Northern Coast
This 2km corniche, to the west of Seeb, has a landscaped area for walking, enjoying sea views, sniffing drying sardines and watching the fishermen mending…
Must-see attractions in Arabian Peninsula
Oman
Tucked into the unlit and crumbling old quarter of Rustaq, behind the fort, this unique museum is the personal project of the owner, Zakia Al Lamki. Left…
Exhibition of the Two Holy Mosques
Mecca
This little museum is brimming with relics from the two holy mosques, Al Masjid Al Haram in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. These include…
Kuwait City
This exceptional cultural centre has stunning galleries that contain some of the highlights of the world-class Al Sabah Collection, part of which was in…
Northern Saudi Arabia
The melancholy of Al Wajh's beautiful old Hejazi houses, as they stare wistfully out to sea, is apparent in every corner of the town's near-abandoned Al…
Jeddah
With so many traditional houses closed in Al Balad, this privately owned museum in a beautiful three-storey property with stunning Hejazi mashrabiyya …
Oman
This quirky little museum on the edge of the sands preserves the history of the Hijri Tribe, written in Arabic on goat skins. A collection of spears and…
Jeddah
Once a smelly, unpleasant stretch of coastline, the corniche in northern Jeddah has been transformed into a pleasant walkway and leisure space. There are…
Oman
This fortified residence has hosted royalty on two occasions in its 300-year history. Now the sensitively restored, mud-brick house has been converted…
Al Wusta
Scattered across the plain between Hwy 32 and the port, the wind-eroded rocks of Duqm are a striking feature that are well deserving of a visit. The soft…
Northern Coast
Between the main road and the sea, this traditional souq is housed under some makeshift awnings in a sandy-coloured complex of buildings just off the…
Dhofar
The most striking of all the springs scattered across the Salalah Plain, Ayn Razat flows copiously from the hillside at all times of year and rolls across…
Saudi Arabia
The Taif souq is one of the largest in Saudi Arabia and well worth a wander. Set in the tastefully renovated historic centre, where wonderful little…
Nizwa
Built over 12 years in the 17th century by Sultan Bin Saif Al Yaruba, the first imam of the Yaruba dynasty, Nizwa Fort is famed for its distinctive 40m…
Musandam
Located 24.5km southeast of Khasab, Khor Al Najd is the only khor (inlet) accessible by vehicle (preferably 4WD). You can camp on the rim of this wild bay…
Eastern Province
Ithra is a world-class cultural venue like no other in Saudi Arabia. The building resembles a space station, and is home to a cinema, a museum, exhibition…
Saudi Arabia
Like any flea market worthy of the name, here you'll find old rugs, vintage cameras, wires for contraptions you didn't know existed, and of course that…
Dubai
Opened in 2017, this striking modern museum engagingly chronicles the birth of the UAE in 1971, spurred by the discovery of oil in the 1950s and the…
Abu Dhabi
The waterfront Corniche, with its white sandy beaches and generous promenade, stretches the entire length of the northwest shore of the city. Giving…
Al Ain
This tranquil world of wide paths meandering past walled date-palm gardens, right in the centre of Al Ain, is a welcome respite from the city hubbub. The…
Bahrain
A 10-minute drive west of Manama, on an ancient tell (mound created by centuries of urban rebuilding), the majestic Bahrain Fort stares out across the…
Marina Breakwater
What the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is to the vertical, the Emirates Palace is to the horizontal, with audacious domed gatehouses and flying ramps to the foyer…
Ras Al Khaimah
The highest peak in the UAE at 1934m, Jebel Jais is even occasionally dusted with snow. A switchback road snakes up the mountainside delivering vistas of…
Nizwa
The site of one of the oldest souqs in the country, this extensive marketplace is dedicated mostly to fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, all of which…
Kuwait City
The Kuwait Towers, with their distinctive blue-green ‘sequins’, are the instantly recognisable symbols of the nation. Designed by a Swedish architectural…
Jeddah
This souq runs off Al Dahab St and is the most extensive in the Kingdom. The market stalls cut into the heart of the old city and buzz with the activity…
Saudi Arabia
Surrounded by a forest of palms, this quaint little Najd mud mosque, with its tall round minaret and engraved wood door, truly evokes the Saudi Arabia of…
Saudi Arabia
A pearling legacy, this mosque, built in 1928 by a wealthy pearl merchant, hints at the island's trade links with the subcontinent. The mosque's…
Al Bateen & Al Mushrif
Abu Dhabi's Mangrove National Park covers 19 sq km of protected coastal mangrove forests. A critical link in the coastal ecosystem, mangroves protect…
Hejaz Railway Station & Tabuk Museum
Tabuk
Tabuk's early-20th-century Hejaz Railway station is one of the best preserved in Saudi Arabia. There are 13 recently refurbished buildings spread over 80…
Tabuk
Dating to 1559, Tabuk Castle is now a museum, with several rooms housing some interesting historical artefacts from the Ottoman period and lots of signage…
Al Ula
There are plans to make this a formal tourist venue in the near future, but for now you can enjoy freely wandering among the beautiful mud ruins where…
Saudi Arabia
Start at the eastern edge of this area for a wonderful vista of the old mud and slate houses backing onto a fertile patchwork of greenery: this is what…
Saudi Arabia
This cultural village really embodies the artistic spirit of Asir. A mosque with stunning calligraphy graffiti sits surrounded by a series of small art…
Riyadh
Not for the faint-hearted or sufferers of vertigo, here high-speed lifts fly you at 180km/h to the 99th-floor Sky Bridge, inside the Kingdom Centre. The…
Dhofar
This remarkable rock formation affords the opportunity of seeing a living stalactite in the making without having to clamber through a cave to do so…
Al Tayibat City Museum for International Civilisation
Jeddah
This privately owned four-floor collection has displays ranging from pre-Islamic artefacts, exquisite Islamic manuscripts, old coins and weaponry to…
Marina Breakwater
Ride the lift to the 74th floor (your ears may pop along the way) for panoramic views looking down on the skyscrapers and coastline below. The '300'…
Northern Saudi Arabia
Often dubbed the 'second Petra', Madain Saleh, for many, is on a par with – if not more impressive than – its famous cousin across the border in Jordan…
Oman
Aptly named in Arabic as the ‘Gorge Between Cliffs’, Wadi Shab is one of the most lovely destinations in Oman, despite Hwy 17 slung across the entrance…
