Before You Go
- Confirm passport validity and entry requirements.
- Check whether a tourist visa is required.
- Keep digital copies of important documents.
- Consider purchasing travel insurance.
Doha
Qatari Riyal (QAR)
Arabic
NovβMar
AST (UTC+3)
Welcome to Qatar, a small Gulf nation where a striking futuristic skyline rises dramatically along the Arabian Gulf. Doha's Corniche offers sweeping views of ultramodern skyscrapers alongside traditional dhow harbors. The Museum of Islamic Art showcases centuries of Islamic artistry within a striking modern architectural setting. Qatar's desert offers dramatic dune bashing and camping beneath star-filled skies just outside the capital. Souq Waqif preserves a traditional marketplace atmosphere, with spices, textiles, and falconry shops lining historic alleyways. The Inland Sea, where desert meets water at the Saudi border, offers a uniquely dramatic natural landscape. Qatari hospitality, rooted in Bedouin tradition, welcomes visitors with warmth and refined generosity. Qatar invites travelers to experience a striking blend of ultramodern ambition and enduring desert tradition.
Helpful information to consider before and during your visit.
Discover some of Qatar's most popular flavors, traditional dishes and memorable local treats during your visit.
Machboos is a signature Qatar specialty known for its distinctive local ingredients, seasoning and traditional preparation.
This popular Qatar dish brings together familiar regional flavors and is commonly enjoyed in homes, markets or local restaurants.
A well-loved part of Qatar cuisine, Thareed reflects the country's culinary traditions and locally available ingredients.
Madrouba is a comforting regional favorite, prepared in styles that may vary between families, cities and different parts of Qatar.
Visitors often seek out Balaleet for an authentic taste of Qatar's everyday cooking and food culture.
This traditional favorite highlights the bold, savory or gently spiced flavors associated with cooking in Qatar.
Luqaimat is widely recognized in Qatar and is often served at casual meals, celebrations or community gatherings.
A memorable choice for travelers, Khanfaroosh offers a flavorful introduction to the ingredients and techniques used across Qatar.
This classic food is an important part of Qatar's culinary identity and is best sampled freshly prepared.
Qatar is one of the smallest countries in the world by land area, yet it has one of the highest GDP per capita figures on Earth, driven overwhelmingly by its massive reserves of natural gas, which it shares with Iran in the world's largest known natural gas field. The country transformed dramatically in just a few decades from a modest pearl-diving and fishing economy into one of the wealthiest nations per capita in the world, a shift almost entirely fueled by energy exports beginning in the mid-20th century.
Qatar made history in 2022 by becoming the first Middle Eastern and Arab country to host the FIFA World Cup, a tournament that required the country to build several stadiums, an entirely new city, and significant transportation infrastructure essentially from scratch. The country's capital, Doha, has one of the fastest-growing skylines in the world, having transformed from a small coastal town into a dense cluster of skyscrapers within a single generation.
Qatar is also nearly entirely desert, with almost no fresh water sources of its own, meaning the country relies overwhelmingly on desalination plants to supply drinking water for its population.
