Things to Do in Abu Dhabi: The Best Attractions & Highlights

Abu Dhabi Attractions Map

For a quick overview, we’ve marked all the top things to do in Abu Dhabi on the map below.

Sheikh Zayed Mosque

The Sheikh Zayed Mosque is the undisputed highlight of Abu Dhabi and the most photographed landmark in the city. It’s even counted among the most famous attractions in the world.

The mosque is seriously impressive. More than 40,000 worshippers can fit inside, and it holds several world records: the world’s largest chandelier and the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet, which weighs a staggering 47 tons.

The mosque is open to visitors except for a few prayer rooms. Only on Friday mornings is it reserved exclusively for worshippers.

The dress code is especially strict for women. Women must be fully veiled to enter — legs completely covered, arms covered down to the hands, and a headscarf is mandatory.

At the entrance, you can borrow a robe for free, or bring your own covering. Just make sure your clothing truly conceals all feminine features.

If your top ends even a few inches above your hands, is even slightly see-through, or hints at a female figure in any way, you’ll still be required to put on one of the robes provided on-site.

Men, as is typical in Islam, have it much easier. A T-shirt covering the shoulders and long pants are perfectly sufficient.

Louvre Abu Dhabi

In the middle of the desert stands an art museum that, thanks to a payment of a mere 400 million dollars to the Louvre in Paris, is also allowed to carry the Louvre name.

Across 13 rooms, you get a sweeping overview of art history from antiquity to the present day.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is very popular and the lines at the ticket counters can get long. We arrived right at opening time and it was still manageable — but by the time we finished, there was already a very long queue at the entrance.

We strongly recommend buying your tickets online in advance. It doesn’t cost any more, and you can simply walk past the line. You can show the tickets on your smartphone — no printing needed.

Skip-the-line ticket for the Louvre Abu Dhabi

Etihad Towers: Observation Deck at 300

The Etihad Towers are a complex of five skyscrapers. Tower No. 2 houses an observation deck 300 meters above ground — fittingly called the Observation Deck at 300.

From up there, you get the best panorama over Abu Dhabi. The ticket for the ride up to the 74th floor costs 90 AED.

However, 55 AED of that comes back to you as a voucher for the bar upstairs — good for a glass of wine or a coffee.

Our tip: If you stay at the Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers Hotel, you can visit the observation deck for free. The hotel is a great choice for both location and quality, so you’re really killing two birds with one stone.

Emirates Palace Hotel

Directly across from the Etihad Towers is the Emirates Palace Hotel, considered one of the most opulent and luxurious hotels in the world — not just among hotels in Abu Dhabi, but globally!

Unlike the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, you can visit the Emirates Palace quite easily, even without booking a table at one of the restaurants.

Honestly, the grand entrance hall with its enormous dome doesn’t feel like a hotel lobby at all — it feels more like a tourist attraction in its own right.

We couldn’t quite share the fascination with the building ourselves. Maybe we should have ordered a cappuccino with 35-carat gold dust at the café? Hmm, probably not.

Our tip: Room prices at the Emirates Palace Hotel are sometimes not quite as steep as you’d expect. When we checked during our visit, double rooms were available from around 250 euros. Compared to the Burj Al Arab, that’s actually a real bargain.

Current room prices at the Emirates Palace Hotel

Qasr Al Watan Palace

The Qasr Al Watan Palace is the presidential palace of Abu Dhabi and has been open to the public since 2019. It’s super popular with visitors — with its white domes, golden doors, and beautiful gardens, the palace is genuinely worth a visit.

The palace serves as the seat of the state cabinet and the supreme court of the United Arab Emirates. The centerpiece is the enormous mosaic-adorned Great Hall, with a dome spanning 37 meters wide.

The tour also takes in the ornate reception halls, the palace library, the collection of diplomatic gifts from heads of state, the antique collection, and the expansive gardens.

Our tip: Every evening at 7:30 PM, the impressive light and sound show “Palace in Motion” takes place in front of the palace. For 15 minutes, video installations are projected onto the facade. It’s worth arriving in the late afternoon so you can wrap up your tour with the show.

Tickets for the Qasr Al Watan Palace

Qasr Al Hosn

Qasr Al Hosn is an old fort and the oldest building in Abu Dhabi. Built in 1761, it now houses a museum on the history of the Emirates, with artifacts on display that are up to 8,000 years old.

The building is made of coral stone and decorated with sand, lime, and shells from the region. The floors and ceilings are made of mangrove wood.

Particularly fascinating is the ventilation system: Qasr Al Hosn uses the ancient “Barjeel” technique, which naturally ventilates and cools the palace’s rooms using the sea breeze.

Fast-track ticket for Qasr Al Hosn

Al Mina Fish Market

Like pretty much everything in Abu Dhabi, the city’s markets tend to feel very artificial and staged. The fish market was the one exception.

