Kuwait City
One of the largest aquariums in the Middle East is housed in this sail-shaped building. The giant spider crabs (3.8m leg to leg), fluorescent jellyfish…
Must-see attractions in Arabian Peninsula
Pearl Merchants' Neighbourhood
Saudi Arabia
Staring at the mesmerising geometric and floral designs of the carved patterns that adorn the houses and arched gateways of Farasan's former pearl…
Hajar Mountains
After many years of restoration, Bahla Fort, one of the largest in Oman, makes a grand sight looming over the sprawling modern settlement of Bahla. Built…
Muscat
In a beautifully restored house, this much-loved privately owned museum exhibits Omani heritage in thematic displays of traditional handicrafts, furniture…
Al Bateen & Al Mushrif
You almost walk away from this five-star urban park feeling like you've visited a museum. Manicured to perfection and full of design-forward and…
Doha
With its opaque waters and 800m golden-sand beach, the crescent-shaped Banana Island is one of the best excursions in Qatar, even if you're not staying at…
Riyadh
This state-of-the-art museum is one of the finest in the Middle East. Encased within modernist architecture, its two floors contain eight well-designed…
Bur Dubai
This nonprofit foundation runs the most dynamic cultural space in the Al Fahidi Historic District. Galleries showcasing traditional and cutting-edge works…
Saudi Arabia
The 'Abode of Silence', or the Empty Quarter, covers almost 655,000 sq km and evokes all that was romantic and forbidden for European adventurers, such as…
Muscat
Housed in an imposing new building in the heart of Old Muscat, the National Museum makes a fitting consort for the Sultan's Palace opposite. The emphasis…
Dubai
More than a dozen hot shots of the international street-art scene, including Aiko, Blek Le Rat, ROA and Nick Walker, have turned new urban-style quarter…
Downtown Dubai
Edgy contemporary art from the Middle East and beyond has found a home in Dubai thanks to the vision of Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal. The local developer…
Manama
Manama Souq is a warren of narrow streets and alleyways emanating south from Bab Al Bahrain. Here you can pick up everything from electronic goods and…
Dhofar
A popular picnic site during the khareef and a great place to enjoy the jebel in any season, Wadi Darbat is a grassy plateau in the hills marked by Oman's…
Oman
The 90 or so meticulously crafted stone towers scattered across the Selma Plateau are tombs dating back to the Umm An Nar culture of 2000 to 2700 BC…
Khasab
With its command of the bay sadly diminished since Lulu Hypermarket was built on reclaimed land opposite, Khasab Fort nonetheless cuts quite a dash with…
Kuwait City
For a brilliantly bizarre art-in-action experience, visit this residential house covered with mirror mosaics. It's the creation of gloriously eccentric…
Al Ain
This jagged 1240m-high limestone mountain rears out of the plain south of Al Ain. Its arid crags are home to red foxes, feral cats and the rock hyrax,…
Manama
The finest collection of ancient Qurans in the region, this wonderful homage to Islam's holiest book displays Qurans from almost every century since the…
Manama
This is Bahrain's grand mosque, built as a grand statement in honour of the founder of modern Bahrain, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Muhammad Bin Khalifa, who was…
Oman
Home to an extraordinary museum, this private castle houses the personal collection of Sheikh Khalfan Al Hashmi. His great grandfather owned the 250-year…
Al Hamra
This quirky museum is more open house than historical display. Three ladies accompany guests around their traditional house in the aged and crumbling…
Al Ain
Al Ain's remarkable zoo is the region's largest and most acclaimed; its spacious enclosures, inhabited by indigenous and exotic species, are impressively…
Al Ula
The views as you wind your way up to this gem of a spot offer glimpses of what's to come. At the top, the road plateaus through a windswept, lunar…
Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization
Sharjah
Just about everything you'd want to know about Islam is addressed in this museum set in a stunningly converted souq on the waterfront. The ground-floor…
Oman
This aged and revered mosque is difficult but rewarding to find. The low-lying prayer hall is unique due to its profusion of 52 domes. Non-Muslims aren't…
Oman
Justly famed for its natural beauty, this wadi just north of the town of Al Kamil makes a rewarding (and well-signposted) diversion off the Muscat–Sur…
Beit Sheikh Isa Bin Ali Al Khalifa
Bahrain
Offering a fascinating look at pre-oil life in Bahrain, this building was constructed around 1800 and is one of the finest examples of a traditional house…
United Arab Emirates
Snuggled between craggy mountain peaks which tumble straight down to the shore, this reservoir, built in the 1990s, is the main reason for a Hatta trip…
Dhofar
Looking across one of Dhofar's prettiest bays at peacefully grazing camels and flocks of flamingos, it’s hard to imagine that 2000 years ago Khor Rori was…
Bahrain
The completely restored Riffa Fort was built in 1812 by Sheikh Salman Bin Ahmad Al Fatih, the 19th-century ruler of Bahrain. A classic piece of Bahraini…
Northern Coast
Beyond Mutrah, the headland close to Muscat shatters into a series of khors (inlets) and bandars (natural harbours), the most extensive of which is Bandar…
Saudi Arabia
The mysterious and unique 'hanging village' of Al Habala is one of the genuine wonders of Saudi Arabia. This series of sandstone houses hewn from local…
Bahrain
There are more than 100,000 Dilmun-era burial mounds scattered across Bahrain, but none come close to the magnificence of these. That A'Ali was an…
Dhofar
The sands of the Empty Quarter begin to curl around the road on the approach to Al Hashman, then very quickly coddle into small mounds and ergs (wind…
Saudi Arabia
The result of an underground volcanic explosion, this spectacular crater in the middle of the desert measures 1.3km across and 200m deep. In the middle,…
Jeddah
Beautifully restored and maintained, this historic mosque, one of the finest in Jeddah, is named after one of the four great imams of classical Sunni…
Saudi Arabia
The ancient residents of Al Yanfa came up with a novel way to navigate their congested village built on an uneven hill: they created a network of warrens…
Dhofar
Oman’s most spectacular bay ends in a set of sheer cliffs that reaches towards the Yemeni border. Immediately below the start of these cliffs the rock…
Northern Coast
Looming over the village of Mazara and holding back a permanent body of water, the enormous Wadi Dayqah dam is the largest in Oman. A road winds up to the…
