Beirut is vibrant and exciting, the energy is contagious and the people are so welcoming. From the minute you land in this crazy city, you can’t help but smile to yourself at the perpetual sound of honking horns, chaotic traffic and dazzling heat. You can’t even walk for two minutes along the pavement without some obstacle forcing you onto the road. The city is madness, but it’s exciting, electric and alive.

Even though the city feels somewhat frantic and noisy, there’s always somewhere to escape the hustle and bustle. One of my favourite places I found was Kalei Coffee which had an outdoor terrace with slouchy chairs, hammocks and a canopy of trees overhead. But in Beirut a shady spot can always be found on a park bench under a bougainvillea tree.

When I say the locals are friendly, I don’t mean that they just smile at you on the street, I mean that they go above and beyond to ensure you’re having the best time in their country. On one occasion, an Uber driver was driving us to a nightclub that we feared might have been closed due to protests. Sadly it was, but he waited for us and then turned off the metre and drove to every other nightclub in the vicinity to try and find one that was open. When we succumbed to the fact that they were all closed, he took us to Lebanon’s most loved dessert house and treated us to his favourite desserts. I experienced this kind of hospitality from perfect strangers on many occasions – the locals really are the friendliest I’ve encountered.

It goes without saying that Lebanese cuisine is incredible. It’s a mix of Middle Eastern, Armenian and Mediterranean meaning you could live in this country for months and not eat the same dish twice. Their salads are bursting with herbs and flavour, their style of 'fattet' hummus is the creamiest hummus around and their kanafeh dessert is the most decadent sweet treat of all time.

If you thought the city was alive in the daytime, just wait until sunset to see it really come to life. Locals spill out of bars onto the streets, kiosks serve up everyone’s favourite basil smash cocktail and nightclubs open into the early hours of the morning. Beirutis love to party, so much so that even when the country was at war, they simply cranked up the music and carried on partying, or so they say.

With mountains to one side and the Mediterranean to the other, Lebanon is a beautiful country and definitely an underrated one. Ancient towns line the Med, with Roman ruins and sweeping views over the sea and timeworn villages are scattered through the mountains. Sadly four nights only allowed me to see Beirut and Byblos, but I would love to return to do the whole country justice.