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Capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia
Photo: Samer Bassam, CC BY-SA 1.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Riyadh (الرياض ar-Riyāḍ) is the capital of Saudi Arabia, slightly east of the center of the country in the heart of the Tuwaig escarpment.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
قصر المصمك, Qasr al-Masmak
The heart of old Riyadh, this was the fortress stormed by King Abdul Aziz and his men in their daring reconquest of Riyadh in 1902. Renovated in 2008 to an inch of its life, the mud brick structure now looks like it was built yesterday, but the museum inside does a pretty good job of recounting the story of the raid and has some fascinating photos of old Riyadh as well. Alas, the second half is devoted to extolling the greatness of the Sauds in everything from agriculture to education.
قصر المربع,Qasr al-Murabba
Riyadh's second old mud-brick palace, built by King Abdul Aziz after he conquered Masmak Fortress and figured he should built something harder to conquer. This two-story structure does indeed look pretty intimidating, but permits are no longer needed to venture inside, where you can find sights including the first royal Rolls-Royce.
This museum (opened in 1999) is done up with the latest technology and is very accessible to visitors, with almost everything available in English. There are several video presentations and mini-theatres, so you could probably spend a lot of time here doing virtual tours of Madain Salih or watching re-enactments of the Prophet Mohammed's battle of Medina. Highlights include a kiswah cloth that once covered the Kaaba in Mecca. Half the time, though, it feels more like a propaganda exercise than a museum: the display on plate tectonics starts with a quote from the Quran, the history of the Sauds is rather airbrushed, and the display on the birth of Mohammed, reached from the clash and noise of the Jahiliyah (age of ignorance) by riding an escalator up into a room of soothing, pastel light while a choir of angels sings, has probably inspired a few conversions to Islam. Many cabbies will not recognize the English name: ask for the neighboring Murabba Palace (Qasr al-Murabba) instead.
Saqr Aljazeera Aviation Museum
Presents a history of Royal Saudi Airforce and Saudi Aviation throughout the years. Most prominent attraction is the L-1011 Lockheed TriStar, which serves as a gate guard for the museum and can be seen while on the road.
Deira Square
Next to the Great Mosque and the mutawwa headquarters, this nondescript expanse of cement is known by expats as Chop-Chop Square as convicts are publicly beheaded with a scimitar here. Public executions are rare since MBS came to power. Executions used to take place on Friday mornings at 9AM, but not every week, and no notice was given in advance. Beware that any Westerners nearby have been known to be taken to the front row and forced to watch the whole thing, in order to further shame the condemned. It is forbidden to take photos of executions or to record videos of them.
المملكة Al-Mamlaka
Undoubtedly Riyadh's most stunning piece of modern architecture, at 305 m the Kingdom Centre is the second tallest building in Saudi Arabia and quite a sight, especially when lit up at night. The centre hosts an (expensive) three-story shopping mall, with one floor reserved for women, but the main reason to visit is the 99th-floor Skybridge connecting the two peaks at a height of 300 m. Best visited at dusk or after dark, from here you'll get great views over the vast and flat but well-lit expanse of the city.
Several tour companies offer desert trips, mostly to Ad-Dahna desert 1 hour east of Riyadh near the road towards Dammam. Tours usually run from 2PM to 11PM and include drinks, food and activities such as volleyball, sand boarding, etc. (SR250). Some tours let you camp in the desert. Reliable operator include Yalla Hike, HikeMania and Riyadh Hiking.
Nice layout with green and inviting grass, and the last 9 holes are even floodlit. They offer tennis, swimming and horse-back riding as well.
مدينة الملك فهد الرياضية
This stadium has closed for reconstruction. It's being expanded to 92,000 capacity and will host soccer matches in the AFC Asian Cup Finals in 2027.
ملعب جامعة الملك سعود
Opened in 2015, this is the home ground of Al Nassr FC, who play soccer in Pro League the top tier. It has a capacity of 25,000 and in 2027 hosts matches in the AFC Asian Cup Finals.
مدينة الأمير فيصل بن فهد الرياضية
With a capacity of 22,500, this is the home ground of Al Hilal and Al Shabab, who both play soccer in Pro League. It too is a venue for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Finals.
