Abu Dhabi Sights and Landmarks Guide, United Arab Emirates

What is in store for future visitors of Abu Dhabi is breathtaking. By 2010, it will play host to a branch of New York University, the first of its kind, outside its homeland the United States. Moreover, it is also in the process of building a brand new museum to be completed in 2011 that will serve as home to various modernist and contemporary arts. This said museum will be the largest exponent of the prestigious Guggenheim Museums. In addition, three cultural building will also be built including the Performing Arts Centre, the Sheikh Zayed National Museum and the Maritime Museum.

However, this does not mean that the current Abu Dhabi is scarce of scenery and wondrous sights. The beauty that is Abu Dhabi now will only be enhanced by the significant additions for the future. One of the more prominent destinations in the city is the 1050-acre artificial island known as the Al Lulu Island. It stretches form the Abu Dhabi Breakwater to the Zayed Sea Port with it land reclamation completed in 1992.

Currently, it is already open to the public with amazing amenities including two restaurants, four coffee shops, two stretches of beach on the north and south part of the island, changing rooms, cafeterias, a duned area, mosques, and two artificial fresh-water lakes. Abu Dhabi is also a compulsive shopper paradise with three very large malls basked in the city: the Abu Dhabi Mall is a three story shopping mall located in Tourist Club Area; the Marina Mall boasts a musical fountain and ceilings that thunder and rain; and Al Wahda Mall that houses the biggest supermarket in the whole world - the Lulu Hypermart.

To top it all, prices in this city are very competitive because of the lack of tax. For the cultural buffs, the Abu Dhabi Cultural Centre is the perfect destination because it holds several cultural events throughout the year - children's programs, art exhibitions, benefit fundraisers, and other culture-related activities. The Kahlifa Park, on the other hand, is the best venue for nature tripping owing to its own aquarium, museum, train, play parks and formal gardens. 

While Dubai may be more popular than Abu Dhabi, this city is equally stunning and breathtaking. It is a haven for all kinds of tourist may you be a nature-tripper, a shopaholic, an architectural geek or a cultural enthusiast. In Abu Dhabi, fun is boundless and possibilities of acquiring it are endless.