Luxury hotels in Doha

Doha guide

Doha: the Museum of Islamic Art and Souq Waqif

I. M. Pei's museum on the bay, the National Museum's desert rose, the souq at night and the dunes.

The Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I. M. Pei on its own island in Doha Bay, is the city's most cited sight, with a collection spanning fourteen centuries and the best view of the skyline. The National Museum of Qatar, by Jean Nouvel, is shaped like a desert rose.

Souq Waqif, with its spice stalls, falcon souq and restaurants, is lively in the evening, and a dhow cruise on the bay at sunset is the classic. The dunes and the Inland Sea, where the desert meets the water, are about an hour away, and November to March is ideal.

The National Museum of Qatar

The National Museum of Qatar, designed by Jean Nouvel as a cluster of interlocking discs inspired by the desert rose crystal, is one of Doha's most cited sights. Its galleries tell the story of the peninsula from its geology to the pearl-diving era and modern Qatar.

The museum wraps around the restored palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, built in the early twentieth century. Its café and shop are excellent, and the Museum of Islamic Art and Souq Waqif are a short drive away.

The Inland Sea and the dunes

Khor Al Adaid, the Inland Sea, a UNESCO-recognised natural reserve in the south of Qatar where the dunes run straight into a tidal inlet of the Gulf, is the most cited excursion from Doha, about an hour and a half away. It can only be reached by four-wheel drive across the sand.

Tours combine dune bashing, sandboarding and camel rides, and some include a dinner or night in a desert camp. The cooler months, from November to March, are the best time to go.