Planning your winter break or a quick weekend getaway? These are the museums you simply have to see, a wonderful opportunity to discover new cultures and broaden your perspective on life.
From Louvre Abu Dhabi and Dubai’s striking Museum of the Future to the timeless treasures of Egypt’s Grand Egyptian Museum, the region offers endless marvels for every art and culture lover.
Opened in 2019, the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) in Doha welcomed global icons including Victoria Beckham, Johnny Depp, and Naomi Campbell at its star-studded debut. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, the museum’s striking desert-rose form houses the historic Palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani. Through immersive galleries spanning 1.5 kilometres, NMoQ offers a multisensory journey into Qatar’s heritage, blending commissioned art, film, and storytelling with the voices of its people.
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza is poised to become the world’s largest museum dedicated to a single civilisation, showcasing 3,000 years of Ancient Egyptian history.
After years of development and several delays, GEM soft opened in October 2024, unveiling its main hall and 12 galleries. Spanning 500,000 square metres just 2 km from the Giza Pyramids, the museum features a glass façade framing views of the ancient monuments and will display 100,000 artefacts, including pieces relocated from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Its centrepiece is the Tutankhamun collection, displayed in a 7,000-square-metre gallery where all 5,600 treasures from his tomb are being shown together for the first time.
Louvre Abu Dhabi, opened in 2017, has become a landmark of the Saadiyat Cultural District, attracting over 2 million visitors in its first two years. Designed by Jean Nouvel, it features 12 galleries, temporary exhibition spaces, and a Children’s Museum beneath its iconic dome. Born from a 2007 UAE–France agreement, the museum bridges cultural exchange and artistic excellence. Its collection of over 600 works includes pieces by Bellini, Gauguin, and Twombly, alongside artefacts dating back 500,000 years. The district, part of Miral’s portfolio, also hosts teamLab Phenomena, with the Zayed National Museum and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi soon to follow.
The teamLab Borderless immersive art museum opened in June 2024 in Jeddah Historic District, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Created by the internationally acclaimed teamLab collective in partnership with the Saudi Ministry of Culture, it supports the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals. Spanning 10,000 square metres, the museum features over 80 interactive artworks that dissolve boundaries between art and audience through spaces like Borderless World, Athletics Forest, and the Forest of Lamps.
Borderless Jeddah is teamLab’s first museum in the Middle East, followed by teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi (which opened in April 2025), developed with DCT Abu Dhabi and Miral, exploring the dynamic relationship between environment and art.
The Abu Dhabi location explores teamLab’s new concept of environmental phenomena. Here, the environment creates phenomena, which become the works.
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha is recognised as the leading institution for modern and contemporary art in the Arab world. Founded on the collection of H.E. Sheikh Hassan bin Mohammed bin Ali Al Thani, begun in the 1980s, it now holds over 9,000 works from the Arab world, the Middle East, and regions historically linked to Qatar. Opened in 2010 in Education City, Mathaf showcases selections from its collection alongside solo and group exhibitions, an artist residency programme, and a dynamic education initiative. Under the direction of Zeina Arida, the museum continues to shape scholarship and dialogue on modern Arab art.
Dubai’s Etihad Museum tells the story of the founding of the UAE in 1971, and aims to inform visitors about the UAE’s constitution. Specifically, the rights, privileges and responsibilities it grants its citizens. The museum building incorporates the site where the UAE was founded.
Guests move through a series of pavilions and explore the events leading to the unification. Immersive and interactive exhibitions include the Dreams of Unity gallery, which features film, special effects and an expressive soundscape; a 3D hologram display in the Seeds of Unity gallery; the gilded gallery dedicated to The Constitution, and more.
Its façade was designed by Moriyama and Teshima Architects, Canada, and resembles a manuscript. This is inspired by the Unification Agreement, and is accompanied by seven leaning pillars that represent the seven pens that signed the constitution’s declaration.
The Bahrain National Museum, opened in 1988, is one of the island’s most important cultural landmarks. Designed by Danish architects Gunnar Krohn and Eigil Hartvig Rasmussen of KHR Architecture, the museum sits on an artificial peninsula and features nine galleries across two buildings, distinguished by a striking white travertine façade. Recognised as one of the Gulf’s finest museums, it traces 6,000 years of Bahraini history, from Dilmun-period burial traditions and fine crafts to the nation’s rich pearling heritage. In 2025, the museum announced a collaboration with the Zayed National Museum in the UAE to promote shared cultural heritage across the region.
The Manial Palace was built between 1900 and 1929 and represents a significant period in modern Egyptian history and architecture.
As the summer residence of Prince Muhammad Ali Tawfik, son of Khedive Tewfik I, who ruled Egypt and Sudan from 1879 to 1892, the palace is one of the biggest private residences in Cairo, and one of Egypt’s most beautiful and important historical sites.
The museum features a luxurious reception area, clock tower, Sabil, mosque, hunting museum, living quarters, glittering throne hall, private museum, gardens, and golden hall.
Its modern Islamic style draws from numerous architectural styles and combines Persian and Mamluk features with inspiration from Syrian, Moroccan, Andalusian motifs, and Ottoman design.
Opened in 2022, Dubai’s Museum of the Future invites visitors to imagine the world 50 years from now through immersive, multisensory exhibitions that blend science, technology, and spirituality. Its award-winning Journey of the Pioneers experience takes guests on an interactive exploration of a hopeful future. Designed as an architectural icon, the museum has become a symbol of innovation and progress. In 2023, it announced a partnership with the Dubai Space Centre, revealed from the International Space Station, to showcase the UAE’s achievements in space exploration. By August 2025, the Museum of the Future had welcomed over 4 million visitors since its opening.
Oman Across Ages Museum, opened in 2023 in the historic province of Manah, traces the story of the Sultanate from its geological origins through the Renaissance of the 1970s to the present and beyond. Set within an expansive desert landscape, the museum includes permanent and temporary galleries, an auditorium, gardens, dining spaces, and the Knowledge Centre library. Designed by COX Architecture, it has earned international recognition, winning the Special Prize for Exterior at the 2024 Prix Versailles and the 2025 International Chapter Award for Public Architecture. Museum Studio led the masterplanning and exhibition design, creating an experience that bridges Oman’s past and future.