Immensely popular chain which does excellent thick, fresh juice cocktails as well, but the main draw here is the famous shwarma, arguably Riyadh's best. They're minuscule in size but cheap at SR4 a pop, so most people order at least three! The menu (available in English) also covers freshly baked pastries, kebabs and some Lebanese treats. Place your order and pay first, then queue at the counters. You can eat in at the diner-style high counters among towering piles of fruit, but most opt for take-away.
Providing traditional Malabar cuisine, North-Indian and Chinese. Paragon specials are biriyani, kudukka biriyani (served in a pot) and traditional style fish items.
A chain of Iranian restaurants available at several locations in the city. They offer a good range of kebabs and a better range of mezze like tabbouleh, hummus, eggplant, vine leaves etc.
Filipino
Asian
Probably the restaurant with the nicest decor in Riyadh, traditional saudi food, you will be sitting on the floor.
One of the older Lebanese restaurants in town, this sparsely-decorated restaurant has had an enduring reputation. It is especially known for its "Sayyadiyya" and its "Kibbe in pomegranate sauce."
This is an oldest Japanese restaurant in town (dating from the 1980s). rumor said it is run by Japanese but serving fusion Japanese food. Closed on Fridays.
This very popular Turkish restaurant is packed during the evening hours. Meat is the name of the game here, and it comes in numerous tasty variations. The bread is superb!
Quite good rendition of TexMex with a typical American look-and-feel. If you're from the Northeast of the US, the Buffalo wings and tenders are recommended - excellent hotsauce.
Korean-run eatery offering reasonably authentic Korean, Japanese, and Chinese food at reasonable prices. Popular with the local Asian community.
Taiwanese-Saudi run Chinese restaurant offering a variety of foods from throughout Asia, stick to the Saudized Taiwanese or Chinese menu items. The pigeon is a great appetizer as an alternative to the deep fried appetizer menu. The restaurant is accepting of business mixed gender groups. Ask for a table on top of the illuminated fish tanks in the center of the restaurant. Getting there can be difficult as it is in a side strip mall, look for the pagoda top and the neon Chinese gate.
Basic chain steak house - think Ponderosa - with a decent selection of steaks and other meat products. One of many locations throughout Riyadh.
Teatro is an amazing find in the small area between Olaya and Kind Fahad Road. The bachelor side (the only side visited this trip) looks like a very odd dance club. The "VIP room" and were not told has an extra SR 30 charge per person. The area is a mix of 1960s mood lighting, lava lamps, odd kitsch, and a hunter's room with hunted animals everywhere. Add in Pink Floyd's "The Wall" (a bit of irony for the Kingdom) and a few huge screen TVs - the place is a den for sports fans in Riyadh. We were told the place sells out on football nights. The food is international in style and average. The food is average, but the decor and oddity of finding a place like this in Riyadh will entice a return visit during a football match. There is a family side that looks just as interesting.
Offers a very rich buffet for breakfast, covering a wide spectrum of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern delicacies, as well as regular European food. The Italian restaurant in the ground floor of Sheraton Riyadh is excellent. The pasta with its freshly prepared sauce is recommended.
This restaurant is nominally Italian but in fact serves a varied international cuisine. Despite the view and cost, the food is not especially impressive.
Suspended 240 meters above Riyadh in the giant glass ball of the al-Faisaliah building, the Globe is the hippest cafe-restaurant and probably the single best splurge in town. So dimly lit at night that the waiters fade into the shadows, you can settle back in a plush leather seat, order a bottle of (non-alcoholic) bubbly, puff on a Cohiba and watch the lights of the city twinkle below. Reservations required, but they'll make one for you at the lobby if there's space. On the way out, stop at "the experience" level outdoor viewing platform.
Modern, stylish hotel offering four-star quality at reasonable price compared to its branded equivalents, but service is rather inept. Free (but not tremendously fast) wireless internet, small indoor pool and limited gym (open only in the evening). Cafe on mezzanine for buffet breakfast is relaxed, 8th floor restaurant dinner buffet expensive at SR120 but tasty.
80 spacious rooms & suites with high-end finishing, all-day dining restaurant. Complimentary high speed Wi-Fi.
Luxury hotel offering facilities for meetings, conferences, weddings and events. Also provides accommodations, restaurants and vacation packages for tourists as well as business travelers.
