Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia with 7.5 million people in the city and 8.7 million in the metropolitan area — a desert metropolis in the centre of the Arabian Peninsula built almost entirely after the discovery of oil in 1938, on the site of what was until the early 20th century a small walled mud-brick town of 30,000 people. The city sits on the Najd plateau at 600 m altitude, surrounded by the Arabian desert, and is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world — it has expanded from 150,000 people in 1950 to its current 8+ million in just 75 years. Riyadh is the seat of the Al Saud royal family (who have ruled the Arabian Peninsula since 1744 when Muhammad ibn Saud allied with the Wahhabi Islamic reformer Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab) and the centre of the Vision 2030 transformation plan initiated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in 2016 to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy away from oil and open the country to tourism — women were granted the right to drive in 2018, cinemas reopened after a 35-year ban in 2018, tourist visas were introduced in 2019, and the entertainment sector has exploded with Formula E, concerts and sports events. The historic Diriyah (UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2010, 15 km northwest of the city centre) is the original home of the Al Saud dynasty — the mud-brick At-Turaif district (Turaif District) where Ibn Saud and the Wahhabi alliance was born in 1744 is one of the most significant historical sites in the Arabian Peninsula. Modern Riyadh has the Kingdom Centre Tower (302 m, with the sky bridge connecting the two tapered arms, the most distinctive skyscraper in Saudi Arabia and the venue for the Sky Bridge observation deck), the National Museum (the finest museum in the Arabian Peninsula) and the vast Riyadh Boulevard entertainment district.
The At-Turaif District of Diriyah (UNESCO World Heritage 2010, 15 km northwest of central Riyadh) is the mud-brick palace and settlement where the first Saudi state was born — the 1744 alliance between Muhammad ibn Saud and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab created the Wahhabi-Saudi political compact that eventually became modern Saudi Arabia (after two Ottoman destructions and three Saudi states); the Salwa Palace (the main palace complex), the mosque, the market and the tower houses of the najdi mud-brick architecture style are being meticulously restored as a heritage and tourism district.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe National Museum of Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, adjacent to Masmak Fortress, opened 1999, the finest museum in the Arabian Peninsula) has 8 thematic galleries: the Arabian Peninsula in pre-human geological time, the prehistoric era (the Nabataean kingdom and pre-Islamic Arabia), the Prophet's era, the first and second Saudi states, the Unification and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the collections include the original camel-skin drum belonging to Prophet Muhammad, the gold Masmak gate key and the Nabataean stone inscriptions from north Arabia.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Masmak Fortress (Qasr al-Masmak, 1865, clay and mud-brick, in the old city centre) is where Abdulaziz ibn Saud (Ibn Saud) led a 40-man raiding party in January 1902 to recapture Riyadh from the Rashidi dynasty — the spear tip that broke off in the gate door during the raid (still visible in the door today) is one of the most important artifacts in Saudi history; the fortress is now a museum documenting the 1902 raid and the unification of Saudi Arabia.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe traditional Najdi cuisine of Riyadh — kabsa (the Saudi national rice dish: long-grain basmati rice cooked with chicken, lamb or camel meat, tomatoes, onion, black lime, cinnamon and saffron, the most-eaten meal in Saudi Arabia), jareesh (the Najdi fermented wheat porridge, slow-cooked with chicken broth and dried lime, one of the oldest Arabian dishes), and the Saudi date culture (Saudi Arabia produces 15% of the world's dates; the Medjool and Sukkari varieties from the Medina and Qassim regions are the world's finest); the Najd Village Restaurant in Riyadh serves the most authentic Najdi cuisine.
