Founded in 1866 by American missionaries, AUB is one of the oldest English-language universities in the world outside the United States. Its hillside campus in Ras Beirut, with stone Ottoman buildings, terraced gardens, and a sweep down to the sea, is one of the loveliest urban green spaces in the Middle East.
Visitors can enter through the main gate on Bliss Street after showing ID. Walk through Ada Dodge Hall, past the green lawn outside College Hall, and on down to the lower campus to find the seaside terrace. The on-campus archaeological museum is worth a stop. Allow an hour and a half.