Tourism in Doha

Doha, the capital city of Qatar, is situated on the bank of the Arabian Gulf. Earlier Doha was known as one of the busy pearl fishing villages in the South East Arabia of Persian Gulf. It was till recently when the oil production began in 1949, it got a facelift to present itself as one of the most important trade centers of the region. This picturesque, tiny deep water port is one of the most important cities of Middle East today. Doha with its accommodating nature is an intriguing mixture of old and new tradition of Arab. Today Doha serves as the only base point to travel in Qatar

Doha is the choicest destination to unwind. Being here you can choose the number of options available here to charge up yourself and have some real fun.

Looking at the modern structures of the city, you can easily get the idea of the city's recent developments. The few facets of the city still give a hint of Doha's early struggle for survival and existence. However, the capital city of Qatar doesn't seem to have a long recorded history. You can realize this fact in almost every corner of the city. Doha from its earlier status of a fishing and pearl industrial area was being uplifted to be one of the busy producers of oil and petroleum products. The production of oil began here in the year 1949. This has resulted into a huge immigration of foreign nationals here. With the immigration of different culture and people from all over the world, Doha got its present face of being a cosmopolitan city. However, fishing still holds its importance as one of the major industrial sectors of the country.

Doha has a typical tropical climate and weather. Doha is hot in summer that stretches from May through October. The summers of Doha are dry and windy. The winter of Doha is comparatively comfortable with a little chill. It rains occasionally in winter with a high degree of humidity. The best time to visit Doha would be between November to March. A comfortable number of woolens are recommended to carry along.

The Corniche is one of the major attractions of the city of Doha. Stretching over 7 km on the Doha Bay, this is a palm-lined public space. Here hordes of tourists and local public get together to laze around in the evenings all the year round. The Corniche also makes an excellent picnic spot, a walker's or jogger's paradise and a favorite place for evening outs.

Doha Ethnographic Museum (The Wind Tower House)

Doha Ethnographic Museum or the Wind tower House is the single tower house of its kind in Doha that says lot about Doha contemporary time. The Wind tower house was built in the year 1935. It was later restored in the year 1982. The massive square structure has open structure on its four sides of it to provide space and roominess along with good ventilation and light.
Doha's earliest and most common activity, fishing still lives with zest and zeal in this small town of Al-wakrah. Located just 22 km from Doha Al-wakrah lies on the coastline. Its famous museums and beautiful old Islamic architecture makes it a must visit in your itinerary.

Messai'eed is situated 45 km south of Doha. It is the centre of the Qatar industrial scenario today. On the east coast of the peninsula, the huge number of factories provide infrastructure for oil and gas production along with the provision for refinement of the same. The modern and commercial port area also provides industrial and economic advantage to the industries. Besides the refineries and gas liquefiers, Messai'eed also produces steel, petrochemicals. Besides, the beautifully spread beaches and golden sand dunes also attract a number of tourists to this place every year. This place could easily be accessed by the local transport modes available in Doha. Located 60 km away from Doha, Al-Shahaniyah is a destination famous for its camel racing competition every year. Even in the off-season, when the camel race is not on; the specially built racetrack for camels and the resident camels there attracts tourists towards it. Moreover, the Oryx farm established to protect the endangered desert antelope makes Al-Shahaniyah a must visit for you. The adaptability of the antelopes to the desert extremes is a site worth witnessing once.

Located 57 km from Doha Al-Khor is another small town near Doha. Famous for its picturesque fishing harbour and port Al-Khor makes a must visit itinerary while visiting Doha. Al-Khor also used to be a major conventional pearl fishing town that also carries abundant evidence of the country's tradition and culture in general. Besides these, the beautifully built mosques, museum and wind tower makes Al-Khor a place must visit.Another site to include in your one-day itineraries is Dukan or Dukhan. Situated 84 km from Doha, it is famous for its Oil Fields on the West Coast of the country. If feeling like doing something more relaxing, you also have the option of visiting the beaches with its inviting sand dunes all through the year. Besides the above mentioned tourist spots, you can also visit places like Madinat Al-shamal which lies approximately 107 km from Doha and many more places of its kind.

There are a number of accommodation options available in Doha and besides the very few luxury hotels you have a number of other options to choose from. Some of the hotels are as follows: Sheraton Doha Hotel and Resort, Doha Marriott Gulf Hotel, Ramada doha hotel, Sofitel, Sealine Beach Resort Doha, Oasis, Shezan Doha Hotel, Doha Palace, and Regency.