Abu Dhabi’s Zayed National Museum opens its doors

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Abu Dhabi’s Zayed National Museum opened its doors on 3 December 2025, joining the recently opened Natural History Museum and the Louvre Abu Dhabi in the city’s Saadiyat Cultural District.

The new museum, which spans 300,000 years of human history, celebrates the legacy of the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and chronicles the story of the emirates.

The opening marks the second of three major museums opening on Saadiyat Island in 2025-2026, following the recent launch of the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, and comes amid increasing interest in the region’s heritage, with arts and culture now topping the wish list for inbound visitors to the GCC, according to PwC Middle East.

Designed by Foster + Partners, the museum’s architecture is inspired by Emirati culture, with five soaring steel towers evoking the wings of a falcon and functioning as solar thermal chimneys.

Foster + Partner's rendering of Zayed National Museum

Inside, visitors will find six permanent galleries, offering an immersive journey through the UAE’s natural landscapes, ancient heritage, coastal traditions and cultural evolution. The collection includes artefacts from across the UAE, heritage-related donations and both domestic and international loans.

Highlights include the Abu Dhabi Pearl, one of the world’s oldest natural pearls that sheds light on the Arabian Gulf’s ancient pearling traditions, as well as the Blue Qu’ran, a renowned manuscript from the 9th–10th centuries considered one of Islamic art’s greatest treasures.

The museum will also showcase a full-scale recreation of a Bronze Age Magan Boat, constructed using traditional materials and techniques.

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Outside, the Masar Garden — a 600-metre landscaped trail — features native Emirati plants, interactive installations, animal-inspired sculptures and a working falaj irrigation system. The museum offers guided tours, workshops, talks and educational activities to enrich the visitor experience.

Cultural tourism continues to drive growth in Abu Dhabi, with visits to the emirate’s museums, heritage landmarks and cultural venues rising 47% year on year in the first half of 2025, according to the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi).

Between January and June, more than 4 million people visited the city’s cultural sites. Louvre Abu Dhabi led with 784,606 visitors, followed by the Cultural Foundation with 620,709, marking a 49% increase, and Qasr Al Hosn with 467,398, up 14%.

Looking ahead, Abu Dhabi aims is targeting 9.3 million visitors a year by 2030, supported by new landmarks, including the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, set to open in 2026.

For more information, visit zayednationalmuseum