How best to show Abu Dhabi off to people visiting from overseas? These are the recommendations of Linda Clark, with our added asides:

1.                  Tour the Grand Mosque (free) there’s definitely nothing like this in Dubai. A stunning experience both architecturally and culturally.

2.                  Ride a bike down the Corniche to the fish market, vegetable souk and the Iranian souk. You can rent bikes at the breakwater end, opposite the Hilton Abu Dhabi, for AED25 per hour; and there’s a bike path most of the way along the Corniche (not that many cyclists use it). The fish market is great, especially if you do actually buy some fish; the guys in red at one end will gut and scale it for you. Hungry now? At the other end of the market there are fish fryers who will cook it for you.

3.                  Check out the Saadiyat Island exhibition at Emirates Palace Hotel (free). A brief visit to the Emirates Palace is probably all you need, though the central cupola is impressive; but the sheer scale and imagination of Saadiyat is impressively displayed there.

4.                  Take a desert tour, complete with camel ride, sunset barbeque, and belly dancer. Some things just have to be done at least once. Pick your time, though; summer is often too hot and too dusty. Try Net Tours (02 679 4656).

5.                  Visit the Palace Museum in Al Ain (free) this is the former home of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (father of the present Ruler) when he was the Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region; it looks very old, but the earliest buildings date back to 1937. The interest comes from the snapshot of domestic arrangements and practical life that the museum offers.

[Originally published in Abu Dhabi Week vol 2 issue 25]