Culture, design & architecture

The mud-brick capital of the first Saudi state above Wadi Hanifa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2010. Check entry times and tickets on the official Diriyah channels before you go.

A clay and mud-brick fort of 1865 with four watchtowers, retaken by Abdulaziz in 1902. Now a museum of maps, photographs and weapons.

Raymond Moriyama’s museum, opened in 1999, with eight halls from the creation of the universe to the Hajj.

King Abdulaziz’s mud-brick palace, finished in 1945 and a museum since 1999, beside the National Museum.

The national library in Olaya, opened in 1990.

The 302-metre tower by Ellerbe Becket and Omrania, finished in 2002. Two lifts take paying visitors to the sky bridge, about 290 metres up.

Foster + Partners’ 267-metre tower of 2000, with a viewing deck at 200 metres and The Globe restaurant in the sphere.

Zaha Hadid Architects’ sculpted station, at the heart of a district master-planned by Henning Larsen.

Rasem Badran’s modern Najdi mosque, linked by bridges to the Al Hukm Palace.