48 of 54 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.
Sharjah's fish, meat and produce market, where the day's catch is auctioned from about 6am.
A one-kilometre canal lined with cafés and apartments between Khalid Lagoon and Al Khan, busy with families in the evening.
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.
One of the oldest souks in the country, covered and air-conditioned, with copper coffee pots, pearl chests, oud and a halwa shop.
Over 600 shops on two floors, with carpets, kilims and handwoven textiles upstairs and Bedouin silver and gold along the lagoon side.
A small new souk of 13 shops in clay and stone buildings selling Emirati-made goods, with a pottery workshop and an Arabic coffee house.
A short 506 m mountain trail from Shees Park climbs to a platform 30 m above the park, with a 25 m man-made waterfall below.
Buy fish straight off the boats, about 70% from UAE waters, have it cleaned on the spot and grilled in the same building.
A 1.8 km creekside promenade built with wind towers and palm-frond shade, with dhows and abras tied up along it.
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.
Walkways and cycle paths run along the 3.2 km canal from Business Bay to the sea, with three footbridges to cross back and forth.
A quiet east coast seafront with a rubber jogging track, shaded sea-facing benches and toilets, next to the Al Qurm mangroves.
A lookout tower on the highest point of the park gives a 360-degree view over Hatta village and the Hajar.
A roadside strip of stalls open every day, despite the name, selling pottery, carpets, plants and local produce on the way to the east coast.
Seven viewing platforms with telescopes high on the UAE's tallest mountain, looking down over the Hajar ridges.
A terraced mountain garden 281 m above sea level right after the Kalba tunnel, with walking routes looking out to the coast.
A saucer-shaped rest house about 580 m up the mountain looks straight down on Khor Fakkan bay, reached by a gentle 6.5 km road.
A bay-front walk between the working harbour and the stone amphitheatre, with the lit-up man-made waterfall on the hillside behind.
A long seafront on the Gulf of Oman with a beach walk and fish restaurants, with the Hajar right behind the city.
A restored 1930s souq on the road between the Qattara and Jimi oases, where local families sell crafts in a 35-metre covered corridor.
A roughly 30-minute climb from Hatta Wadi Hub to the big HATTA letters on the ridge, with the dam and village below.
A souq in Mubdia Village run by Emirati women, selling incense, spices, henna, oud and dallah coffee pots.
Rows of small shops stacked with cartons of khalas, saqai, medjool and ajwa, with sellers handing out tasting dates and coffee.
Over a hundred Afghan-run shops selling rugs, kilims and floor cushions at prices well below the malls.
A free waterside walk facing the Mangrove National Park, where kayak tours set off into the channels.
The museum, Sultan Fort, the oasis gates and Al Jahili Fort sit within a couple of kilometres of each other.
A 3 km palm-lined boardwalk links Etihad Arena, beach clubs and dozens of restaurants.
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 last working camel market in the country, where traders haggle over animals in pens behind Bawadi Mall.
A beachfront strip of restaurants next to Soul Beach, minutes from the Louvre, with the sea one step off the path.
The old port mixes the fish, date and carpet markets with 421 Arts Campus and a heritage village of 1960s Abu Dhabi.
A 5.4 km waterside path with Highline Park looks straight across the channel at the city skyline.
A modern souk on the canal facing the Grand Mosque, with waterside terraces for dinner after browsing.
A canal-side walk with the National Aquarium and a view across the water to the Grand Mosque.
Decades-old shawarma counters and curry houses fill the blocks between Abu Dhabi Mall and the marina.
At about 1,240 metres it is the highest point in Abu Dhabi, with Al Ain spread out below and Oman's ridges behind.
Foster + Partners' modern take on a souk sits on the site of the old Central Market, with carved timber lanes and oud and spice stalls.
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.
Two kilometres of lifeguarded sand facing northwest, so the sun sets straight over the water.
The seafront path in front of the heritage village gives the classic straight-on view of the whole Corniche skyline across the water.
A low-rise villa district with a former fishing harbour turned marina, a public beach and dhow builders still nearby.
A food-stall waterfront and beach on Hudayriyat where families stay out well past midnight in winter.
104 fresh-fish stalls under one roof, with cleaning stations and restaurants that will cook what you just bought.
A boardwalk through natural mangroves with observation towers where black herons, and occasionally dugongs, show up.
From the top of a 300-metre dune you see the Empty Quarter roll away in every direction.