Doha
Museums by Pei and Nouvel on the Corniche, the old souq behind them, new towers at Lusail to the north, and private jets met at the city’s former airport.
- Arrival
- Hamad International · DOH
- To the city
- About 20 minutes to the centre by car
- Private jets
- Qatar Executive at Doha International
- Best time
- November to April
The city
Along the Corniche and beyond.
The Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I. M. Pei in his nineties, stands on its own spit of land off the Corniche; Jean Nouvel’s National Museum, shaped like a desert rose, wraps an old royal palace; and Souq Waqif occupies the site of the centuries-old trading market. Lusail, a seaside city just north of the centre, is where the crescent Katara Towers rise.
Come between November and April, when the days run from the low twenties to the low thirties and rain is rare. Summer is fierce, above 40 °C from June to August, with the Gulf at 34 °C.
Arriving
One hub, and a terminal of its own.
Hamad International is the home of Qatar Airways, about twenty minutes from the centre by car. Private aviation is handled at Doha International, the city’s former airport.
- Dubai 50 min
- Riyadh 1 h 00
- Mumbai 3 h 20
- Nice 6 h 05
- Johannesburg 8 h 20 long-range jet
When to go
November to April.
A hot desert climate on the Gulf. November to April is the season, with highs of 22 to 32 °C and almost no rain. From May the heat climbs past 38 °C, peaking at 41 °C in July, and the sea reaches 34 °C in August.
- 22° J 13 20°
- 23° F 17 19°
- 26° M 16 21°
- 32° A 9 24°
- 38° M 4 28°
- 40° J 0 30°
- 41° J 0 32°
- 40° A 0 34°
- 38° S 0 33°
- 35° O 1 31°
- 29° N 3 27°
- 24° D 11 23°
What to see and do
Days in and around Doha.
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Landmark
Museum of Islamic Art
I. M. Pei’s museum, opened in 2008 on a peninsula sixty metres off the Corniche.
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Landmark
National Museum of Qatar
Jean Nouvel’s interlocking discs, after the desert rose, opened in 2019 around a restored royal palace.
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Landmark
Souq Waqif
The old market by Wadi Musheireb, with a falcon souq and its own hospital for the birds.
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Culture
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art
Founded in 2010 in Education City, Mathaf holds more than 9,000 works by Arab artists from the 1840s to the present.
Official site -
Racing & sport
3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum
Opened in March 2022 beside Khalifa International Stadium, its seven galleries include every Olympic torch since 1936 and an interactive sports floor.
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Opera & music
Katara Opera House
Home stage of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 2007, which plays Western and Arabic repertoire at Katara Cultural Village.
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Golf
Doha Golf Club
Its 18-hole championship course of 7,374 yards, opened in 1997 just north of West Bay, has hosted the Qatar Masters, with a floodlit nine-hole academy course alongside.
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Desert
Khor Al Adaid
Reached only by 4x4 across the dunes from Sealine, the Inland Sea is a protected reserve since 2007 where visitors swim, sandboard and camp overnight.
Official site -
On the water
Al Thakira Mangroves
Guided kayak and paddleboard tours thread the channels of this mangrove forest near Al Khor, where herons and flamingos feed in the shallows.
Official site -
Wildlife
Al Shaqab
Purebred Arabian horses are bred, trained and shown at this Qatar Foundation equestrian centre, which runs guided tours with time close to the horses.
Official site
On the calendar
Dates to plan around.
Dates as published by the organisers. Runways, hotels and slots fill early around these weeks: the sooner we know, the more choice you have.
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27–29 Nov 2026
Formula 1
Qatar Grand Prix
Round 23 of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship, held at Lusail International Circuit.
Lusail International Circuit, Lusail, about 24 km away
In 4 weeks
-
28–30 Jan 2027
Art
Art Basel Qatar
Doha edition of the Art Basel modern and contemporary art fair.
Msheireb Downtown Doha
In 3 months
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31 Jan – 3 Feb 2027
Technology & AI
Web Summit Qatar
Annual technology conference in Doha run by Web Summit with Qatari government partners.
Doha Exhibition and Convention Center
In 3 months
-
3–5 Dec 2027
Formula 1
Qatar Grand Prix
Round 23 of the 24-round 2027 Formula 1 World Championship, held at Lusail International Circuit with a Sprint race.
Lusail International Circuit, Lusail, about 24 km away
In 13 months
Where to stay
From the Corniche to Lusail and The Pearl.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Raffles Doha In one of the crescent Katara Towers, drawn from the crossed swords of the national emblem, with 132 rooms.
- The Chedi Katara Hotel & Resort A white palace of Persian, Mughal and Ottoman inspiration on the sea, with thirty-two pool villas.
- Four Seasons Resort and Residences at The Pearl Apartments of one to three bedrooms at the end of Porto Arabia Drive, on a private beach.
- Rosewood Doha Twin towers by the Qatari architect Ibrahim Jaidah, opened in 2026, their coral-patterned façade throwing moving light indoors.
- Mandarin Oriental, Doha Arabesque patterns and hand-blown chandeliers, and a rooftop pool facing the sunset over the skyline.
- The Ned Doha The former Ministry of the Interior on the Corniche, a 1960s building now holding seven restaurants.
- Fairmont Doha The second Katara Tower, with 362 white rooms looking over the Gulf or Lusail.
- Four Seasons Hotel Doha White stone, latticed domes and arched colonnades on the West Bay waterfront.
- Marsa Malaz Kempinski, The Pearl On its own island within The Pearl, with a private beach and a balcony or terrace for every room.
- Sharq Village & Spa, a Ritz-Carlton Hotel Whitewashed villas and shaded courtyards modelled on a Qatari village, above a natural beach.
- The Ritz-Carlton, Doha A tower of 374 rooms above an offshore marina, with an STK steakhouse among its restaurants.
- The St. Regis Doha Some fifteen bars and restaurants and a stretch of its own beach, close to the Diplomatic District.
- The St. Regis Marsa Arabia Island, The Pearl-Qatar On its own island joined to the city by a bridge: 193 rooms with Qatari and Andalusian interiors.
- Waldorf Astoria Lusail, Doha Opened in 2022 with about two hundred metres of private shore, a Sushisamba beach club and an ESPA spa of nineteen treatment rooms.
- Banana Island Resort Doha by Anantara Reached by boat in half an hour, a crescent-shaped artificial island in the Gulf with 141 rooms, suites and villas.
- W Doha Its bar, still something of a rarity in Qatar, is where the guests of this West Bay tower end up.
- InterContinental Doha Beach & Spa There are 375 rooms behind a private beach a little over a mile long, plus tennis and squash courts.
- Sheraton Grand Doha Resort & Convention Hotel William Pereira's pyramid on reclaimed land, opened in February 1982 and host of the 2020 Doha peace conference.
- Banyan Tree Doha A high-rise near the old souq whose 28th-floor lounge looks over the old city and the Gulf.
- Al Messila Resort & Spa Rooms, suites and thirty pool villas among gardens and waterways, with separate spas for men and women.
Where to dine
Three stars along the water.
From the MICHELIN Guide 2026, shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- Alba One Michelin star Italian $$$$ Raffles Doha, Lusail
- Jamavar One Michelin star Indian $$$$ Al Corniche Street, West Bay
- IDAM by Alain Ducasse One Michelin star French contemporary $$$$ Museum of Islamic Art
Elsewhere in Qatar
More reasons to come.
Flying to Doha?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.