United Arab Emirates
Sharjah
Half a day of museums, the old quarter on foot and the creek front.
- Typical stay: 1–2 days
Why Sharjah?
A city of museums
More museums than anywhere else in the country.
The old quarter
A restored coral and gypsum old quarter under wind towers.
A half-day walk
Old quarter, museums and creek front in one half-day walk.
Before you go
Currency
United Arab Emirates Dirham
Language
Arabic
Time difference
GMT+4
Getting around
Ride-hailing
Driving
On the right
Airports
SHJ
Best time to visit Sharjah
November to March
Places in Sharjah
The Museum of Islamic Civilization
MuseumThe old quarter
LandmarkThe museum district
MuseumThe creek and the lagoon
Viewpoint
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Trip plans for Sharjah
Day 1
- Museum of Islamic CivilizationOn the creek front, opened in 2008 in a converted market building under a gold dome.
- The old quarter on footThe restored merchant district behind the creek, in coral and gypsum under wind towers.
- The creek frontThe water the old city was built around: a walkable front and a still-working dhow wharf.
Local tips
Insider tips
Half a day is enough: the old quarter and two museums; four museums is a museum day, not a city.
Do not cross from Dubai after work: the road is one of the country's busiest and can double the journey.
Customs and safety
Sharjah is noticeably more conservative than Dubai, so dress for it: shoulders, upper arms and knees covered in public.
Between May and September heat and humidity push life indoors and into the night; November to March is pleasant.
Food and prayer
Halal is the ordinary case, with no hotel exception; Sharjah's public rules are the most conservative of the three emirates.
More mosques per street than its neighbour, and prayer rooms in malls, museums and the airport.
Getting around Sharjah
Ride-hailing
How the city is covered, and how most visitors arrive from Dubai. The fare is settled in the app.
Recommended
Walking
The old quarter, the museums and the creek front are one continuous walk, which is unusual in this country.
Car
The road from Dubai is short and the parking is easy, but the border between the two is one of the busiest roads in the country at rush hour.
From the airport
- SHJ
Sharjah International Airport
Taxi and Ride-hailing
Things to do in Sharjah
Tours, tickets and experiences.
eSIM plans in United Arab Emirates
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About Sharjah
Sharjah and Dubai touch, and from a car you would not know where one ends. On the ground they are different: Sharjah keeps a more conservative public register, and it has put its money into museums where its neighbour put it into towers.
The part a visitor wants is small and continuous: the old quarter, the museums around it and the creek front are one walk, which makes it a half-day rather than a logistics exercise.
Photo credits
Photographs on this page, with their licences.
- Photo by Ainur Kamaev on UnsplashUnsplash LicenseView source
- Photo by Sairam Rajeswaran on UnsplashUnsplash LicenseView source
- Photo by Ahmed Aldaie on UnsplashUnsplash LicenseView source
- Photo by Ainur Kamaev on UnsplashUnsplash LicenseView source
- Photo by Haris khan on UnsplashUnsplash LicenseView source
- Photo by Nick Fewings on UnsplashUnsplash LicenseView source