Everyday practical information for Lebanon

Power is the daily fact

• Lebanon's power plants produce only limited electricity for the national grid, so power cuts are routine and many businesses run on their own generators. Provision varies from street to street.
• Have a torch to hand at night, and work out how you would leave your accommodation in the dark before you need to. That is the FCDO's own advice and it is unusually specific.
• Streetlights often do not work, which is why both governments treat walking at night as a judgement call rather than a default.
• Traffic lights fail with the grid, including at major intersections in the city centre. Cross carefully.

Power sockets

• Type C and type F, at 230 V and 50 Hz. Most sockets in Lebanon are hybrid and will also take a type A flat-pin plug.
• A UK plug needs an adapter; most of Europe does not.

Custom and courtesy

• Lebanon is religiously diverse, with many Muslim and Christian communities. Respect local traditions and take your cue from the neighbourhood you are in rather than from the country as a whole.
• Dress codes are more relaxed than in most of the region, but dress modestly at religious sites.
• During Ramadan, be discreet about eating, drinking, smoking and chewing gum in public during daylight, including in a car, and check opening hours before you set out.
• Avoid photographing people without asking.