United Arab Emirates: Six Attractions and Natural Wonders

A desert federation transformed by oil wealth and ambition

The United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven emirates on the Arabian Peninsula, has used decades of oil wealth to transform from a modest pearling and fishing economy into a global hub for finance, aviation, and increasingly tourism and culture — a transformation most visible in Dubai's record-breaking skyline and Abu Dhabi's major museum projects. Beneath the superlatives, the country's desert interior and centuries-old maritime heritage remain part of daily life away from the headline attractions.

The six below run from Dubai to Abu Dhabi and the surrounding desert. The cooler months (roughly November to March) are far more comfortable for outdoor sightseeing than the intense summer heat.

1. The Burj Khalifa

The Burj Khalifa, completed in 2010, remains the tallest building ever constructed at over 828 metres, its observation decks giving views that on clear days stretch far out over the desert and Persian Gulf. Its completion, and the skyline that has grown up around it since, transformed Dubai's global image within little more than a generation.

2. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, completed in 2007 as the final resting place and legacy project of the UAE's founding president, holds one of the largest hand-knotted carpets in the world within its main prayer hall, along with vast white marble courtyards accented with semi-precious stone inlay. Open to non-Muslim visitors with a modest dress code, it remains one of the country's most visited landmarks.

3. A desert dune safari

Just beyond Dubai's skyline, the surrounding desert offers dune-bashing 4x4 excursions, camel rides, and traditional Bedouin-style desert camps with dinner and entertainment under the stars — a deliberately packaged but genuinely striking contrast to the ultra-modern city a short drive away.

4. Palm Jumeirah

Palm Jumeirah, an artificial archipelago built from dredged sand in the shape of a palm tree, is large enough to be visible from space and now holds luxury resorts, private villas, and a monorail connecting its "trunk" to the surrounding "fronds" — one of the most ambitious land reclamation projects ever undertaken, and a symbol of Dubai's broader development philosophy.

5. The Louvre Abu Dhabi

The Louvre Abu Dhabi, opened in 2017 under an agreement with the French Louvre, is designed around a vast perforated dome that casts a shifting pattern of light onto the galleries below, described by its architect as a "rain of light." Its collection spans global art and civilisation deliberately arranged to highlight shared human themes across cultures, distinct from a conventional national art museum.

6. Dubai's artificial islands

Dubai's broader coastline has been reshaped by multiple large-scale artificial island projects beyond Palm Jumeirah alone, part of a deliberate strategy to expand the emirate's limited natural waterfront and create new premium real estate — visible testimony to the scale of ambition that has defined Dubai's development over the past three decades.

The UAE suits a short trip of four to six days combining Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with the two cities close enough together to combine easily on a single visit.