Palace, Memorial & Breakwater: a walk in Abu Dhabi

From the Presidential Palace along the western Corniche to the Founder's Memorial, then out to the Heritage Village on the Breakwater.

Best time: Morning or late afternoon (the Founder's Memorial visitor centre is open 09:00–22:00 per Wikipedia). Walk from November to March. From May to September midday heat is dangerous, so walk only in the early morning.

The route, stop by stop

1
Qasr Al Watan (Presidential Palace)
Presidential palace, ticketed; ~90 min.
The working presidential palace, opened to the public in March 2019: a white granite-and-limestone building whose Great Hall sits under a 37 m dome, plus a 'House of Knowledge'…
2
The Founder's Memorial
Heritage garden and 'The Constellation'; ~40 min.
Memorial to Sheikh Zayed (opened 2018): a garden of ghaf, sidr and date palms around 'The Constellation', Ralph Helmick's cloud of 1,327 suspended shapes that forms a 3D portrait…
3
Heritage Village
Open-air heritage museum on the Breakwater; ~40 min.
An open-air heritage museum on the Breakwater, dating from 1996 per Wikidata, looking back across the water at the Corniche.

Walking directions

Palace, Memorial & Breakwater

The route, stop by stop

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