A country · 100 places · 6 regions

United Arab Emirates, all of it.

100 curated places across 6 regions — photographed, mapped, and noted with the season each is best in.

Burj Khalifa · via Wikimedia Commons

The 4 biggest regions — Emirate of Dubai, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, Emirate of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah — read below as chapters, with 2 more waiting past them.

Chapter I · Emirate of Dubai · 31 places

Emirate of Dubai

Standing at 828 metres, Burj Khalifa is the world's tallest structure, dominating the Dubai skyline from virtually every angle across the city. Observation decks on floors 124 and 148 offer panoramic views across the desert, the Arabian Gulf, and the dense urban fabric below. The tower photographs best at the blue hour, when city lights begin to compete with the fading sky.

Burj Khalifa

Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates

✦ October to April · $$

Palm Jumeirah

Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates

✦ November to March · $$$

Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve

Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates

✦ October to April · $$$

All 31 places in Emirate of Dubai →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter II · Emirate of Abu Dhabi · 22 places

Emirate of Abu Dhabi

A crescent-shaped string of settlements at the northern edge of the Rub' al Khali, Liwa is flanked by some of the largest sand dunes in the world, with individual dunes rising above 300 metres in the surrounding Empty Quarter. The oasis is the ancestral homeland of the Al Nahyan ruling family and retains traditional falaj irrigation systems still in use. Photographers come for the immense scale of dune landscapes with virtually no horizon-breaking features except the dune crests themselves.

✦ November to February · $$

Meet Liwa Oasis All 22 places in Emirate of Abu Dhabi →

Chapter III · Emirate of Sharjah · 9 places

Emirate of Sharjah

A museum housed in a former souk on the Sharjah waterfront, gathering manuscripts, ceramics, scientific instruments and coins from across the Islamic world. A domed ceiling painted with the zodiac crowns its central gallery.

Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization

Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

✦ November to March · $

Faya Palaeolandscape

Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

✦ October–April · $$$

Sharjah

Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

✦ October to April

All 9 places in Emirate of Sharjah →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter IV · Ras Al Khaimah · 8 places

Ras Al Khaimah

At approximately 1,934 metres, Jebel Jais is the highest peak in the UAE, rising from the northern Hajar range in Ras Al Khaimah emirate. A paved mountain road ascends through successive bands of rock strata to viewpoints offering panoramas across Oman and the Gulf of Oman on clear days. The summit plateau is dramatically cold compared to the coast in winter, often approaching freezing overnight.

✦ October to April

Meet Jebel Jais All 8 places in Ras Al Khaimah →