Attraction
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Abu Dhabi's great white mosque, inaugurated in 2007, with 82 domes, four minarets, a vast hand-knotted carpet and free guided cultural tours for visitors.
There are more things to do in Abu Dhabi than many visitors expect from the UAE capital. The city is spread across a group of islands, and its sights range from the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Qasr Al Watan, the presidential palace, to Qasr Al Hosn, the fort where the modern city began. On Saadiyat Island, the Cultural District brings together Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Zayed National Museum, the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and the Abrahamic Family House, while Yas Island is home to Ferrari World, Warner Bros. World, SeaWorld and Yas Marina Circuit.
The main areas for visitors are the Corniche and downtown on Abu Dhabi island, the beach resorts and museums of Saadiyat, and the theme parks and marina of Yas. Food is a real strength, with a Michelin Guide that covers modern Emirati cooking at Erth, good-value Emirati classics at Al Mrzab and Meylas, and plenty of Lebanese, Japanese and Asian restaurants. Three days cover the city and Saadiyat, and a fourth or fifth allows time for Yas Island, the mangroves or a night in the desert.
Attraction
Abu Dhabi's great white mosque, inaugurated in 2007, with 82 domes, four minarets, a vast hand-knotted carpet and free guided cultural tours for visitors.
Attraction
Jean Nouvel's museum on Saadiyat Island, opened in 2017 under a dome of 7,850 aluminium stars, telling the story of human creativity across cultures and eras.
Attraction
The UAE's working presidential palace, opened to visitors in 2019, with a 37-metre dome, a library of more than 50,000 books and an evening show.
Attraction
A historic fort that grew from a 1761 watchtower into the rulers' palace and reopened in 2018 as a museum of the city's story.
Attraction
The UAE's national museum, designed by Foster + Partners and opened in December 2025, tracing the country's story from prehistory to the life of Sheikh Zayed.
Attraction
Saadiyat Island's natural history museum, opened in November 2025, with Stan the T. rex, a 25-metre blue whale and a fragment of the Murchison meteorite.
Café
A popular family-owned Middle Eastern bakery restaurant in Al Khalidiyah, known for manaqeesh and fresh bread from the oven and listed in the Michelin Guide.
Café
A Bib Gourmand all-day café on the Al Qana boardwalk, mixing European and Arabic flavours, with homemade breads, weekend breakfasts and good coffee.
Café
A beachside specialty coffee shop on the Mamsha Al Saadiyat promenade, with views over Soul Beach, creative breakfasts and coffee brewed by several methods.
Café
A bright, independent coffee shop at Mamsha Al Saadiyat, serving handmade specialty coffee with pastries and displaying work by local artists that visitors can buy.
Café
A beachside café and bakery by Mamsha Al Saadiyat, known for breakfasts, modern European classics and an art deco interior in olive and mustard tones.
Café
A small, spotless Malaysian kopitiam on Al Falah Street, run by owner Chandy, serving affordable all-day breakfasts and listed in the Michelin Guide.
Hotel
Abu Dhabi's grandest hotel, opened in 2005 and run by Mandarin Oriental since 2020, with 114 domes, a 1.3-kilometre private beach and a dozen restaurants.
Hotel
A five-star beach resort on Saadiyat Island with a private Gulf beach, three outdoor pools, a 12-room spa and Buddha-Bar Beach, next to a Gary Player…
Hotel
A five-star waterfront resort on Khor Al Maqta, with a kilometre of private beach, an infinity pool, CHI spa and abra boats to the neighbouring souk.
Hotel
A five-star lifestyle hotel built over Yas Marina Circuit, with 499 rooms, rooftop pools, a two-storey spa and views of the track and marina.
Hotel
A beachfront resort on the Corniche with direct beach access, a children's lagoon, Le Pavot Spa and six restaurants and bars, including a British pub.
Hotel
A design-led hotel occupying floors 18 to 33 of Capital Gate, the tower beside ADNEC that Guinness recognised in 2010 as the world's farthest-leaning manmade building.
