Lonely Planet Pocket Abu Dhabi

Lee Jessica

Description

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet's Pocket Abu Dhabi is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Explore one of Arabia's most magnificent mosques, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, ride the world's fastest rollercoaster, and stroll along the Corniche and laze on its beautiful public beaches - all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Abu Dhabi and begin your journey now! Inside Lonely Planet's Pocket Abu Dhabi: Full-colour maps and images throughoutHighlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interestsInsider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spotsEssential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, pricesHonest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sightseeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks missUser-friendly layout with helpful icons, and organised by neighbourhood to help you pick the best spots to spend your timeCovers Al Markaziyah, Tourist Club Area, Al Khadiya, Breakwater, Yas Island and more The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet's Pocket Abu Dhabi is our colourful, easy to use and handy guide that literally fits in your pocket, providing on-the-go assistance for those seeking the best sights and experiences on a short visit or weekend away. Looking for more extensive coverage? Check out Lonely Planet's Oman, UAE & the Arabian Peninsula guide for an in-depth look at all the region has to offer. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, nine international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more. 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves, it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia)

Sujets

• Abu Dabi
• Abu Dhabi
• United Arab Emirates
• Abou Dabi
• Émirats arabes unis

Informations

• Publié par: Lonely Planet
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781788687140
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 36 Mo

Extrait

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Abu Dhabi
Top Sights
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Architecture
Activities & Tours
Shopping
Entertainment
Beaches & Spas
For Kids
Four Perfect Days
Need to Know
Abu Dhabi Neighbourhoods

Explore Abu Dhabi

Downtown
Marina Breakwater
Al Zahiyah & Al Maryah Island
Al Mina & Saadiyat Island
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Area
Yas Island
Eastern Mangroves & Al Mushrif

Worth a Trip

Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital

Survival Guide

Survival Guide
Before You Go
Arriving in Abu Dhabi
Getting Around
Essential Information
Language
Behind the Scenes
Our Writer
Welcome to Abu Dhabi

Proudly modern and cosmopolitan, this dynamic young capital seems to have ants in its pants with its rate of development. Swaths of beach and theme park thrills add family-friendly fun while the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque’s jaw-dropping architecture and the new Louvre Abu Dhabi’s globe-trotting collection cement the city’s reputation as the UAE’s forward-thinking cultural heart.

TRABANTOS/SHUTTERSTOCK ©
Abu Dhabi Top Sights

1 Louvre Abu Dhabi
Global heritage under one roof.

LIZCOUGHLAN/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Abu Dhabi Top Sights
1 Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Islamic archi-tecture’s modern triumph.

ARCHITECT: YOUSEF ABDELKY. LUCIANO MORTULA - LGM/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Abu Dhabi Top Sights
1 Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital
Close encounters with Emirati heritage.

EILEEN_10/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Abu Dhabi Top Sights
1 Mangrove National Park
A city-centre nature escape.

GLEN BERLIN/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Abu Dhabi Top Sights
1 Corniche
An urban playground and promenade.

MATYAS REHAK/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Abu Dhabi Top Sights
1 Founder’s Memorial
Monumental memorial to Sheikh Zayed.

THE CONSTELLATION BY RALPH HELMICK. FRANKRIS/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Abu Dhabi Top Sights
1 Emirates Palace
Get your Gulf glitz on.

MATYAS REHAK/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Abu Dhabi Top Sights
1 Yas Marina Circuit
World-famous Formula One circuit.

SERGEY KELIN/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Abu Dhabi Top Sights
1 Masdar City
A futuristic sustainable city experiment.

SOLKAFA/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Abu Dhabi Top Sights
1 Abu Dhabi Global Market Square
Modern architecture and a dining hub.

URBANMYTH/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO ©
Eating

Seafood, Middle Eastern, Indian, Thai and Peruvian. Multicultural Abu Dhabi offers everything from cheap biryanis and eat-on-the-go shawarma to fine dining from across the world. The traditional Gulf dishes of Emirati culture can be more difficult to search out, but there’s a handful of options among the wealth of international offerings.

VRANGELS/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Where to Eat
Abu Dhabi’s top fine-dining restaurants tend to be found in the five-star hotels and newer shopping malls. Al Maryah Island is fast becoming one of the major destinations for dining in style. In contrast, the streets one block south of Zayed the First St present a geography of regional cuisine from Syria to Yemen.

What to Eat
Abu Dhabi is a great city for sampling classic Middle Eastern food, despite the fact that it hails from the Levant, not from the Gulf. This usually involves small hot and cold dishes (mezze) such as hummus, moutabel (purée of aubergine) and sambusak (cheese-filled pastries), which are enjoyed over long chats and with a watermelon juice to aid digestion. This is followed by rice and meat in various preparations with unleavened bread. Dessert is an afterthought.

Best Middle Eastern Flavours
Li Beirut Fine-dining Levantine style. The place to come for mezze.
Zahrat Lebnan Families flock here for good-value mezze, shawarma and kebab plates.
Cafeteria Al Liwan Some of the crispiest falafel and creamiest hummus in town.
Café Arabia The Middle Eastern menu in this villa bounces from Marrakesh to Istanbul.

Best Traditional Gulf Tastes
Mezlai Emirati cuisine gets a fine-dining makeover in the Emirates Palace.
Al Fanar Despite the tack-o-rama facade, this place dishes up the best classic Gulf dishes in town.
Milas Contemporary twists on Emirati flavours.
Al Dhafra Tuck into traditional stews and seafood dishes amid Middle Eastern decor.

