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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.

Hours: Sat Mon Wed Thu 8AM-8PM Fri 4PM-8PM Sun 8AM-2PM
Price: Free
Website: nationalmuseum.org.sa (opens in a new tab)

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Listing from Wikivoyage: Riyadh, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

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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
Eat
Paragon Family Restaurant
Providing traditional Malabar cuisine, North-Indian and Chinese. Paragon specials are biriyani, kudukka biriyani (served in a pot) and traditional style fish items.
5AM-2AM
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
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.