Bar
A cocktail bar on level 62 of Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers, with views over the Corniche, the Gulf and Emirates Palace, inventive drinks and live…
Bar
The first permanent Buddha-Bar Beach, on the sand at The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, combining a beach lounge, bar and Far East-inspired restaurant with DJs…
Bar
An adults-only weekend lounge at W Abu Dhabi on Yas Island, with crafted drinks, a resident DJ and views over Yas Marina and the Formula One…
Bar
A British-style pub at the Sheraton Abu Dhabi Hotel & Resort on the Corniche, showing live sport and serving freshly pulled lager until late every day.
Bar
A rooftop kitchen and bar at Aloft Abu Dhabi, by ADNEC, serving oven-baked dishes and drinks with sunset views over the city every evening.
Bar
A two-floor Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian restaurant and lounge at Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers, with sea views and live entertainment from DJs, dancers and musicians.
Restaurant
A Michelin-starred modern Emirati restaurant within the Qasr Al Hosn cultural site, cooking with ingredients from farms across the Emirates.
Restaurant
A one-Michelin-star Chinese restaurant inside Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, known for Peking duck, Chilean sea bass with honey and a Saturday dim sum lunch.
Restaurant
A busy, good-value Emirati and Kuwaiti restaurant on Airport Road, holding a Michelin Bib Gourmand and decorated with old photographs of Abu Dhabi.
Restaurant
An all-day Emirati restaurant on Al Muneera island, Al Raha Beach, that began as a food truck, now run by two sisters and listed in the…
Restaurant
A Bib Gourmand Lebanese-Armenian restaurant in The Galleria on Al Maryah Island, part of a family of restaurants that began in Beirut in 1996.
Restaurant
A colourful Lebanese restaurant with a beachfront terrace at Soul Beach on Saadiyat Island, close to the Louvre and holding a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Thing to do
An 8-kilometre waterfront promenade along the Abu Dhabi island waterfront, with separate walking and cycling paths, parks, cafés and a public beach.
Thing to do
A mangrove reserve on Al Jubail Island, between Yas and Saadiyat, where boardwalk routes of 1 to 2 kilometres lead through the trees to viewing points…
Thing to do
An Emirati-themed water park on Yas Island, opened in 2013, with more than 40 rides and slides set around the story of a girl's search for…
Thing to do
A 17,000-square-metre immersive art space by the Tokyo collective teamLab, opened in April 2025 in the Saadiyat Cultural District, where artworks respond to visitors and their…
Thing to do
Home of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2009, this Hermann Tilke circuit on Yas Island offers driving experiences, karting, venue tours and evening fitness sessions…
Tour operator
Open-top hop-on hop-off sightseeing buses linking 14 stops from Abu Dhabi Mall to Qasr Al Hosn, with a separate shuttle to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
Tour operator
An Abu Dhabi tour operator running desert safaris since 2004, along with city tours of the Grand Mosque and Louvre, Al Ain trips and mangrove kayaking.
Tour operator
An established Abu Dhabi marine-tourism company running boat tours, water taxis, mangrove trips and watersports from Yas Marina, Qaryat Al Beri and Eastern Mangroves.
Tour operator
A desert safari company with a permanent Bedouin-style camp at Al Khaznah, offering morning and evening safaris and overnight stays in tents with beds and bathrooms.
Tour operator
Scenic seaplane flights from the water at Yas Marina, with a 30-minute Abu Dhabi Classic Tour over Emirates Palace, Ferrari World and the mangroves.
Three days are enough for the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Qasr Al Watan, Qasr Al Hosn, the Corniche and the Saadiyat museums; add one or two days for the Yas Island theme parks or a desert safari.
The Corniche suits first-time visitors who want to be close to the city sights, Saadiyat Island suits beach and museum lovers, and Yas Island is best for families planning theme park days.
Taxis wait outside the terminal and take around 30 minutes to the Corniche, depending on traffic; many hotels also arrange private transfers, and public buses link the airport with the city.
It can be, especially for luxury hotels, theme parks and drinks in hotel bars, but budget hotels, Emirati and Middle Eastern cafés and free sights such as the Corniche keep costs down.
Abu Dhabi is generally considered very safe, with low crime; respect local laws and customs, dress modestly at religious and cultural sites, and drink alcohol only in licensed venues.