The night, often competing to assert its significance alongside the day, matters. This almost forgotten temporal dimension exists as a natural condition of our existence, consisting half of it. Human behavior is powerfully shaped by this time alteration, where day is accorded productivity and night is reduced to fear and pleasure. However, the night holds much greater depths, thus affecting accordingly the dynamics of our nocturnal urban realm. This thesis delves deeper into the urban nightscapes, framing the city at night through a complex multilayered understanding. A dual literature review puts in evidence the contrast of the nocturnal layers in both western countries and in the city of Beirut.