Right at the port of Abu Dhabi is a small fish market that’s definitely worth a look. You’ll find the fresh catch of the day — and the best part: you don’t just have to look, you can actually buy a fish yourself.

You then take your fish to one of the grill restaurants on the edge of the market and have it prepared however you like.

The Al Mina Fish Market isn’t an absolute must-see among things to do in Abu Dhabi — there are bigger and more exciting markets in many other places around the world. But if you want a little taste of authenticity in the city, this is a good spot.

World Trade Center Souk

The World Trade Center is a large shopping mall that, alongside the usual stores, also features a souk — a traditional market.

You’ll find spices, traditional textiles, and plenty of souvenirs for tourists. The market isn’t particularly exciting, as it seems to be designed primarily for visitors rather than locals.

Ferrari World

Ferrari World is a massive amusement park on Yas Island near Abu Dhabi’s airport. Of its 25 hectares, eight are covered, making Ferrari World the world’s largest indoor theme park.

Everything here revolves around racing: from a real race track to a huge go-kart track and a drag racing strip — it has everything a motorsport enthusiast’s heart could desire.

There are also racing introductory courses, driving schools, a show and theater complex, and a Ferrari exhibition featuring both historic and the latest models.

The standout attraction at Ferrari World, though, is the world’s fastest roller coaster, with a top speed of 150 mph.

Tickets for Ferrari World

Yas Marina Circuit

Motorsport fan or not — the first time you walk across the start line of a Formula 1 circuit and picture the grandstands roaring around you, it’s hard not to get goosebumps.

The Yas Marina Circuit was built in 2009 for the Formula 1 Grand Prix and is one of the most modern race tracks in the world.

The circuit also runs alongside a marina, giving you great views of the luxury yachts as you walk around.

If you don’t want to buy a ticket for a race, you can also book a guided tour of the circuit. From the pit lane to pole position and a walk along the track itself, you get to experience every part of the venue up close.

Tour of the Yas Marina Circuit

Yas Waterworld

Yas Waterworld is the best of both worlds: a water park and an amusement park rolled into one. There are more than 40 thrilling slides, a standing wave for surfing, various water play areas, wave pools, and roller coasters.

Especially if you’re traveling with kids, this is obviously the perfect day out. The park also has plenty of food options to keep everyone fueled up between slides.

Tickets for Yas Waterworld

Day Trips from Abu Dhabi

Once you’ve ticked off the main things to do in Abu Dhabi, there’s still plenty to discover in the surrounding area.

For example, you can go on a desert tour or take a day trip to nearby Dubai to explore the best attractions in Dubai.

We have a dedicated article on the best day trips from Abu Dhabi, where you’ll find the most exciting destinations.

Our Personal Verdict on Abu Dhabi

Honestly? We’d recommend Abu Dhabi at most as a stopover on the way to Asia, or perhaps for a day trip from Dubai.

We wouldn’t travel to Abu Dhabi a second time.

Yes, the mosque is beautiful and extremely impressive. Yes, the Louvre is also architecturally quite remarkable. But unfortunately, that’s about where it ends — the rest of Abu Dhabi struck us as pretty bleak. We’re generally not big fans of artificially built-up cities, and we couldn’t get that excited about Dubai either.

Still, we wanted to give Abu Dhabi a fair chance, and the photos you typically see online do always look very promising.

Unfortunately, we found the city (aside from the mosque and the Louvre) to be honestly pretty unattractive. Of course, our opinion is, as always, highly subjective — and we’d encourage everyone who has chosen Abu Dhabi as their next destination to form their own impression.

Abu Dhabi gave us the feeling that nobody really calls the city home, and that made it feel simply dull and unwelcoming to us.

When you see the country’s promotional videos and photos of lightly dressed influencers in Abu Dhabi, you might almost get the impression that the country is open-minded and liberal. But it isn’t.

As a woman, Jenny felt very uncomfortable in Abu Dhabi. It wasn’t at all rare for Jenny to simply be ignored, with some people insisting on only talking to Basti. And then there’s the constant, very uncomfortable staring on the street — and this happened even though Jenny always wore long, loose-fitting clothing.

So no one misunderstands us: we have absolutely no problem with adapting to the customs of a country. On the contrary — we’re actually very careful about it and communicate that clearly to our readers. This is purely about the feeling we had while we were there.

Of course there are also many very friendly people here, and we don’t want to paint everyone with the same brush. Nevertheless, an uncomfortable feeling consistently outweighed everything else for us. We simply didn’t feel at ease or welcome.

For a stopover on the way to another destination in Asia, you could spend a day here, see the mosque and the Louvre, and then move on.

For a longer stay, there are, in our opinion, definitely better places to visit out there.

We know there are fans of the Arabian Emirates and that’s perfectly fine — we’re just not among them!