The back story
The white city on the water: reading Abu Dhabi’s great sights
The Grand Mosque, the Louvre’s dome, a fort of the 1760s and the islands: how to read Abu Dhabi.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsAbu Dhabi is an island city that has spread across its neighbours. The old town grew up around Qasr Al Hosn, a watchtower and fort whose oldest part dates from the 1760s; the city of the 1970s and after rose around it and along the Corniche.
Across the creek to the east stands the Grand Mosque; to the north, on Saadiyat Island, the museum district gathers the Louvre, Zayed National Museum, the Natural History Museum and, from December 2026, the Guggenheim. Yas Island has the theme parks and the Grand Prix circuit; the mangroves fringe the eastern shore.
The landmarks
The Grand Mosque is open to visitors who book an access pass online in advance; worshippers enter without one (szgmc.gov.ae). Qasr Al Hosn, the oldest stone building in the city, opens Saturday to Thursday from 9am to 8pm and on Friday from 2pm (qasralhosn.ae). Qasr Al Watan, the presidential palace, is open to visitors, with a dress code set out on its own site.
Saadiyat: the museum island
Louvre Abu Dhabi opened in 2017 under its silvery dome; Zayed National Museum and the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi now stand beside it, and a single museum pass covers all three (Visit Abu Dhabi). teamLab Phenomena is a few minutes away; the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi opens on 11 December 2026 (guggenheim.org).
Yas Island
Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World, Yas Waterworld and SeaWorld Yas Island sit within a short drive of each other, with the Yas Marina Circuit at the island’s heart.
Give the Grand Mosque a morning, the Saadiyat museums a day, and keep the late afternoon for the Corniche.
On the water
The Corniche runs for kilometres along the city’s western shore, with a lifeguarded beach in gated sections; Saadiyat and Yas have the long resort beaches; the kayaks go out into the mangroves on the eastern side.
Our advice: in the hotter months, see the domes at sunset and the theme parks by day, indoors.
Why it's on our list
- The landmarks
- Saadiyat: the museum island
- Yas Island
- On the water
- With children
Location
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More in depth
History & heritageAbu Dhabi: from the oases to the island capitalBronze Age tombs at Al Ain, a fort of the 1760s, a pearling town and the union of 1971.
The back storyUnder the dome: Abu Dhabi’s arts, from the Louvre to the GuggenheimThe Louvre’s rain of light, Zayed National Museum, 421, Frieze and the Abu Dhabi Festival.
The back storyWild Abu Dhabi: Flamingos, Mangroves, Turtles and OryxFlamingos at Al Wathba, kayaks in the mangroves, Saadiyat’s turtles and the oryx of Sir Bani Yas.