Known as the city of the Sun, or Heliopolis, under the Roman Empire, the city of Baalbeck is one of the most important in Lebanon. Nestled in the heart of the Bekaa, it is located 85 km from the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Capital of the Baalbeck-Hermel governorate, it has nearly 200,000 inhabitants (60,000 Syrian refugees and 10,000 Palestinian refugees). Rich in its history and heritage, Baalbeck is home to one of the most impressive relics of the Greek-Roman era, and the best preserved. The site, which is in on the UNESCO World Heritage List, includes the temples of Bacchus, Jupiter and Venus, as well as ruins of priceless wealth. At the heart of its historic citadel is where the International Festival of Baalbeck is held annually. Created in 1965, the first of its kind in Lebanon, whereby it has housed the greatest international artists. The city also contains a mosque, a khan, a market, a historical park, a serail, which became the headquarters of the municipality, a historic hotel, the Palmyra Hotel, as well as ruins dating from the Arab conquests. On one side is the ancient face of the city, and on the other, its modern facet in perpetual development. With a focus on the development of the city in all its sectors, Baalbeck attaches particular importance to education, through the promotion of public schools and the Lebanese University, the only public institution dedicated to higher education in Lebanon.

Branding culture and sports as tools for human development, especially with youth, Baalbeck has started a project for the development of a sports policy, in collaboration with the French city of Aix-en-Provence, the second phase of which will continue in 2019-2020.

Focusing on its finery and its specificities, Baalbeck intends to attract the attention of the greatest number of visitors through the organization of cultural events and the development of local tourism. In addition, the city is the recipient of the prestigious Tehran Golden Adobe Award (2016) for its Baalbeck reconstruction project.

In its policy of international openness, thanks to the efforts of the president of the municipality, Mr. Fouad Balouk, and his team, Baalbeck is affiliated to many cities in the world, through numerous agreements and partnerships, and has memberships in several international organizations. It is a member of the network of Euromed Cities, the Network of Historic and Archaeological Cities, of which it is President, the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities, the Organization of Arab Cities, and the International Association of Francophone Mayors.

Eager to further develop its municipal action for the well-being of its citizens, Baalbeck is currently in talks with the city of Liège for a cooperation project. Among other projects on the table: a project in partnership with the World Bank for the restoration of the souks of the city, and another in partnership with the network of cities Euromed and the Ministry of Commerce for the fight against pollution of the water of the Litani river.