🇳🇱 Amsterdam → 🇶🇦 Doha · 2 weeks

Arrive at the Museum of Islamic Art just as it opens at 9am on a weekday — the I.M. Pei-designed building is stunning from the outside, but the interior light through the geometric windows is what makes it. The collection of 1,400 years of Islamic artefacts is genuinely world-class.

Cross from the MIA waterfront to the Souq Waqif area by abra (traditional wooden ferry) for QAR 2 — it takes five minutes and gives you the best view of the Doha skyline. The old trading souq has been beautifully restored and stays open until midnight.

Drive or take a taxi to the top of West Bay at night and photograph the skyline from the Al Corniche Promenade opposite — specifically from the stretch near the Four Seasons Hotel. The reflection in the bay is extraordinary, and there's a walking path along the entire 7km waterfront.

Book tickets for the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) in advance online — the building by Jean Nouvel, shaped like interlocking desert rose crystals, is as spectacular as what's inside. Allow three hours; the section on Qatari pearl diving is unexpectedly moving.