan city. Tourists feel comfortable because the services there are excellent and the people are hospitable. Besides, the Lebanese speak at least 2 foreign languages.

Visit Beirut once and you'll always come back.

The central business district is a bit sterile as a pedestrian only area where many nice, but mostly overpriced restaurants are. The areas of Hamra and Gemmayze and along the Corniche are all much nicer IMO. Plenty of fun little spots to hang out and enjoy a drink or watch the sunset. Overall Beirut is a great mix of old and new, where billboards advertising lingerie and alcohol mix with the call to prayer form the mosques...weird and wonderful.

Most beautiful downtown in the world.