Equipped with studio apartments, one and two bedroom apartments. This property offers complimentary shower amenities and on-site gymnasium.
It doesn't get any cooler than staying in the 302-m Kingdom Tower, and the Four Seasons features what you expect from a luxury hotel.
Formerly the Howard Johnson Olaya Palace, but thoroughly renovated and reopened in 2007. Modern design, decent rooms, central location, basic gym.
Popular hotel for visiting businessmen. Large meeting facilities, good restaurants, close to Olaya Road business district.
The first and only women-only hotel in Saudi. Most visitors are locals coming here for the spa, but there are also 25 rooms for overnight visitors.
In desperate need of a facelift and awkwardly located to the east of the city core. About the best that can be said is that it's clean and quiet. Once you're in the room, you can easily imagine you're in any Marriott in the US, even the bathrooms look identical. Superb, large-size indoor swimming pool and excellent fitness room (included in room charge).
Very comfortable modern hotel with a Scandinavian touch. Nice gym with two saunas and pools, free Internet and a rather good breakfast. Has four in-house restaurants including a Japanese and an Italian one.
Older but well-maintained property about 3 km north of the city center, handy for both the airport and doing business. Good restaurants, but virtually nothing within walking distance.
4-star hotel, consisting of 60 rooms & suites, a health club, spa, 4 meeting rooms & an all-day dining restaurant.
At the foot of the Al Faisaliah skyscraper, this is one of Riyadh's swankiest malls, anchored by a Harvey Nichols department store. The food court on the third floor is among the best in the Kingdom; the one in the basement, on the other hand, is deserted. There is a fun park in the basement near the entrance on Olaya road. Families only W-F.
Makatba Jarir
The two-level flagship store of Saudi Arabia's largest bookstore, most of the store is actually taken up by a wide range of computer gear, stationary, music and DVDs. The best English-language magazine and book selection in Saudi — which, alas, isn't saying all that much.
Sahara Mall hosts a VOX cinema. The second floor and food court are under renovation as of 2021, half of the shops are closed hence it is pretty desert. Hayat Mall is right next to Sahara Mall, it is significantly bigger than Sahara Mall with Danube hypermarket.
A great place to visit if you are in Tahlia. They have wide range of clothing store as well as fine dining restaurant such as Outback.
Has a Carrefour, H&M and Sun & Sands shops.
The mall has a range of clothing shops, Virgin store and food count. Shops in the extension are mostly not opened yet but with a cinema at the end.
A large mall with local and international brands, a food court and a couple of fine dining restaurants.
Contains several local and international brands, cafes, cinema and restaurants.
شارع الثميري
Also known as Antique Souq, this is Riyadh's most touristy souq, which isn't saying all that much. It specializes in Arabic goods cheap and expensive, authentic and fake, with carpets, coffee pots, daggers, jewelry and more. Most of it is made elsewhere, nothing is authentically Saudi. English is generally spoken, and haggling is obligatory.
By plane
Aside from Saudia, direct connections from outside the Gulf and South Asia are surprisingly limited, but options include Lufthansa from Frankfurt, British Airways from London-Heathrow, Air France…
By train
Rail traffic to Riyadh is increasing, with the city being the center of a new high speed network that's under construction.
By bus
By car
The main east-west road through Riyadh is Highway 40 from Dammam and the causeway from Bahrain to Khobar with other road links mainly leading to the North of the Kingdom.
By metro
All six lines of the long-awaited Riyadh Metro finally opened in 2024.
By taxi
Most visitors rely on taxis, which are abundant in the city center but can be harder to find on the outskirts or at night. The ride-hailing apps in Riyadh are Uber and Careem.
By bus
Flat-fare minibuses (SR3) rumble the streets of Riyadh, but these are mostly used by laborers.
By car
The best option for travelling in Riyadh is your own car, ideally driven by somebody else used to the conditions, but many expats take the plunge and drive themselves.
On foot
The modern, northern half of Riyadh is very pedestrian-hostile, with 8-lane roads filled with speeding SUVs making crossing the road a dangerous exercise.
By bicycle
Cycling is uncommon in Riyadh, but there is a small network of protected cycle paths, particularly in Wadi Hanifa, on Sports Boulevard and near the airport.
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