Language · 11 published
Country guide
The United Arab Emirates has been one country since 2 December 1971, when seven emirates — Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah — federated. It covers 83,600 km² and held 11,027,129 people in 2024, of whom about 11 per cent are Emirati citizens; the rest came to work, and that shapes the food, the languages and the shape of a week more than any monument does. Abu Dhabi is the capital and Dubai the largest city, close enough to treat as one base. The northern emirates beyond them are quieter and far less built.
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Tim Reckmann from Hamm, Deutschland · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photograph · Валерий Дед · CC BY 3.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
144 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
AYA is an immersive visitor attraction in Dubai, designed around experience-led entertainment rather than a conventional museum collection. The name identifies a contemporary stop within the city’s large portfolio of leisure destinations.
Bluewaters Island is a man-made island development off the coast of Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai. It is primarily known as the location of Ain Dubai, one of the world's largest observation wheels.
Capital Gardens is a public green space in Abu Dhabi, identified in OpenStreetMap as a city-level place within the emirate’s capital.
Dalma Mall, also known as دلما مول, is an indoor shopping-centre destination in Abu Dhabi. Its defining role is commercial and leisure-oriented: it is suited to retail browsing, everyday errands, food, and a flexible break from the city’s outdoor heat.
Dubai Crocodile Museum is a specialist attraction devoted to crocodiles and wildlife education. The museum offers a focused alternative to Dubai’s better-known skyscrapers, shopping centres and entertainment complexes.
حي دبي للتصميم
Dubai Design District, known locally as حي دبي للتصميم, is a purpose-built creative quarter in Dubai dedicated to design, fashion, and arts.
دبي جاردن جلو
Dubai Garden Glow is an illuminated theme park in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The attraction features elaborate light installations and sculptures, creating a nighttime entertainment destination.
Dubai Hills Park is a landscaped recreational space within Dubai Hills Estate. It offers a greener side of Dubai through lawns, gardens, paths, play areas, and outdoor space for walking, jogging, exercise, and family time.
دار دبي للأوبرا
Dubai Opera House is a performing arts centre in Downtown Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The building opened in 2016 and was designed by architect Janus Rostock.
Expo Lake is a constructed water feature within Expo City Dubai, the large development created on the former Expo 2020 Dubai site. It forms part of the landscaped public realm linking the district’s pavilions, paths and open spaces.
The Founder's Memorial is a permanent national tribute to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founding father of the United Arab Emirates. Located on Abu Dhabi Corniche, the memorial encompasses a landscaped public park and cultural destination.
القرية العالمية
Global Village is a seasonal cultural and entertainment destination in Dubai. It brings together pavilions representing numerous countries, each showcasing traditional crafts, merchandise, and culinary specialties from their respective regions.
Handicrafts Souk is a small, stall-based craft market in Abu Dhabi, defined by the contrast between separate seller displays and standardised retail.
Heritage House is a cultural attraction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It forms part of the city's efforts to preserve and present traditional Emirati architecture and domestic life.
Heritage Village is a reconstructed oasis settlement on Abu Dhabi Corniche Breakwater, beside Marina Mall on Marina Mall Island. It is an interpretive cultural attraction rather than an original historic settlement preserved in place.
House of Artisans is an Abu Dhabi heritage venue devoted to Emirati craft traditions and the knowledge embedded in making. Its focus is the relationship between maker, material, technique, and cultural memory, rather than a broad survey of modern art.
مجمع ابن بطوطا
Ibn Battuta Mall is a shopping mall in Dubai themed around the travels of the 14th-century Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta.
Iranian Souk is a waterfront market in Abu Dhabi whose identity is tied to active commercial trading rather than a museum programme or a purpose-built visitor attraction.
Jubail Mangrove Park is a protected natural area in Abu Dhabi featuring extensive mangrove forests along the coastline. The park preserves one of the region's most significant coastal ecosystems, providing habitat for marine life and migratory birds.
Jumeirah Mosque is a prominent Islamic landmark in Dubai, situated in the Jumeirah district. It stands as one of the few mosques in the United Arab Emirates open to non-Muslim visitors, offering structured cultural programmes.
Khalifa Park is a major public park in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Named in honour of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the park occupies a significant green space within the urban environment.
كايت بيتش
Kite Beach is a public beach on Dubai’s Arabian Gulf coastline. It is known for kite surfing and other watersports, while its open shore also suits swimming, walking, relaxing, and watching activity on the water.
La Mer is an outdoor beachfront destination in Dubai, developed by Meraas. It combines a public beach with retail, dining, and entertainment offerings along the Jumeirah coastline.
