Abu Dhabi
The capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi is the very model of a modern Gulf petro-city: thoroughly contemporary, shamelessly wealthy and decidedly staid. Abu Dhabi’s lightning change from obscure fishing village into modern city-state within the past thirty years is perhaps the most dramatic of the region’s stories of oil-driven transformation, although for the casual visitor the city is mainly interesting for how it contrasts with its more famous neighbour – an Arabian Washington to Dubai’s Las Vegas. Abu Dhabi’s two stand-out attractions are the stunning Sheikh Zayed Mosque, one of the world’s largest and most extravagant places of Islamic worship, and the ultra-opulent Emirates Palace Hotel. Other draws include the memorable new souk at the World Trade Center, and the contrastingly traditional Heritage Village, offering superb views of Abu Dhabi’s long waterfront Corniche.
Abu Dhabi transport
Regular express buses (5.30am–11.30pm; every 30min; 2hr–2hr 30min; 15dh) run from Al Ghubaiba bus station in Bur Dubai to Abu Dhabi’s main bus station, about 3km inland from the city centre. A convenient alternative is to take a tour from Dubai. Numerous companies offer Abu Dhabi day-trips (see Tour operators), generally costing around 220dh. Abu Dhabi’s various attractions are very spread out, but there are plenty of metered taxis around town (flag fare 3.50dh).
Emirates Palace Hotel
Standing in solitary splendour at the western end of the city is the vast Emirates Palace Hotel. Opened in 2005, it was intended to rival Dubai’s Burj al Arab and provide Abu Dhabi with a similarly iconic “seven-star” landmark – although in fact the two buildings could hardly be more different. Driveways climb up through the grounds to the main entrance to the hotel, which sits in an elevated position above the sea and surrounding gardens. It’s impressively stage-managed, although the quasi-Arabian design is disappointingly pedestrian and the only really unusual thing about the building is its sheer size: 1km in length, 114 domes, 140 elevators, 2000 staff and so on. The interior is a lot more memorable, centred on a dazzling central dome-cum-atrium, with vast quantities of marble and huge chandeliers. Non-guests can visit for a meal at one of the numerous restaurants or drop in to Le Café for one of the superb afternoon teas – but dress well to avoid being turned away at the gate.
The Corniche
Driving through Abu Dhabi’s suburban sprawl, it’s easy not to notice that the city is built on an island – at least until you emerge on the expansive Corniche, the sweeping waterfront road that runs for the best part of 5km along Abu Dhabi’s western edge. The road is lined by spacious gardens on either side and flanked by a long line of glass-clad high-rises which both encapsulate the city’s internationalist credentials and provide Abu Dhabi with its most memorable views.
Heritage Village
Dramatically situated on the Breakwater – a small protuberance of reclaimed land jutting out from the southern end of the Corniche – the Heritage Village offers a slice of traditional Abu Dhabi done up for visiting coach parties. The “village” consists of picturesque barasti huts and a small (seldom open) museum, and has spectacular views over the water to the Corniche. Opposite the museum is a string of workshops where local artisans – carpenters, potters, brass-makers and so on – can sometimes be seen at work. The so-called “traditional market”, however, is basically just a few ladies flogging cheap handicrafts out of a line of huts.
Marina Mall
Dominating the centre of the Breakwater, the large Marina Mall is an attractive modern complex built around a series of tented courtyards and fountains. It’s one of the city’s two top shopping destinations, along with the glitzy Abu Dhabi Mall on the opposite side of town. Shopping aside, the mall’s main attraction is its views of the long string of the high-rises lining the Corniche, best appreciated from the soaring Burj al Marina tower at the back of the mall. You can visit for the price of an expensive drink at the 41st-floor Colombiano coffee shop.
Qasr al Hosn and around
More or less at the very centre of Abu Dhabi sits Qasr Al Hosn (“The Palace Fort”), the oldest building in Abu Dhabi. The fort started life around 1761 as a single round watchtower built to defend the only freshwater well in Abu Dhabi, and was subsequently expanded, serving as the residence of Abu Dhabi’s ruling Al Nahyan family right up until 1966. Under renovation again at the time of writing, it was due to reopen as a major new museum, although no one seems to know when.
World Trade Center and around
The huge new World Trade Center, topped by a pair of shiny cylindrical skyscrapers, is one of the city’s most interesting new developments. The Center’s main attraction is its marvellous new souk (officially known as the “World Trade Center Central Market”), designed by Foster & Partners and offering a memorable postmodern take on the traditional Arabian bazaar. There are several handicrafts and souvenir shops, and others dedicated to honey and spices.
