Abu Dhabi

White marble is inlaid with flower patterns, and the prayer hall carpet is a single piece of 5627 square metres. The dress rules are strict, and a robe is handed out at the door.

More than eight thousand openings in the dome let the light fall like rain. The galleries run by period rather than by civilisation, so objects of the same age stand together.

Part of the presidential palace is open, and the hall under the dome stands 37m high. Its library gathers facsimiles of Arabic scientific manuscripts.

Eight kilometres of separated walking and cycling paths follow the sea. The sand was brought in to make the beach, and the water stays shallow and calm.

The oldest building in the city, grown from a watchtower of the 1760s. A wall is cut open in section to show how earth and coral were built up.

One island gathers indoor theme parks and water parks together. Being indoors makes summer bearable, which is when the crowds arrive.

Kayaks thread the mangrove forest on the eastern side of the city. The water is shallow and quiet, so the birds stay put as you pass.

An old settlement is rebuilt on a spit facing the city skyline across the water. Smiths and potters work in it rather than standing as displays.

A hospital treating hunting falcons takes visitors on a round. It is here that you hear how a falcon travels by plane on its own passport.

White sand runs along a stretch where turtles come ashore to nest. During the laying season that part is closed off and the lights go out at night.

A palace-style hotel opened in 2005 and run by Mandarin Oriental since 2020. Without a room you can still use the lobby cafe, known for a cappuccino dusted with gold flakes. With gilding everywhere inside, neat clothes suit it better than shorts.

Home of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2009, usually the final race of the F1 season. The W hotel straddles the track under its lattice canopy. On some evenings without racing, the tarmac opens to cyclists and runners.

Opened on Saadiyat Island in 2023, it sets a mosque, a church and a synagogue side by side as cubes of equal size. All three share a single garden. Visits are booked in advance, and modest clothing is expected.

Boardwalks laid over the mangrove forest of Jubail Island, opened in 2020. When the tide drains, crabs scuttle over the mud and herons stalk for food. It shows the mangroves on foot rather than by kayak, which suits families with children.

Salt wetland out in the desert south-east of the city, home to flocks of flamingos. It is noted as a rare Gulf site where they actually breed. Walking is limited to marked paths out to the viewing points with telescopes.

Sand dunes cemented by lime and then carved by wind into ripples and mushroom-shaped rocks. The area is protected, with a walkway laid around it. Low sun in the morning and near sunset brings the grain out best.

A memorial garden to Sheikh Zayed, opened in 2018. At its heart, 1,327 suspended shapes come together into his face when seen from the right spot. After dark each piece lights up and the portrait sharpens.

A memorial to those who died serving the nation, built in 2016 across the road from the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. Thirty-one giant tablets lean against one another, carved with verse and quotations. Many come to see the mosque mirrored in the pool beside them.

A district near the airport begun as an experiment in a low-carbon city. Buildings huddle close to shade the lanes, and a wind tower in the square pulls breezes down from above. Research institutes and a university fill it, so weekends are quiet.

A bridge by Zaha Hadid, opened in 2010, linking the island city to the mainland. Its arches rise and fall like waves, echoing desert dunes. At night they glow in shifting colours, and people gather on the shore to watch.

The national museum of the Saadiyat Cultural District, opened in December 2025 and designed by Foster + Partners. Five towers shaped like falcon wings work as chimneys that cool the building. On show is an 18m Bronze Age boat rebuilt the old way.

A natural history museum that opened on Saadiyat Island in November 2025. Stan, a near-complete Tyrannosaurus rex, and a 25m blue whale skeleton are on show. Matter older than the Earth itself, such as a fragment of the Murchison meteorite, is there too.