Abu Dhabi is spending more on cultural infrastructure than almost any city in the world — the Louvre (2017), the upcoming Guggenheim and Zayed National Museum on Saadiyat Island, and the restored Qasr Al Hosn palace. The result is a city that has gone from having almost no public museums to having some of the finest in the region in a single decade.
The permanent collection spans 12 gallery rooms, organized by theme (meeting worlds, universal religions, the spread of enlightenment) rather than chronology or origin. A Han Chinese lacquer box next to a Dutch still life next to an Ottoman manuscript — the most thought-provoking installation sequence in any museum I have visited.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe outdoor terrace café between the Louvre building and the Arabian Gulf has the best view of the dome from below the water channels that separate the buildings.
The Saadiyat Island cultural district includes Manarat Al Saadiyat — the exhibition and event space hosting international contemporary art and cultural presentations adjacent to the Louvre. Free and worth checking for current shows.
The Fouquet's restaurant in the Louvre Abu Dhabi building serves French cuisine with a terrace overlooking the Gulf. Part of the museum complex but a separate experience.
The moon-phase exterior lighting is the finest public light installation in the Gulf.
The most extravagant hotel lobby in the world for a final drink.
The 10:00 free guided tour (in English) is the best way to understand the Islamic architecture and the iconographic programme of the mosque — the 99 names of God in the mosaic panels, the symbolism of the domes, and the history of the construction.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideCafé Bateel (The Galleria mall) for the finest date-based products in the Gulf alongside excellent Arabic light cuisine. Dates are to Abu Dhabi what olives are to Tuscany — essential, in 100 varieties.
The Al Hosn Museum tells the story of Abu Dhabi from a 1790 watchtower to a 21st-century global city in 8 galleries — the pearl diving era, the discovery of oil (1958), and the transformation of the emirate under the founding Zayed (died 2004).
The Abu Dhabi Heritage Village on the Corniche (Breakwater) is a reconstructed traditional UAE village — craftspeople making palm leaf baskets, potters, and the exhibition of pre-oil Emirati life. Atmospheric at dusk.
The finest Lebanese restaurant in Abu Dhabi — mezze, kibbeh nayyeh, grilled halloumi and the most comprehensive Lebanese wine list in the UAE.
The most beautiful time to be on the Abu Dhabi Corniche — the lit towers in the Gulf water, the sea breeze and silence.