Home › Travel Guides › Middle East Travel Guide › Kuwait › Kuwait City › Things to see in Kuwait City
Image gallery

Al-Hashemi II boat, Kuwait City

© Creative Commons / tazz

+300
Kuwait City Local time

Weather in Kuwait City
Overcast
2
2
°C
Lebanon

Things to see in Kuwait City

Tourist information: 

There is no official tourist information office in Kuwait but the privately-run Kuwait Tourism Services Company (tel: 2245 1734; www.ktsc-q8.com) near the ice-rink in Shamiya has many years of experience in advising visitors. There are also some useful websites, including www.kuwaittourism.com.

Al-Hashemi Marine Museum

If boats are your thing, then this museum, with its collection of scaled-model dhows (traditional fishing boats in the Arabian Gulf) and a Viking ship, is sure to impress. The wooden dhow adjacent to the museum, Al-Hashemi II, is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest wooden boat on earth, measuring a whopping 80.4m (264ft) long and 18.7m (61ft) wide, and weighing an estimated 2,500 tonnes. It's hard to leave the museum without your own miniature dhow, Admiral Nelson or knot board.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Behind Radison SAS Hotel, Salwa, Kuwait
Telephone: 2567 3000.
House of Mirrors

Around 77 tonnes of mirror and 102 tonnes of white cement have been used in the creation of the mirror mosaics that spangle the inside and outside of this residential house. The project was inspired by the decorating of an old piece of dining-room furniture, and grew into an obsession. Ring ahead to request a tour.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: House 17, Block 9, Kuwait
Telephone: 2251 8522.
Website: http://qattanart.net
Kuwait House of National Memorial Museum

The horror of the Iraqi invasion is spelled out in models of the city that are illuminated in time with an audio recording in English. The museum also honours the sacrifices that ordinary Kuwaiti citizens, the military and the allies made in order to beat back Sadam's forces.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Opposite Prime Minister's House, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Telephone: 2484 5335.
Kuwait Towers

Kuwait's iconic landmark, the Kuwait Towers, opened in 1979. The split-level observation deck in the largest of the three towers has a gift shop and a cafe with great views across the city.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Arabian Gulf Street, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Telephone: 2244 4057.
Website: http://www.kuwaittowers.com
National Museum Complex

Part of the precious Al-Sabah Collection, looted during the Iraqi invasion, has been restored and over 2,000 items covering Kuwait's national heritage are now on display. The quaint Popular Traditional Museum (tel: 2272 9158) illustrates daily life in pre-oil Kuwait through a diorama of full-sized figures. Don't miss the Planetarium (tel: 2245 6534) with daily shows at around 1800.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Telephone: 2245 1195.
Scientific Center

Sporting the largest aquarium in the Middle East, the centre has a unique intertidal display, with waves at eye level. This is the easiest way to see the workings of the ingenious mudskipper. Don't miss feeding time in the wrap-around, floor-to-ceiling shark and ray tanks.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: Arabian Gulf Street, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Telephone: 2184 8888.
Website: http://www.tsck.org.kw
Tareq Rajab Museum

Don't miss this superlative private collection of Islamic art, assembled by Kuwait's first minister of antiquities and his British wife. Musical instruments, silver and gold jewellery; prayer caps and helmets; costumes of sheikhs and shepherds; Bahraini pearls, manuscripts and masonry form this eclectic treasure-trove of exhibits.

Disabled Access: No
Unesco: No
Address: House 16, Street 5, Kuwait
Telephone: 2531 7358.
Website: http://www.trmkt.com

Recommended Sites:

Protect yourself from malaria
Before you travel, find out if your holiday destination is in a malaria zone.
(An educational initiative organised and funded by GlaxoSmithKline Travel Health. UK/MARK/0173/10 September 2010)
Travel insurance
For residents of over 150 countries. High levels of medical, evacuation, emergency & most adventure activities covered.