Camila Vega
The 2022 World Cup is a mega-event that soccer fans have been looking forward to and waiting for four long years. With this same expectation, we bring you the 5 best tourist destinations in Qatar in case you visit the venue of the World Cup and even if you don’t and want to know more about the country that will host this sporting festival.
The List of the Best Tourist Destinations in Qatar
1. The Pearl Qatar
To start off our invaluable list, there is The Pearl. Believe it or not, it is an artificial island located in Doha, Qatar. It covers almost four square kilometers. It is the first land in Qatar that is available for foreign ownership. As of 2018, there are 27,000 residents.
Once fully completed, The Pearl will create more than 32 kilometers of new waterfront for use as a residential development with an expected 18,831 homes and 45,000 residents. Developed by United Development Company and planned by architecture and design firm Callison, the island is located 350 meters off the coast of Doha’s West Bay Lagoon area. If you are interested in Qatar tourism, this is one of the best places to visit in Doha.
2. Doha Corniche
One of Doha’s most iconic attractions, the Corniche is a seven-kilometer stretch of beautiful promenade overlooking the serene waterfront. With a crescent-shaped walkway around Doha Bay, the Corniche offers the best views of the city’s modern skyline, making it the epicenter of various occasions, such as National Day and National Sports Day celebrations. Here you can see the dhows illuminating the Corniche at night and also take a boat ride to immerse yourself in the view of this city.
3. Museum of Islamic Art
In third place is the Museum of Islamic Art, this is one of the most acclaimed tourist sites in Qatar for its beautiful architectural structure and lighting. It is located on the shores of the Corniche on another artificial island.
According to the museum’s website, it represents Islamic art from three continents over 1,400 years. The MIA is the flagship of Qatar Museums which, under the leadership of its Chairman, H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, is transforming the State of Qatar into a cultural capital of the Middle East.
4. Doha Fort (AlKoot Fort)
If you are interested in tourism in Qatar, you definitely have to go to Doha Fort, called AlKoot. It is one of the places to visit in Doha and it is located in the heart of the city. Initially, it was built in the 19th century as a police station, but later it became a museum.
The exhibitions and artwork include crafts, plaster and wood ornaments, fishing equipment and boats, photos and historical paintings, including oil paintings of artisan workers and daily life.
5. Qatar National Museum
Finally, we have the Qatar National Museum, this place gives voice to the rich heritage and culture of Qatar. They welcome diverse communities to their vibrant and immersive space to gather and experience Qatar’s past, present and future.
Jean Nouvel was its architect and mentioned this about his inspiration for creating it:
Qatar has a deep rapport with the desert, with its flora and fauna, its nomadic people, its long traditions. To fuse these contrasting stories, I needed a symbolic element. Eventually, I remembered the phenomenon of the desert rose: crystalline forms, like miniature architectural events, that emerge from the ground through the work of wind, salt water, and sand.