The Kingdom Centre Tower (302 m, completed 2002, designed by Ellerbe Becket with a distinctive hyperbolic tapered form and a sky bridge connecting the two upper arms at 200 m height — a bridge suspended in the gap at the top of the building with a 360° observation deck) is the most iconic building in Riyadh; the Kingdom Centre also houses the Faisaliah Tower observation deck (240 m, the other Riyadh signature building, a golden glass ball at the top of the tapered tower) across the Al Uruba Road; together they define the Riyadh skyline.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Murabba Palace (Al-Murabba Historical District, 1936-1938, Ibn Saud's private palace when Riyadh was still a small town, the largest Najdi-style mud-brick palace in Saudi Arabia) gives the clearest picture of what Riyadh was like before oil — the courtyard palace with the central garden, the guest reception rooms decorated with traditional embroidered textiles and the simple furniture of a pre-oil desert ruler; the adjacent King Abdulaziz Historical Centre has the adjacent National Museum complex.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Edge of the World (Jebel Fihrayn, 75 km northwest of Riyadh, 1.5 hrs by 4WD) is a dramatic cliff edge on the Tuwaiq Escarpment — a 300 m sheer drop over the Sahda Plain below, a horizon stretching 30 km over the Arabian desert with no human presence visible; the escarpment (the eroded edge of the Najd plateau) runs for hundreds of kilometres; sunset at the Edge of the World is the most extraordinary natural panorama accessible from Riyadh; 4WD or guided tour essential as the track is unpaved.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideIf extending the trip, Al-Ula (1,100 km northwest of Riyadh, 1h30 by domestic flight or 12h drive) is the most spectacular heritage site in Saudi Arabia — Hegra (Mada'in Saleh, Saudi Arabia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site 2008) has 131 Nabataean rock-cut tombs comparable to Petra in Jordan but completely unvisited until 2019 when tourist visas became available; the Riyadh Boulevard (a massive outdoor entertainment district, the centrepiece of the Vision 2030 entertainment push) has the Boulevard World theme park sections and the finest dining street in Riyadh open until 2 am.
The King Khalid Wildlife Research Centre (60 km outside Riyadh, the Saudi national wildlife programme) protects the Arabian oryx (the national animal of Saudi Arabia, brought back from extinction in the wild in 1978 through captive breeding — there are now 6,000+ in the wild), the Arabian sand gazelle, the Rüppell's fox and the Griffon vulture breeding programme; the Riyadh Zoo (Hadiqqat al-Hayawan) is the most visited attraction in Riyadh for Saudi families and has the Saudi National Collection of Arabian endemic fauna.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideAl-Zal (the Thursday Antiques Market, Riyadh, the city's oldest remaining traditional souq, though now running daily) specialises in used goods, Saudi antiques, traditional dallah coffee pots (the traditional Arabic long-spout coffeepots, the symbol of Saudi hospitality), old silver jewellery, Bedouin textiles, frankincense and oud wood (the dark resinous wood from the Aquilaria tree used for burning as incense, the most expensive wood in the world at up to $100,000 per kg for the finest agarwood).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe red sand dunes southeast of Riyadh (the edge of the Rub' al Khali, the Empty Quarter, the world's largest continuous sand desert at 650,000 km²) are accessible for half-day or overnight desert safari from Riyadh — the Al-Sahba Desert Park (20 km from the city) has the red sand dunes unique to the Riyadh area (the iron oxide content in the rock gives the sand its distinctive red-orange colour); 4WD dune bashing, sand-boarding and the Bedouin camp dinner (with camel milk, dates and Arabic coffee) are the standard activities.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe farewell Saudi experience — qahwa (Arabic coffee, the pale yellow cardamom-spiced coffee served in small handleless finjan cups with dates, the fundamental gesture of Saudi hospitality; the coffee is brewed with lightly roasted beans and generous cardamom, then served three cups at a time, shaken to indicate you are finished) with the finest Riyadh dates (the Sukkari variety from the Qassim region — a dry, crumbly, amber-coloured date with a natural caramel sweetness, the most prized Saudi date variety); the Bat' ha Date Market in central Riyadh is the best date shopping in the Kingdom.