[LCM Articles] Beirut among "New Arrivals" (BusinessWeek)

[Ziad Al Bawab]

should we proud about this? although it is nice and modernity in this way is
a plus too, yet economic, educational, cultural... reforms and investments
are more promising for the future i guess!!




> > New Arrivals
> > St Tropez? Passé. Ibiza? So over. The hottest spots for bars and
> > clubs in Europe right now are not where you'd expect...
> >
> http://www.businessweek.com/@@jD6DRocQJ8oYwxwA/magazine/content/05_48/b3961413.htm
> >
> > Beirut
> > Vibrant Beirut was at one time the Paris of the Middle East, a magnet
> > for nightclubbing hedonists from East and West. A long civil war
> > tarnished its cosmopolitan character yet, in the 15 years since the
> > ceasefire, Beirut has rebuilt its reputation for fun in the sun. The
> > bustling playground of the Levant is swinging harder than ever, alive
> > with alfresco cafes, designer shops, exclusive beach clubs and
> > all-night clubs.
> >
> > The best place to start a long, heady night is around the pool of the
> > swanky open-air Sky Bar at the top of the Palm Beach Hotel (Ain
> > el-Mreisseh; +961 (0) 1 369 113), which offers cocktails, DJs playing
> > loungey sounds, and magnificent views across the Med.
> >
> > Stunning Lebanese girls, flashy local celebrities and monied
> > businessmen then move on to Zinc (37 Seifeddine el-Khatib Street;
> > +961(0) 1 612 612), a classy, dimly lit restaurant and bar in a
> > French colonial villa that was taken and retaken so many times during
> > the war that it was eventually nicknamed the "Bitch of Beirut".
> >
> > After midnight, revellers head to Monot Street, a hilly road lined
> > with bars and clubs that lies beside the infamous Green Line, which
> > once divided Christian East Beirut fromthe Muslim West. Here, the
> > party continues at a knowingly war-themed bar called 1975 (Monot
> > Street; +961 (0) 3 323 700), named after the year that the fighting
> > kicked off. Inside, mortar shells stand on the bar, fake sandbags are
> > piled up in the windows, and the waiters wear fatigues and combat
> > helmets, while your drinks are served in old ammunition boxes.
> >
> > Near to Monot Street is the plush and baroque Crystal (243 Monot
> > Street; +961 (0) 1 332 523), Beirut's largest and flashiest club.
> > Dressing up is positively encouraged here. Whenever a punter buys one
> > of the ?2,500, nine-litre bottles of Moët & Chandon, the music stops,
> > a spotlight is beamed onto them and an anthem is played as two
> > waiters carry over their order.
> >
> > Hottest Spots for bars in EuropeThe late-night partying continues
> > until 7am at the legendary BO18 (Lot 317, La Quarantaine; +961 (0) 3
> > 800 018), a rather eerie underground bunker that looks like a cross
> > between a bomb shelter and a mausoleum. The club has a domed roof
> > that retracts to allow the ravers to dance to house and techno under
> > the warm, starry sky.
> >
> > Lisbon
> > The fun and friendly Portuguese capital has undergone a quiet
> > renaissance in the past few years, transforming itself from a
> > charming backwater into one of Europe's most vibrant cities. Lisbon
> > has elegant avenues, soulful fado music, clanking yellow trams and
> > nearby beaches, and now boasts a great-value, all-night party vibe
> > that puts Barcelona and Madrid to shame.
> >
> > Cool and casual locals, flashy African dudes, beautiful Brazilian
> > girls and super-smart Euro-weekenders kick off long evenings in the
> > busy bars of the historic Barrio Alto area, then head out to the
> > redeveloped Docas district for offbeat clubs located in converted
> > dockside warehouses.
> >
> > Hippest stop-off is the Alcântara Café (15 Rua Maria Luisa
> > Holstein;+351 (0)21 363 7176; <http://www.alcantaracafe.com>
> > www.alcantaracafe.com), a bar and restaurant in a capacious former
> > printing works. Decorated with ruby velvet drapes, sweeping ceiling
> > fans, oversized mirrors and a glam Art Deco flourish, the
> > industrially chic Alcâ ntara has a vast, high-ceilinged dining room,
> > a bar serving the best caipirin has in the city and a dance floor
> > playing house and electronica (check out the club's eponymous CD for
> > a preview).
> >
