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Sights and landmarks in Riyadh

6 sights worth seeing in Riyadh: landmarks, galleries, monuments and viewpoints.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

Sights and landmarks in Riyadh

  1. See

    As-Sufaat

    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.

  2. See

    Kingdom Centre

    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.

    Daily 4-11PMSR60 (Skybridge)

  3. See

    Masmak Fortress

    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.

    Free

  4. See

    Murabba Palace

    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.

    Sun-Fri 6-9PMFree

  5. See

    National Museum

    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.

    Sat Mon Wed Thu 8AM-8PM Fri 4PM-8PM Sun 8AM-2PMFree

  6. See Not mapped

    Royal Saudi Airforce Museum

    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.

    8AM to 11AM and 4PM to 9PMSR10

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Riyadh (CC BY-SA 4.0).