Doha City Tour: Guided Tour to Souq Waqif, Katara, Pearl Island

National Museum of Qatar

45 min

The National Museum of Qatar is a national museum in Doha, Qatar. The current building opened to the public on 28 March 2019, replacing the previous building which opened in 1975. The building was designed by architect Jean Nouvel who was inspired by the desert rose crystal, which can be found in Qatar.
A tour of the museum takes visitors through a loop of galleries that address three major, interrelated themes. The galleries are loosely arranged in chronological order, beginning with exhibitions on the natural history of the desert and the Persian Gulf, artefacts from Bedouin culture, historical exhibitions on the tribal wars, the establishment of the Qatari state, and finally the discovery of oil to the present. The displays and installations that explore these themes present audiovisual displays with carefully selected treasures from the museum's collections.

Souq Waqif

1 hour

Souq Waqif (Arabic: Sūq Wāqif, "the standing market") is a marketplace (souq) in Doha, in the state of Qatar. The souq sells traditional garments, spices, handicrafts, and souvenirs. It is also home to restaurants and Shisha lounges. The original building dates back at least from the 20th Century in a traditional Qatari architectural style. It was renovated in 2006.
The souq was founded at least a century ago in proximity of the dry river bed known as Wadi Musheireb. It was a gathering place where Bedouins and locals would trade a variety of goods, primarily livestock goods.
The Souq Waqif is considered as a tourist attraction within Doha.

Katara Cultural Village

30 min

Katara is a cultural village in Doha, Qatar. It is located on the eastern coast between West Bay and the Pearl."Katara" was the historical name used for Qatar prior to the 18th century.
It was soft-opened in October 2010 during the Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF), an event that it has hosted ever since.
Katara has an open amphitheater, an opera house, a multi-purpose cinema, a multi-purpose conference hall, a beach, and a souq.A museum showcasing the country's maritime heritage was opened in November 2015.

The Pearl Island

20 min

The Pearl-Qatar is an artificial island spanning nearly four square kilometers. It is the first land in Qatar to be available for freehold ownership by foreign nationals.
The name "The Pearl" was chosen because the island is being built on one of Qatar's previous major pearl diving sites. Qatar was one of the major pearl traders of Asia before the Japanese introduced cheaper more affordable pearls just before Qatar's oil boom. The Pearl-Qatar helps to represent Qatar's rich past in the pearl industry. The Pearl is said to resemble a string of pearls.