United Arab Emirates
Saadiyat Island
Hawksbill turtles nesting on undeveloped dunes beside a Louvre, a Guggenheim, and empty white sand.
The light inside the Louvre Abu Dhabi falls through a perforated dome in shifting constellations — what the architect Jean Nouvel called a rain of light. Walk outside and the Gulf stretches flat and turquoise to the horizon, hawksbill turtles nesting on undeveloped dunes just metres from the museum's entrance. The contrast between ancient Mesopotamian figurines behind glass and an empty white beach through the exit doors is deliberate, and it works.
Saadiyat Island is Abu Dhabi's cultural district, anchored by the Louvre Abu Dhabi — a museum whose permanent collection spans 5,000 years of human civilisation, from Neolithic arrowheads to Impressionist canvases. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and other cultural institutions are under development alongside it. Hawksbill turtle nesting grounds are protected along the island's undeveloped beaches, with monitored nesting season running from June through September. The island's public beach is one of the cleanest stretches of coastline in the UAE — clear water, soft white sand, and rarely crowded. Luxury beach hotels sit minutes from the museum complex, making it possible to spend a morning with Rembrandt and an afternoon on an empty shoreline.
Couple
A morning exploring 5,000 years of art under a dome that filters sunlight into constellations, then an afternoon on an uncrowded white-sand beach. Saadiyat makes culture and coastline feel like a single experience rather than a choice between two.
Family
The Louvre Abu Dhabi's children's museum is designed for young hands and minds, and the clean public beach gives everyone space to decompress afterward. Turtle-nesting season adds a layer of wonder for children old enough to understand what they are witnessing.
Friends
Beach club afternoons, world-class museum visits, and waterfront dining that ranges from hammour ceviche to Emirati-French fusion. Saadiyat balances high culture with barefoot coastline — the group never has to compromise.
- The Louvre Abu Dhabi's permanent collection spans 5,000 years across civilisations — from Mesopotamian figurines to Impressionist canvases under a perforated dome.
- Hawksbill turtle nesting grounds are protected along the island's undeveloped beach, with monitored nesting season running June through September.
- The island's public beach is one of the cleanest stretches of coastline in the UAE — clear water, soft white sand, and barely a crowd.
- Luxury beach hotels sit minutes from the museum complex, making it possible to spend a morning with Rembrandt and an afternoon on an empty shoreline.
Louvre Abu Dhabi's café serves Emirati-French fusion — saffron crème brûlée and rose-scented madeleines.
Beach clubs grilling jumbo prawns and hammour ceviche steps from the turquoise shallows.
Niagara Falls
United States
Six million cubic feet of water per minute plunging into mist you feel a mile away.
Santa Maria
Portugal
The Azores' oldest island hides a red clay desert and golden beaches the other islands lack.
Santa Maria
Cape Verde
Trade winds blast a long golden beach where kitesurfers trace arcs above turquoise Atlantic rollers.
Jericoacoara
Brazil
Windswept dunes where the sun melts into the sea from a natural stone arch.
Al Ain Oasis
United Arab Emirates
Three thousand date palms fed by a 3,000-year-old underground irrigation system still flowing.
Jebel Jais
United Arab Emirates
Frost on the UAE's highest peak at dawn, desert shimmering far below.
Sir Bani Yas Island
United Arab Emirates
Arabian oryx and cheetahs roaming a private island where a 1,400-year-old monastery hides in the scrub.
Hatta
United Arab Emirates
Turquoise dam water pooled between rust-coloured Hajar peaks, kayaks drifting in absolute silence.