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United Arab Emirates
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Must-include attractions sorted by popularity
Most popular attractions in United Arab Emirates
1. Burj Khalifa
Dubai
Gleaming marble and ornate mosaics showcase Islamic art on a monumental scale. Walk vast courtyards, photograph domes and chandeliers, and join free guided tours.
2. Palm Jumeirah
Dubai
Art from around the world beneath a dramatic perforated dome, worth visiting for collections and architecture. Wander sunlit galleries by the sea and see works from ancient to contemporary.
3. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Abu Dhabi
Quick facts: Stunning marble and intricate floral inlay cover more than 12,000 square meters of floor, giving the interior a cool, serene feel underfoot. A capacity of about 40,000 worshippers gives communal prayers an immense, reverent scale when thousands gather for major observances.
Highlights: Giant chandeliers studded with Swarovski crystals and gold leaf throw a honeyed glow across the white marble, so at dusk the whole space feels like being inside a golden shell. Walking across the hand-knotted Persian-style carpet, you can feel the dense wool pile underfoot and hear footsteps sink into a muffled hush, making the vast domes feel surprisingly intimate.
Book a FREE walking tour in United Arab Emirates
The best way to experience a city with a local tour guide.
Tip: We strongly recommend a free walking tour on your first day to get to know the city with a local guide. They usually cover all main attractions and you can ask for personal recommendations based on your interests for the next days. Book early as spaces fill up fast!
4. Louvre Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Quick facts: A shimmering silver dome spans roughly 180 meters, filtering sunlight into a hypnotic 'rain of light' that plays across water and stone. More than 600 artworks and loans circulate through the galleries, pairing ancient ceramics with contemporary paintings for surprising juxtapositions.
Highlights: Step into the central plaza at midday and watch eight interlaced layers of patterned metal, about 7,850 elements in all, cast a moving lace of light across the marble and reflecting pools. Local guides often time visits for the golden hour, when overlapping beams and mirrored water create cinematic ribbons of light that photographers line up an hour early to capture.
5. Jebel Jais
Ras Al Khaimah
Quick facts: Wind-scoured summits can be about 10°C cooler than the coast, so evenings feel surprisingly brisk even in hot months. Drivers and hikers climb nearly 1,900 meters along dramatic switchback roads, where dawn light makes the rock faces glow like molten bronze.
Highlights: Adrenaline lovers can strap into a zipline that runs 2.83 kilometres and reaches speeds around 150 km/h, sending riders over a yawning canyon. Most rides keep you airborne for roughly 60 to 70 seconds, long enough to watch the canyon's contours unfold and feel cold mountain air press against your helmet.
6. Fujairah Fort
Fujairah
Quick facts: Massive whitewashed ramparts rise from a rocky outcrop, giving sudden panoramas where fishing boats, mosque domes, and serrated mountains meet the sea. You can lose an hour exploring narrow staircases, vaulted rooms, and cannon placements that show how families once defended the coastline.
Highlights: Climb the central tower and count eight slender loopholes that line up like a camera lens, each framing a different slice of sea or wadi and filling the air with the warm, dusty scent of sun-baked stone. Local guides often point to a faded wall inscription marked 1816 and nearby chalk marks where children once played, a tiny human detail that makes every echo feel like a whispered story.
7. Al Jahili Fort
Al Ain
Quick facts: Thick mud-brick walls and rounded watchtowers create a fortress feel, and you can still see palm-log beams peeking out beneath the rooflines. An enormous black-and-white portrait of Sheikh Zayed fills one courtyard wall, pulling everyone's gaze with its dramatic scale and stark contrast.
Highlights: When the late-afternoon sun hits the courtyard the plaster glows a warm ochre, and the scent of date palms and dry earth makes the whole place feel cinematic. A tucked-away photography and manuscript display celebrates desert life with several dozen original prints and documents, so take a slow walkthrough to catch quiet stories most people miss.
8. Al Noor Mosque
Sharjah
Quick facts: From the lagoon shore you can watch domes and twin minarets glow into the sky at night, their white walls reflecting like a painting on the water. Sunlight filters through ornate arched windows and patterned screens, casting filigree shadows across the prayer hall that make the interior feel both vast and intimate.
Highlights: Five daily calls to prayer roll across the water, the low vocal tones vibrating through the air while warm golden light spills from arched doorways. Floral mosaics frame each arch, and close-up you can spot dozens of hand-carved details and slightly irregular tiles that reveal the human touch behind the pristine white facades.
