Please visit our Help Centre for more support if you have a question about your booking or flight.
Desert days and city nights in Doha
Author: Jools Stone
Now is the perfect time to visit Doha. There are plenty of reasons to explore Qatar’s fascinating capital now in the spotlight. In the thrum of new industry and excitement, daily business and daily pleasures continue. And, as you’ll find in this rapidly changing city, traditional routines often come with a twist.
Whether you’re here for high-tech architecture, mosaic-encrusted mosques or the rolling dunes, start your trip at the corniche – every Middle Eastern city worth its salt has one. Doha’s is clean, pedestrianised and offers fantastic views of the bay and the skyscrapers, whether for an evening stroll or a morning boat trip.
Seek skyscrapers at West Bay where an almost Wizard-of-Oz-like Emerald City glitters above you. See the famous Doha Tower veiled with geometric patterns and prepare to enjoy outrageous shopping experiences. The Villagio Mall, improbably based on an Italian village, is a good bet on a hot day. It’s a mad, Western style mall filled with Middle Eastern excess, including a canal complete with free gondolas ferrying bemused shoppers.
Jaula Spa
Realign your mind and body in the balanced calm of the Grand Hyatt Doha.
Pigeon Towers
One of the most photographed sites in Doha and one of the most alien. These strange towers are actually dovecotes.
Soak up the Souk
Book return flights from London to Doha.
Sightseeing in the city you’ll soon realise that tradition and religion sit alongside glamour and modernity. The Pearl is Qatar’s answer to both Dubai’s Palm and the French Riviera: glamorous, upscale and polished. En route, stop in the Katara Cultural Village with its curious old pigeon towers, the most photographed buildings in the city. They are juxtaposed by the colourful Katara mosque next door, shining with enough colourful mosaics to completely overwhelm your camera.
Devote a day to the unmissable Souq Waqif and the nearby Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) – both have real treasures within. There’s a ruby encrusted coffee cup holder in the MIA, in a striking building designed by Louvre pyramid architect IM Pei. In the souk, browse traditional pearls or oud. For more art in a city that can’t get enough of modern galleries, nearby Al Riwaq has hosted exhibitions devoted to both Damien Hirst and Picasso. Further afield, the Al Samriya Farm houses the excessive and somewhat random collections of the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum: housing everything from unique fossils to antique cars, collected over a lifetime.
Stay
The Grand Hyatt Doha has a private beach on the pedestrianised Corniche waterfront and a relaxing spa for complete with beautiful gardens and indoor tranquillity pools to cool off in when the heat hits.
Book at stay at Grand Hyatt Doha
Eat
Seafood, dates, and a curious but delicious mixture of cuisines from Moroccan to Mediterranean. Try the shisha bars and restaurants around Souk Waqif.
Don’t miss
A chance to explore the desert. The coast road south from Doha to Khor Al Adaid is a seemingly endless wilderness that touches the sea. Sandboarding and dune bashing are some of the best ways to experience it.