Best International Dining
Coya Peruvian cuisine with contemporary flourishes.
Dai Pai Dong All the dim sum a person could want.
Ushna Dig into the menu of richly spiced Indian curries.
Li Jiang A menu infused with the fragrant flavours of Southeast Asia.

Best Friday Brunch
Giornotte A globe-trotting foodie bonanza from oysters to Wagyu beef at the Ritz-Carlton.
Felini Garden Italian flavours, beach dune views and a wandering saxophonist to boot.
Crust Full-on international buffet of flavours at the Four Seasons.

Best Seafood
Sayad Possibly the city’s finest seafood in the city’s most celebrated hotel.
Catch Scandi-decor, beachfront setting and great sushi and seafood.
Zuma The pinnacle of Abu Dhabi’s sushi scene.

Top Tips
Dining out can quickly empty your wallet in Abu Dhabi. Many restaurants, even some of the fine-dining venues, offer good-value business lunch set menus for half the price a meal would cost you à la carte.

Drinking & Nightlife

In a country of extreme temperatures, it’s hardly surprising that the pace of life by day is slow. City-dwellers make up for it at night, however, pouring onto the Corniche at dusk and sitting out until late sipping coffee and smoking shisha. For something stronger, head to the bars, attached to either hotels or top-end restaurants.

RICHARD CLARKE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO ©

Local Style
If you think of the picnic as an essentially daytime activity, then think again. The Emiratis, in common with people of the Gulf in general, love big parties. These generally involve going out en masse with the extended family, finding a comfortable perch, preferably outdoors, and chatting until the small hours. These ad hoc night-time picnics in Abu Dhabi’s parks form the focus of city nightlife for many locals.

The Expat Way
Abu Dhabi abounds with favourite expat watering holes, and most midrange and top-end restaurants and hotels have bars serving alcohol. Nightlife for Western expats tends to revolve around these haunts, many of which offer promotions, sports on TV, ladies nights, cocktail menus and rooftop lounges. Resident DJs put in an appearance later at night and bands, generally from the Philippines, add a bit of boogie to the beat.

Best Cocktails
Hakkasan Seriously creative signature cocktails are what this place is about.
Dragon’s Tooth A snug hidden den for cocktail lovers.
Asia De Cuba Sip cocktails on the terrace leading straight out to the sand.

Best Shisha
Hookah Lounge The outdoor terrace overlooking the sea is the place to be for shisha.
Escape Beer and shisha on the beach.
Yacht Gourmet Restaurant With uninterrupted views of the capital skyline, this is a shisha classic.

Best for Drinks with a View
Ray’s Bar The skyscrapers are your neighbours at this 67th-floor bar.
Glo From October to April this rooftop overlooking Al Zahiyah’s towers buzzes after dark.
Beach House Rooftop For chilled-out beach vibes you can’t beat the sand and sea views here. (pictured)
Chameleon Terrace Cocktails and views of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque across the water.
Stratos 360-degree views of the city in this revolving lounge.

Best for Dancing
Mad on Yas Island The biggest indoor club in the UAE.
Iris DJs Thursday to Sunday for partying overlooking Yas Marina.
Empire Yas Dance on the bridge over the Formula One track.

Best Beer Drinker Haunts
Belgian Café Can’t be beaten for hops, mussels and home-cut chips.
Brauhaus For all your German brew needs.
Stars ’N’ Bars International craft beer selection and Yas Marina views.
McGettigan’s AUH Happening Irish pub.

LINDSEY PARRY/LONELY PLANET ©

Top Tips
A Check out the two-for-one cocktail deals, happy hours and regular promotions that even the swankiest bars hold.
A To savour the best of Abu Dhabi’s nightlife and cafe scene, don’t come between mid-May and mid-September, as many venues close their outdoor terraces for the summer.

Architecture

Clustered with skyscrapers, Abu Dhabi’s modern skyline is one of the most spectacular in the Middle East, representing not just outstanding design but also remarkable feats of engineering. In the capital, hotels and malls are not designed merely for function, they participate in the avant-garde aesthetic of the city.

ARCHITECT: ZAHA HADID. SOLKAFA/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Building on Sand
Survey the old photographs in the museum at Abu Dhabi Heritage Village, and you’ll notice that less than a century ago Qasr Al Hosn was located in splendid isolation in the middle of an empty coastal plain.
The famous desert explorer Wilfred Thesiger writes of reaching a small town of 2000 inhabitants in the late 1940s after crossing the Empty Quarter. He led his faltering camels across the mud of the Khor Al Maqta as there were no bridges.
Today Qasr Al Hosn is dwarfed by downtown’s high-rises, three bridges connect the mainland to Abu Dhabi Island and the city has grown to a population of around 2.5 million. This gives a measure of the pace of development from the mid-20th century to the present day.

Future Vision
Abu Dhabi’s skyline is always evolving. The capital’s new central business district is currently taking shape on Al Maryah Island, two more major museum projects are planned for Saadiyat Island and Masdar City is an experiment in sustainable urban living for the future.

Best Cultural Icons
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque The jewel in the crown of the capital.
Louvre Abu Dhabi The Louvre’s interior features a rain of light.
Founder’s Memorial A stunning 3D artwork anchors this memorial plaza.

Best City Towers
Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid The highest building in Abu Dhabi with a striking slanting roof.
Capital Gate Currently holds the world record for the most extreme lean.
Observation Deck at 300 Wh