Popular places to visit
Riyadh - places to visit & events
This diverse, modern, history-packed capital city, in the heart of Saudi Arabia, offers the traveller a friendly welcome, with an amazing cosmopolitan, historial and cutural experience many global destinations find hard to match. Old and new sympathetically side by side, a trip to be remembered for a lifetime..
Masmak Fort/Palace, Riyadh
Steeped in history, this impressive fortress played a key role in the unification of modern Saudi Arabia. King Abdulaziz won a famous battle here, risking his life, then began the important job of unification. Construction started in 1865, completed in 1895. Free to enter, as are many historical sites in Saudi Arabia, Masmak Fort/Palace can be reached by road or on foot in the centre of Riyadh.
Very historic site in modern Saudi history, with an impressive museum inside, charting the formation of Saudi Arabia and full of relics and pictures of days gone by - what life used to be like, from weapons to costumes and artifacts from daily life.
The impressive fort mosque can be found on the left after entering the main door. The Majlis can be found straight ahead and an impressively deep well can be found in the North West corner of the fort. The arrow head embedded in the door symbolises unification following a key battle - read all about the history online, its fascinating. The central courtyard is impressive, and there is a gift shop inside.
Just outside the Fort are many cafes and restaurants, in pleasant Deera Square, where you can watch life go by. The Imam Turki bin Abdullah Grand Mosque can be found in the same complex, overlooking the main square, the square is surrounded by many souqs, including the gold souq. Here is the place to barter and buy those souvenirs, from antiques to carpets, dates, jewelry and local clothing, all at reasonable prices of you barter well!
Heet Cave
Formed by an underground spring, deep below the sandstone, Heet Cave is an impressive, cool, place to visit on a hot summers day, to escape the seering heat. Around a 30 minute drive South of Riyadh. The scenery on the way is impressive too, open desert with impressive rock formations and mountains.