Doha
The much-anticipated opening of the National Museum of Qatar took place in March 2019. French architect Jean Nouvel's sprawling desert-rose-inspired…
Must-see attractions in Arabian Peninsula
Hajar Mountains
Marking the highest point along the paved road, this spectacular viewpoint overlooks the full reach of the Hajar mountain range. With little hint of the…
Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo
Downtown Dubai
Dubai Mall’s most mesmerising sight is this gargantuan aquarium where thousands of beasties flit and dart amid artificial coral. Sharks and rays are top…
Dubai
If you can build a ski slope in the desert, why not a rainforest too? The Green Planet is an indoor tropical paradise intended to 'edutain' about…
Doha
One of the best libraries in the world, this incredible, spaceship-like structure contains a literary wonderland of two million books, including ancient…
Doha
One of the best and most beautiful green spaces along the Doha waterfront, Museum of Islamic Art Park is home to Richard Serra's vertical steel sculpture,…
Downtown Dubai
This dancing fountain is spectacularly set in the middle of a giant lake against the backdrop of the glittering Burj Khalifa. Water undulates as…
Bur Dubai
In the early 1900s this historical area was Dubai's trading hub, during a period when the pearl diving industry was being developed. Stretching some 1.8km…
Dubai Marina & Palm Jumeirah
Paralleling the beachfront for about 1km, The Beach at JBR is an open-plan cluster of low-lying, urban-style buildings wrapped around breezy plazas…
Doha
One of Doha's best hangout spots, TaliaMare is set on a pretty beach, among pastel-coloured houses, and has a chilled-out vibe and music reminiscent of…
Dubai
Just north of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, this public beach (also known as Sunset Beach) is perfect for snapping that envy-inducing selfie with the Burj Al…
Deira
Steps from the Deira Old Souk abra station, the sound of Arabic chatter bounces around the lanes of this small covered market as vendors work hard to…
Doha
Visitors can walk through this sculpture, comprised of seven steel plates – a number with special spiritual significance in Qatari and Islamic culture –…
Saudi Arabia
The biggest miqat (pilgrim station) complex in Saudi Arabia, this fort-like mosque rises up like a North African kasbah on the southwestern edge of Medina…
Dubai Marina & Palm Jumeirah
This clean, wonderful playground has plenty of facilities, including showers, toilets and changing rooms housed in distinctive panelled pods. Kids can…
Oman
This spectacular wadi is a major artery through the mountains and often flows year-round with spring water. It looks particularly gorgeous when mountain…
Dubai Marina & Palm Jumeirah
Views of the mainland skyline are one of the most memorable aspects of a day at this family-orientated club at the swish Fairmont Hotel. Parents get to…
Oman
These government-protected rocky islands, around an hour’s boat ride off the Batinah coast, are rich in marine life and make an exciting destination for…
Dubai Marina & Palm Jumeirah
Stretching skyward for 307m, it may not be the tallest residential tower in the Dubai Marina, but it's certainly a building with twist: a 90-degree spiral…
Downtown Dubai
A pioneer on Dubai's gallery scene and one of the city's most exciting spaces for contemporary Middle Eastern art, the Third Line represents around 30…
Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum
Qatar
This museum offers the very rare opportunity to step onto a rich sheikh's property and take a peek at his personal belongings. Sheikh Faisal has spent a…
United Arab Emirates
Considered the oldest mosque in the UAE, this curvaceous, squat mud-brick structure dates to 1446. I's adorned with four pointed domes and rests on a…
Oman
The old part of Ibra is a honeycomb of crumbling mud-built houses of two or three storeys. There's a paved walkway of several kilometres through some of…
Oman
Like most other souqs in the country, this market place, arranged around a central courtyard, is at its most active early on a Thursday morning. What…
Hajar Mountains
Beside the village of Al Ayn, and arranged along a low, russet-coloured ridge, this string of tombs make a dramatic silhouette against Jebel Misht that…
Saudi Arabia
While the Empty Quarter gets all the attention, it is actually far easier to come upon the picturesque desert of romantic Arabia by visiting the beautiful…
Saudi Arabia
Rising some 3000m above Sarawat Valley, covered in juniper forests and famous for misty, cold weather, the Kingdom's tallest mountain is everything you…
Oman
With its string of emerald pools and thick plantations, Wadi Tiwi almost rivals its neighbour, Wadi Shab, in beauty, especially in spring when the…
Kuwait City
In the residential suburb of Qurain, this excellent small museum is a sobering memorial to a cell of young Kuwaitis who tried to resist Iraqi arrest in…
Jebel Shams
Affording one of the most lovely vistas in the Hajar Mountains, the abandoned village of Ghul dusts the shoulder of a cliff at the foot of Wadi Ghul, the…
Kuwait City
It's easy to spend a whole day in Kuwait's largest urban park, which has jogging and walking paths covering more than 2km. The green space contains…
Hajar Mountains
Slithering through the heart of the Hajar Mountains, this narrow slot canyon doesn't give up its secrets easily: in fact, it is hard to get a sense of its…
Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve
Dubai
On the outskirts of Sharjah, the 225 sq km Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve accounts for 5% of the Emirate of Dubai's total land. The reserve was…
Tareq Rajab Museum of Islamic Art
Kuwait City
A few blocks south of the Tareq Rajab Museum, this sister attraction is also housed in a villa. It has a seriously impressive and beautifully presented…
Northern Saudi Arabia
Jebel Al Lawz, rising 2580m above sea level, is one of the only accessible mountains in the Kingdom to experience snowfall in winter. This is what many…
Dhofar
The Sarfait road, which links Salalah with the Yemeni border via Mughsail, is one of Oman's many impressive engineering projects. Zigzagging nearly 1000m…
Doha
This exceptional modern exhibition space provides a home for international art with an Arab connection. Housed in an old school near Education City, the…
Northern Saudi Arabia
The Haddaj Well is an outstanding example of ancient engineering. It reportedly dates back to the Babylonian presence during the 6th century BC, and at…
Abu Dhabi
By far Abu Dhabi's nicest public beach. A boardwalk leads through a protected zone of coastal vegetation, home to nesting turtles, to this prime slice of…
Oman
Beyond the date plantations that surround Nakhal Fort, this hot spring emerges from the wadi walls and is directed into a falaj (immigration channel) for…