> > The hip crowd then dance all night at Lux (Avenida Infante D
> > Henrique; +351 (0)21 882 0890;  <http://www.luxfragil.com>
> > www.luxfragil.com), a club in a labyrinthine riverside warehouse
> > complex part-owned by John Malkovich. Lux's main dance floor hosts
> > superstar DJs such as St Germain and Dorfmeister. A large
> > retro-styled upstairs bar has balconies, chill-out zones, Sixties
> > sofas and video projections. There's also a rooftop terrace. Next
> > day, clubbers siesta in the sun on the beaches at Estoril and
> > Cascais, a short train ride away.
> >
> > Berlin
> > Not since the decadent Thirties has Berlin's nightlife burned so
> > brightly. The city's vibrant club scene blossomed out of the derelict
> > buildings of the former East Berlin back in the early Nineties and
> > has been thriving since. The Euro-home of a certain renegade edge and
> > freeform kookiness, boomtown Berlin's bar and club scene has never
> > been hotter, especially among the artist, designer and fashion crowds.
> >
> > Clubbers meet early evening at White Trash (201 Torstrasse), an old
> > Chinese restaurant crossed with a Tex-Mex cowboy diner, where
> > bohemian types mingle with transvestites and biker gangs (the owner
> > is a motorcycle-riding, tattooed American). They move on to Greenwich
> > (5 Gipsstrasse, Mitte; +49 (0)30 2809 5566), a laidback cocktail bar
> > decorated with cowhide panels and illuminated fish tanks framed with
> > lime-coloured leather, or Universum Lounge (153 Kurfürstendamm; +49
> > (0)30 8906 4995), a glam former Bauhaus cinema with sleek, space-age
> > furnishings and gold lunar-landscape wallpaper.
> >
> > All-night ravers then head for the emergency services-themed
> > Ambulance Bar (27 Oranienburger Strasse, Mitte), a lounge-style DJ
> > bar, or Dangerous Drums ( <http://www.dangerous-drums.de>
> > www.dangerous-drums.de), a roaming techno and breakbeats night found
> > at the Pfefferbank club (176 Schönhauser Allee).
> >
> > Very late (after 8am), dedicated revellers drop into the infamous
> > KitKatClub (2-14 Bessemerstrasse), a leather-and-chains SM nightclub
> > that hosts a hip after-hours party, and then finally on to Cafe
> > Einstein (5 Kurfurstenstrasse; +49 (0)30 261 5096), a historic
> > Viennese-style coffee house that serves all-day breakfasts.
> >
> > Moscow
> > Fifteen years of the Russian free market revolution has created a
> > sybaritic and super-rich class of New Muscovites with an unbridled
> > passion for partying and the high life. Moscow's nightlife scene
> > buzzes with nouveaux riches young millionaires, gorgeous Russian
> > society girls and louche Euro jet-setters. This hot entrepreneurial
> > city overflows with Bentleys, Prada, caviar, Champagne and ice-cold
> > Stoli.
> >
> > The in-crowd mingle at the "eclectically baroque and decadently
> > maximalist" bar and restaurant Milk &Honey (38 Ulitsa Myasnitskaya;
> > +7 (0) 095 928 9947). The colourful and kitsch interior is a playful
> > riot of Victorian antiques, red velvet curtains, crystal chandeliers
> > and gilt-edged mirrors. Vodka shots and Champagne -- either vintage
> > Moët or Cristal Rosé, by the magnum of course -- are de rigueur in
> > the downstairs bar, where on any given night the fashion-conscious
> > rub shoulders with Russia's artists and thinkers and the place buzzes
> > with conversation.
> >
> > Drinkers stay to eat in the restaurant, serving delicious French food
> > from chef Charles Lefebre, before party people move on to the
> > ostentatious and staggeringly expensive new VIP venue Osen (3
> > Teatralny Proyezd; +7 (0)095 921 9888), or to Cabaret (8a Strastnoi
> > Bulvar; +7 (0)095 789 8315), a club designed by the team behind Caves
> > du Roy in St Tropez. But be warned -- both clubs practise Moscow's
> > infamous "face control" door policy.
> >
> > Serious ravers finish with breakfast at Mix (11 Novinsky Bulvar; +7
> > (0)095 255 4333), a favourite after-hours club that stays open until
> > the very last punter decides to leave -- often as late as 3pm the
> > following afternoon.
> >
> >
> >
> > By Philip Watson
> > (
> http://www.businessweek.com/@@jD6DRocQJ8oYwxwA/magazine/content/05_48/b3961413.htm
> )
> >
> >
>
>
>
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