Tourist attractions in Abu Dhabi

One of the largest mosques in the world, this white marble landmark was completed in 2007 and named after the country's founding president, who is buried beside it. Its 82 domes, four 107 metre minarets and a courtyard fringed by more than a thousand columns frame a main prayer hall that holds one of the largest hand-knotted carpets ever made. Reflective pools mirror the marble, which is inlaid with floral mosaics of coloured stone.

Architect: Yusef Abdelki · Style: Mughal and Moorish

Location: Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Street, main island

Access: Free, including daily guided tours; modest dress is required. Visiting hours run Saturday to Thursday from 9:00 to 20:30, shorter on Friday; the official site lists prayer-time closures.

Designed by Jean Nouvel and opened in 2017 on Saadiyat Island, this universal museum sits beneath a 180 metre dome of interlaced star-shaped openings that scatter sunlight across the galleries below like the shade of a palm grove, an effect the architect called a rain of light. Its collection spans human history across cultures and is shown alongside loans from French museums, and the low white building appears to float on the sea.

Architect: Jean Nouvel

Location: Saadiyat Cultural District, Saadiyat Island

Access: Ticketed; closed on Mondays.

Part of the Presidential Palace complex, Qasr Al Watan opened to visitors in 2019 as a working palace that presents the country's culture and governance. Its Great Hall rises under a vast dome above an interior of mother-of-pearl and gilded detail, and a library traces centuries of Arab knowledge and craftsmanship. After dark, the Palace in Motion light and sound show is projected across the facade, and audio guides cover the state rooms in several languages.

Location: Al Ras Al Akhdar, West Corniche

Access: Ticketed, timed entry; the evening show is ticketed separately.

A domed landmark on the western Corniche, Emirates Palace opened in 2005 and spreads across an 84 hectare estate with formal gardens and a private beach. Built in a grand Arabian style with more than a hundred domes and gold and marble finishes around a soaring central atrium, it serves as a state venue as well as a hotel. Non-guests can walk the grounds and public areas, take afternoon tea and visit its galleries, cafes and shops.

Location: West Corniche Road, Al Ras Al Akhdar

Access: Grounds and public areas open to visitors; no booking needed.

The oldest building in Abu Dhabi, Qasr Al Hosn grew from a coral-and-sea-stone watchtower raised in the eighteenth century to guard the island's freshwater well. The Inner Fort and later Outer Palace rose around it, and the whitewashed complex served as the ruling family's home and seat of government before becoming a museum in 2018 after years of restoration. Its galleries trace the city's story from a fishing and pearling settlement to a modern capital.

Location: Sheikh Zayed the First Street, Al Hosn

Access: Ticketed; the adjacent House of Artisans is free.

Photo: "Qasr Al Hosn" by Darthjipsu (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Ferrari World opened on Yas Island in 2010 beneath a vast red roof that carries the largest Ferrari logo ever made. The indoor theme park is built around the marque's history and motorsport, with a museum of racing cars and rides for every age. Its headline coaster, Formula Rossa, holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest launch of any roller coaster, reaching 240 km/h in under five seconds from a standing start.

Architect: Benoy

Location: Yas Island

Access: Ticketed.

This fully indoor theme park opened on Yas Island in 2018 and fills six themed lands, from Gotham City and Metropolis to Cartoon Junction and Bedrock, keeping the desert heat outside all year. Rides, dark rides and live shows are built around DC super heroes, Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera characters, with a central plaza of restaurants and shops beneath a stained-glass dome. It is counted among the largest indoor parks of its kind.

Location: Yas Island

Access: Ticketed.

Photo: "Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi" by Dasomm (CC0).

Designed by Hermann Tilke and opened in 2009, Yas Marina Circuit hosts the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that closes the season each December. The track winds past a marina and beneath a hotel that arches over the asphalt, and is one of the few circuits to finish under floodlights at dusk. Outside race week, visitors can take guided track tours, driving experiences and karting sessions around the grand-prix layout.

Architect: Hermann Tilke

Location: Yas Island

Access: Ticketed for tours and experiences.

Photos: "North Grandstand at the Yas Marina Circuit" by TravelPhotosNL (CC BY-SA 4.0); "Sunset at Yas Marina Circuit" by Cesar I. Martins (CC BY 2.0).

Yas Waterworld opened on Yas Island in 2013 and spreads dozens of rides, slides and attractions across a story drawn from Emirati pearl-diving folklore. A wave pool, a lazy river and family raft rides sit among rock-carved theming, with dedicated zones for younger children and several record-setting water coasters. A suspended coaster, the Bandit Bomber, loops over the whole site, which is landscaped around a central pearl motif that ties its rides to the region's seafaring past.

Location: Yas Island

Access: Ticketed.

Photos: "Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi" by LittleOneM (CC BY-SA 4.0).

SeaWorld Abu Dhabi opened on Yas Island in 2023 as the first SeaWorld outside the United States and the first built without orcas. Set inside a huge domed building, it is organised into eight realms that move from an Arctic penguin habitat to a tropical rainforest and a vast multi-level aquarium. Visitors can walk beneath schools of fish through underwater viewing tunnels, and the park combines its marine-life encounters with a research and rescue centre for the region's dugongs, turtles and other sea life.

Location: Yas Island

Access: Ticketed.

Photos: "SeaWorld Yas Island" by Lintophilip (CC BY-SA 4.0); "Penguins at SeaWorld Abu Dhabi" by Tashmetova808 (CC BY-SA 4.0).