Hotels in Doha

Doha holds nearly the entire population of Qatar and has been rebuilt at extraordinary speed over the past two decades. The Corniche curves for seven kilometres around the bay, with the West Bay skyline on one side and the low domes of the old city on the other.

The Museum of Islamic Art, on its own island at the southern end of the Corniche, is the city's cultural centrepiece, and the National Museum's desert-rose architecture is close behind. Souq Waqif is the place to spend an evening — rebuilt in traditional style, with falcon dealers, shisha cafes and Levantine restaurants. Katara Cultural Village and The Pearl cover the newer end of the spectrum.

Doha works well as a two- or three-day stopover between Europe and Asia. Half-day trips run into the desert to the inland sea at Khor Al Adaid, where the dunes meet the water on the Saudi border.