On the southwestern side of the World Trade Center, Al Ittihad Square (also spelt Etihad, meaning “Union”) is home to an arresting sequence of oversized sculptures, including a vast cannon, enormous perfume bottle and gargantuan coffeepot – an endearingly quirky contrast to the drab surrounding architecture.
Downtown Abu Dhabi
The area immediately east of Sheikh Rashid Street (2nd St) is the heart of downtown Abu Dhabi, and where you’ll find the city’s liveliest street life. The parallel Hamdan Street and Sheikh Zayed the First Street are the two major thoroughfares, each lined with identikit office blocks stacked tightly together like Lego bricks. Just south of the latter, the Madinat Zayed Gold Centre is Abu Dhabi’s low-key equivalent to Dubai’s Gold Souk, with two floors of jewellery shops selling traditional and modern designs.
Sheikh Zayed Mosque
02 441 6444,
szgmc.ae/en.Sat–Thurs 9am–10pm, Fri 4.30–10pm (interior closed for about 30min during prayers; check szgmc.ae/en/mosque-opening-hours for times).Free guided tours: Sun–Thurs 10am, 11am & 4.30pm, Fri 4.30pm & 8pm, Sat 10am, 11am, 2pm, 4.30pm & 8pmThe mighty Sheikh Zayed Mosque dominates all landward approaches to the city, its snowy-white mass of domes and minarets visible for many kilometres around. Completed in 2007, it’s one of the world’s biggest – and certainly the most expensive, having taken twelve years to build at a cost of around US$500 million. It’s also unusual in being one of only two mosques in the UAE open to non-Muslims.
The huge exterior is classically plain, framed by four 107m-high minarets and topped with some eighty domes. Entrance to the mosque is through a vast courtyard – capable of accommodating some 40,000 worshippers – flanking one side of which is the vast prayer hall, a spectacular piece of contemporary Islamic design. The hall is home to the world’s largest carpet and biggest chandelier, although it’s not the world records which impress so much as the extraordinary muted opulence of the design, with every surface richly carved and decorated.
Yas Island
On the outermost edges of the city, not far from the airport, Yas Island is now home to several of the city’s key tourist attractions. Fast cars are the principal order of the day here thanks to the presence of the Yas Marina Circuit (yasmarinacircuit.com), which hosts the annual Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix along with various other races and activities.
If you fancy a bit of Formula 1 action yourself, head to the jaw-droppingly huge Ferrari World (ferrariworldabudhabi.com) theme park just down the road, offering a range of rides for hard-core adrenaline junkies and dedicated tifosi. Other attractions elsewhere on the island include the Kyle Phillips-designed Yas Links golf course (yaslinks.com) and the Yas Waterworld (yaswaterworld.com) theme park.
Accommodation in Abu Dhabi is covered in the Accommodation chapter.
Cafés
Café du Roi
Popular and long-established French-style café with Filipina waitresses and a largely Emirati clientele. There’s a choice of indoor and outdoor seating, a long menu of snacks and light meals (from 30dh) and the best coffee in this part of town.
Lebanese Flower
This enduringly popular restaurant is the best place in the city to fill up on inexpensive Middle Eastern food, with a well-prepared range of fish and meat grills, kebabs (35–50dh) and mezze.
Le Café
The Emirates Palace’s beautiful foyer café makes a memorable setting for one of the Middle East’s most sumptuous afternoon teas; choose either traditional English or Arabian style (served 2–6pm; 275dh).
Restaurants
Finz
02 697 9350,rotana.com/beachrotana.Daily 12.30–3.30pm & 7–11.30pm.MAPOne of the best seafood restaurants in town, occupying an unusual A-frame wooden dining room and terrace overlooking the water. The menu features a wide selection of fish and seafood, ranging from old favourites such as sole meunière to more elaborate creations like red mullet with truffle quinoa. Mains from 140dh.
India Palace
Long-established and pleasantly old-fashioned Indian restaurant, serving up a big spread of tasty and very reasonably priced North Indian meat, seafood and veg offerings. Veg mains from 25dh, non-veg from 35dh.
Mezzaluna
One of the more affordable of the Emirates Palace’s string of upmarket eating venues, serving traditional Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. Mains 100–225dh.
Bar
Brauhaus
02 697 9000,rotana.com/beachrotana.Sun–Wed 4pm–1am, Thurs–Sat noon–1am.MAPThis convivial pub-cum-restaurant makes a surprisingly convincing stab at an authentic Bavarian bierkeller, with speciality German beers on tap or by the bottle and a good range of food to soak it all up with, served to the accompaniment of Bavarian marching bands and other Teutonic sounds. Very popular, so arrive early if you want to bag a seat.