9. Ajman Museum
Ajman
Quick facts: Stepping inside, you encounter rooms lined with pearling tools, old coins, and detailed dhow models that make the maritime past feel immediate. Local guides often point out a courtyard cannon engraved with the number 1890 and a hand-painted map showing the old trade route to India.
Highlights: Climb a narrow lookout where the wind smells of salt and sun-baked stone, and you can still imagine lookouts scanning the horizon for dhows. A tiny alcove displays a tray of worn mother-of-pearl buttons and glass floats, about 50 pieces arranged as if a diver had just emptied his haul, a tactile detail that surprises nearly every visitor.
10. Umm Al Quwain Fort
Umm Al Quwain
Quick facts: Thick coral-stone walls and a squat watchtower give a palpable sense of coastal defense, while dim wooden beams and old cannons hint at sea stories. You'll wander past rooms displaying vintage photographs and locally made daggers, and can often hear guides recounting tribal tales in a soft, conversational tone.
Highlights: Night visits reveal a row of 15 brass cannonballs stacked near the ramparts, each stamped with faint maker's marks that locals say came from a single 19th-century shipment. A peculiar annual procession led by about 30 elders carrying a tiny brass bell invites onlookers to clap rhythmically, the bell's high ring echoing across the courtyard and turning the space into a communal drum.
Additional popular things to do in United Arab Emirates
Curated tours, tickets, and activities recommended by travelers
Popular Cities in United Arab Emirates
Traditional Sweet Dishes
Baklava
In Emirati bakeries baklava is often perfumed with saffron and layered with pistachios or local date syrup, reflecting the Gulf's fragrant trade history.
Luqaimat
Luqaimat are tiny golden dumplings that puff up when fried, they are traditionally drenched in date syrup and sesame and are a Ramadan favorite.
Kunafa
Kunafa is a molten, cheese-filled pastry that pulls into long, gooey strands when served, and Emirati versions often add clotted cream or pistachios for extra richness.
Traditional Savory Dishes
Machboos
Machboos is a spiced rice dish where rice simmers with meat and dried limes so the grains take on deep, layered flavors, it is often considered a celebratory centerpiece.
Shawarma
Shawarma in the UAE mixes Levantine tradition with local tastes, the thinly sliced, spit-roasted meat is wrapped with tangy pickles and garlic sauce for a quick, addictive street meal.
Mandi
Mandi's signature smoky flavor comes from slow-roasting meat in an underground pit or tandoor, and the method produces meat so tender it falls from the bone.
Traditional Beverages
Karak tea
Karak tea is a sugary, cardamom-scented milk tea that began with South Asian laborers and became a Gulf ritual, people gather at roadside stalls to sip it and chat.
Arabic coffee
Arabic coffee, brewed in a dallah and often spiced with cardamom or saffron, is served in tiny cups as a formal gesture of hospitality and guests may be offered multiple rounds.
Laban
Laban is a tangy, cooling yogurt drink used for centuries to hydrate desert travelers, it soothes the stomach and is often enjoyed plain or with mint.
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Day trips
Al Ain
Oases, forts, Jebel Hafeet mountain and archaeological sites.
Google MapsRas Al Khaimah
Beaches, Hajar Mountains and outdoor adventure activities.
Google MapsComments (6)
Food surprised me, great shawarma and seafood stalls, try Emirati breakfast too. Avoid hotel restaurants if you want value.
Pick up a Nol card at the airport and top up for metro and tram, the weekly fare saves a ton over taxis if you plan to hop around Dubai.
Skip restaurants on the main tourist strip, walk 2-3 blocks inland or head to Al Karama for cheaper, better meals and friendlier service.
Felt a bit staged in places, lots of tourists and upselling. Still safe and clean, but not the authentic Middle East I expected.
Hot, flashy and efficient. Expect crowds and high prices, but we loved the malls and skyline. Two weeks was a good pace.
Getting there
Airports
Train stations
Red & Green lines (connects major Dubai districts and to DXB via Red Line)
Etihad Rail planned; current travel by bus, taxi and car
Use taxis or app-hailing from AUH; Dubai Metro links DXB to central Dubai; prebook long transfers.
Click to get eSim for United Arab Emirates
The easiest and most affordable way to get mobile internet wherever you travel.
Rent a car in United Arab Emirates
Visa & entry
GCC countries, EU, USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, many others (varies by passport)
Some African and South Asian countries typically need pre-approved visas (e.g., Pakistan, Afghanistan); check consulate
Check entry rules for your nationality — many get visa on arrival; apply online if required.