The hook
The UAE's calmer, wealthier capital, home to one of the most beautiful modern mosques in the world and an outpost of the Louvre under a vast latticed dome that rains down "a shower of light."
01Why it's worth it
Abu Dhabi is the oil-rich, more measured sibling to flashy Dubai, and it has spent its wealth on a couple of genuinely worthwhile things. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is a spectacular work of modern Islamic architecture, a gleaming white expanse of domes, reflecting pools, floral inlay, and the world's largest hand-knotted carpet, breathtaking at dusk when it glows against the sky and open to respectful visitors. On Saadiyat Island, the Louvre Abu Dhabi houses a serious art collection under a huge silvery dome designed so sunlight filters through its layers like light through palm fronds, an effect its architect called a "rain of light." Add a long corniche, the traditional-style Qasr Al Watan palace, and the desert and Liwa dunes to the south, and the capital makes a more cultured, less frantic Gulf stop than its neighbour. It is easy, hot, and best in winter.
02How to experience it
See the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (dress modestly; abayas are lent), ideally at dusk, and give the Louvre Abu Dhabi a couple of hours for the collection and the dome's light. Stroll the corniche, and if you have a day more, head south to the great Liwa dunes on the Empty Quarter's edge.