Love Lake is a man-made lake attraction in Dubai’s Al Qudra desert area. Its signature design consists of two interlocking hearts, a shape best understood from above and a memorable subject even from ground level.
Marsana Beach is a named coastal place in Abu Dhabi, mapped under the Arabic name شاطئ مرسانا.
Miraj Islamic Art Centre is an independent Islamic art collection set within Umm Al Emarat Park in Abu Dhabi. The venue’s defining character is this pairing of a focused art destination with one of the city’s major park settings.
متحف الغموض
The Museum of Illusions in Dubai is an attraction dedicated to optical illusions, visual tricks, and perceptual phenomena. It presents interactive exhibits that challenge visitors' understanding of reality through carefully constructed rooms, installations, and displays.
Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi is a scientific and cultural institution in Saadiyat Cultural District. Its galleries trace 13.8 billion years from the formation of the universe through the evolution of life and the environments of the present day.
NYUAD Art Gallery is an independent, public-facing contemporary art gallery on the New York University Abu Dhabi campus on Saadiyat Island. It is a non-collecting exhibition space, so the experience centres on changing exhibitions rather than a permanent collection.
Wahat Al Karama
Wahat Al Karama is a war memorial and monument site in Abu Dhabi, situated opposite Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Its name translates to Oasis of Dignity.
Observation Deck at 300 is the enclosed level-74 viewpoint inside Tower 2 of Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers.
Qasr Al Hosn is Abu Dhabi's oldest building, the ancestral home of the Al Nahyan family and the symbolic centre from which the city developed.
الحديقة القرآنية
Quranic Park is a Dubai public park themed around Islamic heritage and the Holy Quran. Its Arabic name is الحديقة القرآنية. The park occupies a substantial plot in Al Khawaneej and opened as a cultural-religious destination for residents and visitors.
Kai Beach is the current operating name of the former Saadiyat Public Beach on Saadiyat Island.
SeaWorld Abu Dhabi is an indoor marine-life theme park on Yas Island and the first SeaWorld park built outside the United States.
سوق مدينة جميرا
Souk Madinat Jumeirah is a purpose-built covered marketplace inside the Madinat Jumeirah resort, in the Jumeirah district a short way south of the Burj Al Arab.
Surf Abu Dhabi is a controlled-wave surf venue on Hudayriyat Island, built around a bookable surf basin rather than an open beach break.
teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi is an immersive digital art museum under development in Abu Dhabi, conceived by the Japanese interdisciplinary art collective teamLab.
Theatre Of Digital Art is an immersive cultural venue in Dubai dedicated to digital art exhibitions and multisensory experiences. It utilises advanced projection technology to transform interior spaces into dynamic visual environments.
The National Gallery in Dubai is an art institution presenting collections and exhibitions to the public. It operates as a cultural venue within the city's developing arts landscape.
ذا فيو ات ذا بالم
The View at The Palm is an observation deck situated on the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai's iconic artificial archipelago. Positioned atop The Palm Tower, this vantage point offers panoramic outlooks over the frond-shaped island, the Arabian Gulf, and the Dubai skyline.
Al Ittihad Square
Al Ittihad Square is an open civic space in Abu Dhabi, named for the union that gives the United Arab Emirates its national identity.
وو-هوو!
Woo-hoo! is listed as a visitor attraction in Dubai and is included in the city’s tourism landscape. Its name gives the place a playful identity, while the available description places it among Dubai’s broad range of visitor experiences.
ياس مول
Yas Mall is a large enclosed shopping and leisure centre on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Its practical appeal is the way retail browsing, meals and indoor entertainment can be combined in one air-conditioned destination.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·
Six to eight days is enough for roughly four days in Dubai and two or three in Abu Dhabi. Sharjah can be a separate museum day, while Ras Al Khaimah or Fujairah requires dedicated road time rather than being treated as a quick urban extension.
UAE entry permission depends on nationality and may be arranged in advance or granted under a nationality-specific rule. Confirm the current position through the federal ICP service or the responsible UAE embassy, especially for a stopover itinerary.
Dubai combines metro, tram, buses, and marine transport; Abu Dhabi relies more heavily on buses and taxis. Travel between emirates remains road-based, so allow for an intercity bus, taxi, or rental car rather than expecting a passenger train.
November through March gives the most practical outdoor hours for this Dubai-Abu Dhabi route. In hotter months, schedule waterfront and heritage districts early or late and reserve the middle of the day for indoor museums.
The United Arab Emirates uses the dirham (AED). Cards are widely useful in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but retain an AED backup for smaller fares or deposits and check which currency a card terminal proposes.
Police in the UAE can be reached on 999 and ambulance services on 998. Type G sockets supply 230 V; tap-water guidance is not recorded here, so ask the accommodation for the building-specific position.
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