Tourist Attractions & Monuments United Arab Emirates

Timetable

Opening hours: there are no rules, but it's fair to say that everything generally starts at 10 a.m. and closes around 6 p.m., sometimes earlier. Note that some places only open in the afternoons on Fridays, and close completely on Muslim holidays. As for the closing days of monuments and museums, each emirate and cultural venue has its own rules, so vigilance is essential.

Visitor numbers: numbers depend on the month of the year, with the peak season between November and March. Weekends are also very busy, on Fridays and Saturdays.

To be booked

In high season, between November and March, we strongly recommend reserving the most visited sites, especially in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, such as the Burj Khalifa, the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum, mosques, certain forts and palaces.

Budget & Tips

Affordable: all museums are affordable, the most expensive being the Louvre Abu Dhabi. In the historic districts of each emirate, entrance fees are often symbolic, and some are free. In Al Aïn, all cultural venues are free.

Reasonable: the French-speaking guides listed in our guide charge reasonable prices, but they are few and far between.

Expensive: all theme parks are expensive.

Passes: to keep expenses under control, only Dubai offers passes with several activities included. Visit www.dubaipass.ae

Senior citizens over 60, people with reduced mobility and small children have free access in most cases.

Main events

December and January : the first weekend of December hosts the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix, and the city is saturated. Early December is the national holiday. Traditional dances, flag-decorations and fireworks mark the three-day celebration. Late December sees the Dubai Shopping Festival, or the sales period, which runs from the end of December to the end of January. It's also the festive season, marked by legendary fireworks displays in every emirate on December 31.

Ramadan: altered schedules during the day, but great excitement throughout the city after sunset. The end of Ramadan ushers in a period of sales and bargains.

July and August : Dubai Summer Suprises: a period of summer sales, including discounts at attractions.

Guided tours

Sightseeing buses : these are available in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah and enable you to explore the city.

Guided tours of the historic Al Fahidi district in Dubai and Sharjah: take a stroll through the historic district with a local guide.

Question-and-answer lunch in Dubai : over a typical Emirati breakfast, brunch or lunch, a no-holds-barred question-and-answer game lets visitors ask the locals any and all questions they may have.

Guided tour of the Jumeirah Mosque and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi : a no-holds-barred exchange that begins with a breakfast on Islamic issues for Dubai, and a free guided tour of the Grand Mosque.

Visits to the archaeological site of Mleiha in Sharjah by 4X4: 120,000 years of human presence and some very fine discoveries.

Visits to the Liwa region: with Emiratis, on the road to the forts, on a farm and in the desert.

Atypical tours : gastronomic discovery of street food in the old quarters of Dubai. A change of scenery guaranteed.

Smokers

Smoking is permitted except in or near schools, universities and government buildings, and in shopping malls. Restaurants generally have smoking and non-smoking sections.

Tourist traps

Regulations are such that tourist traps are few and far between. Some attractions, such as desert getaways, are overcrowded. So it's best to read our recommendations.

What's very local

The United Arab Emirates is a very open country, and does not impose a dress code except in mosques, and in the historic districts of cities where more conservative dress is advised, and also generally outside the major cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is forbidden to wear T-shirts containing political slogans or insults. Bikinis are permitted, but not monokinis, and beachwear is allowed only in swimming pools and on the sand. During the month of Ramadan, on the other hand, dress is more conservative, and long dresses with long sleeves are more appropriate for iftars and Suhoor.