Things to do in Kuwait City

Landmark · Sharq, on the Gulf Road

Three tapering towers with blue-green spheres, completed in 1979 and restored after the 1990–91 occupation — the country's defining image.

Local tip: The observation sphere rotates and gives the only overview of how Kuwait City is actually laid out along the bay. Go at sunset. The restoration after the invasion is part of the story and the staff will tell it if you ask.

Neighborhood · Kuwait City centre

The old market — spices, dates, gold, textiles, perfume and a courtyard of restaurants — the last working piece of pre-oil Kuwait in the city centre.

Local tip: The courtyard fills up after Isha prayer and is the best cheap eating in the city. Go for the fish market and the date sellers in the late afternoon; the tourist gold alley is not the interesting part. Everything closes for several hours in the middle of the day.

Culture · Al Soor Street, city centre

A very large cultural complex with multiple theatres, including one of the biggest opera houses in the Middle East, opened in 2016.

Local tip: The programme is genuinely international and tickets are cheap relative to comparable venues. Almost no expatriate resident goes, largely because it does not advertise in English much. Check the schedule directly rather than waiting to hear about it.

Nature · Between Kuwait City and Shuwaikh, on the old city wall line

A large landscaped park built on the line of Kuwait's demolished city wall, with two museums, a botanical garden and long walking paths.

Local tip: The best public space in the country and the only place in central Kuwait designed for walking. It comes alive from October to April after dark; in summer it is empty for obvious reasons. The Habitat and Memorial museums inside are free and better than they sound.

Neighborhood · Salmiya

The dense expatriate heart of Kuwait — Salem Al Mubarak Street, malls, restaurants, and a long seafront promenade along the Gulf Road.

Local tip: The Gulf Road corniche is where Kuwait actually goes in the cooler months — walking, cycling, tea from the kiosks, families out until midnight. Salmiya's back streets have far better and cheaper restaurants than the mall strip; ask a colleague rather than an app.

Nature · 20 km offshore, by ferry from Ras Al-Ard

An island with Bronze Age Dilmun and Hellenistic Greek ruins, abandoned after the 1990 invasion and never fully resettled — an archaeological site and a preserved moment of recent history at once.

Local tip: Almost nobody who lives in Kuwait has been, which is remarkable given it is an hour and a half away by ferry. The Greek temple of Ikaros and the untouched abandoned village are both extraordinary. Go between November and March, check the ferry schedule in advance, and take everything with you — there is almost nothing there.