Beirut is not one riding city, it is several small ones that happen to sit next to each other, and they do not reward the same ride. The seafront is flat, open and long. The Souks are flat, shaded and closed to cars. The old centre is stone, handsome and better once the offices empty. One of our stands is not in Beirut at all.
So the honest way to answer where to ride is to answer it from each stand in turn. Below is what you get from each one: what you are standing on, what else is going on around you, which hour of the day it belongs to, and whether it suits someone on their first scooter or someone on their fiftieth. We have deliberately not put distances or ride times on any of it. We do not measure them, and a number we made up would be worse than no number.
From BIEL Waterfront
BIEL Waterfront, Downtown Beirut
What you ride on. The promenade is wide and the paving runs on without interruption, so you are not weaving around anything and you are never asked to share with traffic. There is open sea on one side the whole way, which is the single best reason to ride here rather than anywhere else.
When to go. Late afternoon into the night. The heat comes off the water first, the promenade fills up with walkers and runners once it does, and downtown stays open late enough that you are not rushed.
Who it suits. Everybody. A first-timer gets a straight flat line with nothing to dodge, which is the easiest possible place to stop thinking about your feet. A confident rider gets a long, uninterrupted run of good paving. It is also the stand that carries the whole fleet, so it is the one to come to if you want the choice, or you are turning up as a group.
The rides from here
- The waterfront promenade — Wide, flat and open to the sea for its whole length. The ride most people picture when they think about a scooter in Beirut, and the easiest one to do badly-dressed for exercise.
- Zaitunay Bay — The marina boardwalk — boats on one side, cafés on the other, and paving smooth enough that you can look around instead of at the ground.
- Ain El Mreisseh and the Corniche — Keep going west from the waterfront and you pick up the Corniche, the long sea-facing walk that Beirut actually uses in the evenings.
BIEL Waterfront — hours, directions and what is on the stand
From Beirut Souks
Ajami Square, Beirut Souks · Premium only.
What you ride on. Flat, properly paved and closed to cars. The walkways are level enough that a wobble costs you nothing, and there is tree cover over most of them. This is the forgiving option and it is not a consolation prize — it is genuinely pleasant riding.
When to go. Any time we are open, and it works in the middle of a hot afternoon, because the shade does what the open waterfront cannot.
Who it suits. First-timers, anyone riding with children, and anyone who wants to get the hang of the throttle somewhere with no consequences before taking it near the sea. If you have never stood on a scooter, start here and nowhere else.
The rides from here
- Beirut Souks — Car-free, level and shaded. The place to ride if you are learning, riding with children, or out in the middle of a hot afternoon.
From Centreville
Khan Antoun Bey Square, Beirut Souks · Premium only.
What you ride on. The square is wide and level. The streets leading off it are the old stone centre — handsome, and less forgiving underfoot than promenade paving. Joins, kerb ramps and polished stone all want a bit more attention from you.
When to go. Evening, by design. The stand only opens in the evening and that is exactly right: the working day empties out of downtown, the streets quieten, and the light on the stone is the reason to be there.
Who it suits. Riders who have already found their balance. This is a looking-around ride rather than a moving-fast ride, and the surface rewards someone who is comfortable braking early. If this is your first evening on a scooter, do a lap of the Souks first.
The rides from here
- Downtown and Nejmeh Square — The old centre: Nejmeh Square, the clock tower, the colonnades and the stone streets between them. Best after six, when it empties out.
- Gemmayzeh — East of the centre, stairs and balconies and bars. Hillier than the waterfront and worth the trip for how different it feels.
- Mar Mikhael — Keep east past Gemmayzeh for workshops, galleries and the busiest nights in the city. Ask us about the route before you set off.
From Zaarour Club
Zaarour Club, Metn District · Summer only — June to August
What you ride on. Not a city ride at all. A path round the lake instead of paving and promenade, cooler air, and far less going on around you. The scenery does the work here rather than the architecture.
When to go. Daytime. We open in the morning and pack up in the early evening, which is when the light over the water is best anyway.
Who it suits. Anyone who wants out of Beirut for a day. It is the one ride on this list that is about the air and the view rather than the city, and the one with a season attached to it — check that before you drive up.
There is no list of onward rides here because there does not need to be one. You ride the path round the water, you stop when you want to look at it, and that is the afternoon. Ask at the stand if you want to go further than the lake.
Picking one
If you are standing somewhere in downtown with an hour spare, the decision is simpler than this guide makes it look. Ask yourself two questions: how confident are you, and what time is it. Confidence picks the surface; the clock picks the stand, because not all of them are open at the same hours.
- Beirut Souks — You have never stood on a scooter, or you are riding with children.
- BIEL Waterfront — You want the sea, and a long uninterrupted run of good paving.
- Centreville — It is evening and you would rather ride the old city than the shoreline.
- Zaarour Club — You want to be out of Beirut altogether, and it is the right time of year.
And if you get it wrong, it costs you nothing much. The downtown stands are close enough together that riding from one part of the centre to another is a normal part of the ride rather than a correction. The worst outcome is that you discover which kind of riding you actually like, which was the point.
Nothing here needs booking. Walk up to whichever stand you have picked during its opening hours, or message us first if you would rather know what is on it before you make the trip.
Read next
Rental-grade vs personal electric scooters, and A first-time rider’s guide.
Or go straight to the practical pages: every ride on one screen, all our stands and the two scooters and what they cost.