Hotels near National Museum of Oman

The National Museum of Oman opened in 2016 opposite Al Alam Palace and is the best single explanation of the country you will find. Fourteen permanent galleries run from Bronze Age copper mining at Maysar through the maritime empire that once reached Zanzibar, to the frankincense trade and the Renaissance period after 1970. Labels are in Arabic, English and Braille, and it was the first museum in the region to use Arabic Braille throughout.

Entry costs 5 OMR (around 12 EUR) for adults and children under 12 go free. It opens 10am to 5pm and closes on Fridays. Two hours covers the highlights, though the maritime gallery with its full-scale reconstruction of a sewn-plank Omani ship can eat 40 minutes on its own. The air conditioning is fierce, which makes this the obvious midday stop when the heat outside becomes unworkable.

Pro Tip: Do the Land and People gallery first, before the crowds off the 11am cruise shuttles arrive. It gives you the geography and tribal context that makes every other gallery read properly.