11 of 13 places fit
The only intact pre-oil pearling town left in the Gulf: coral-stone houses, a fort and mosques, abandoned and now partly restored.
A heritage quarter restored to its 1950s look, with Souq Al Arsah, Souq Al Shanasiyah, merchant houses like Bait Al Naboodah and the rebuilt Sharjah Fort.
The restored creek-mouth quarter where Dubai's ruling family lived, centred on Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House, with the dhows and Deira across the water.
A low-rise grid of tailors, cheap Kerala and Pakistani restaurants and the Karama Shopping Centre stalls, with three metro stations on its edges.
A dense, old-style district of small shops and Filipino and South Asian eateries between Jumeirah and Sheikh Zayed Road, often called Mini-Manila.
The museum, Sultan Fort, the oasis gates and Al Jahili Fort sit within a couple of kilometres of each other.
Narrow shaded streets and a wind tower were designed to keep you cooler than the rest of the city, and the central park grows food on its walls.
The old port mixes the fish, date and carpet markets with 421 Arts Campus and a heritage village of 1960s Abu Dhabi.
Decades-old shawarma counters and curry houses fill the blocks between Abu Dhabi Mall and the marina.
Qasr Al Hosn, the Cultural Foundation and House of Artisans share one landscaped block, a short walk from the old Hamdan Centre and the WTC souk.
A low-rise villa district with a former fishing harbour turned marina, a public beach and dhow builders still nearby.