Hotels near Katara Cultural Village

Katara Cultural Village is a purpose-built arts district on the coast north of West Bay, laid out to resemble an old Gulf town with sand-coloured alleys, wind towers and two pigeon towers that genuinely house birds. The centrepiece is a 5,000-seat open-air amphitheatre built to Greco-Roman proportions and used for concerts from October onwards. Around it sit the Katara Mosque with its Persian-tiled dome, a smaller gold-tiled mosque designed by Turkish architect Zeynep Fadillioglu, an opera house, a planetarium and around a dozen galleries.

Entry to the grounds is free and most exhibitions cost nothing. Katara Beach charges roughly 50 QAR (about 13 EUR) for a day pass with a lounger. This is a cultural and family site rather than a resort strip, so swimwear stays on the sand and covered shoulders and knees are the norm everywhere else, particularly near the two mosques. Restaurants along the main spine run 80 to 200 QAR (20 to 50 EUR) a head. Evenings are busiest, and the film and food festivals in winter fill the amphitheatre steps.

Pro Tip: The public rooftop terrace above Building 22 lines up the amphitheatre, the tiled dome and the West Bay towers in one frame. It is not signposted - take the outdoor stairs on the north side of the building.