Abu Dhabi · Nightlife

A purpose-built promenade at the southern end of Yas Island lined with restaurants and bars facing the water, filling up from about 20:00. It sits next to Etihad Arena, so it is busiest either side of a show; a taxi from the city centre is 20 to 30 minutes.

The emirate's main indoor venue, on Yas Island, taking touring concerts, UFC cards, EuroLeague basketball, comedy and family shows. Worth checking before you fix dates in either direction: a fight weekend moves hotel prices across the whole island.

The site stays open until midnight even though the galleries themselves close at 18:30 Tuesday to Thursday and 20:30 Friday and Saturday, so a late visit is really the dome, the water channels and the restaurants rather than the collection. Closed Mondays.

Outside the Grand Prix, the Formula 1 circuit opens to the public in the evening for drag nights, drift sessions and laps in your own car or bike, plus karting at Yas Kartzone. Sessions are scheduled after dark because of the heat, and some spectator events are free.

The 8 km seafront promenade is where the city actually spends its evenings, and walking it costs nothing (the public beach charges a small entry). Alcohol is not sold outside licensed venues, and drinking or being drunk in public is an offence, so treat the Corniche as a walk rather than a crawl.